The Great Mosque at Mecca
Islam
Arabic: ”
Hebrew: islam
Islam is a religion with more than 1,400 million believers. It is dominant in East- and North Africa, Middle East, Central Asia and in Indonesia. It’ normally divided into three orientations, Sunni, Shici and Ibadi.
The word ” is best translated with ‘ [under the will and guidance of God]‘, but it has a deeper meaning by coming from the same Arabic root (s-l-m) as ”, peace, and ”, safety and security. Hence, the word ” explains large parts of the central core of the religion.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The original foundation of Islam is the Koran. Soon after Muhammad’ death, stories about his life were collected, investigated, organizated and interpretation. This activity, resulting in the Sunna, or hadith became a second source for the theology and moral of Islam.
Islam according to the religion itself dates back to Adam, the first man created and the first Muslim. But over time, the true teaching was lost, hence a number of revelation, of which the one given to Muhammad is the last.
Ibrahim (Judaism/Christianity: Abraham) has a central place in the history of Islam, and is the founder and builder of the Ka’ in Mecca, which is by Islam defined as the centre of the world.
Western scientists and many Muslims, too, have a different point of view, and consider Islam as historically beginning with the first revelations to Muhammad in 610 in Mecca (in what is now Saudi Arabia).
THEOLOGY AND IDEOLOGY
The teaching of Islam is that there is only one God, and that the God of Judaism and Christianity is the same as the God of the Koran, but that the teachings of the two religions are corrupted by man. The original teachings of the two religions was exactly the same as what is found in Islam today, but man has altered the lore given to both groups. Nevertheless, this teaching in Islam, has made Muslims show a lot of respect for both Christians and Jews, as they are considered People of the book, ahlu l-kitab.
While there is no explicit message of love in Islam in the same sense as it is found in parts of the Gospels (Christianity), Islam is still a religion that exhibits the same care for man as found in Christianity and Judaism. There are numerous passages in the Koran where God expresses his compassion for man.
The most central issue in Islam is the responsibility towards the community. The Koran and the Sunna contains many rules on how to act in life, what to do and what not to do. The core of Islam is the family, the extended family, and from this, society is understood as concentric circles. There are no obligations on the Muslims towards people who are not Muslims, Jews or Christians.
In Islam man cannot feel sure that he or she will enter Paradise, unless he or she lives as a Muslim. Most Muslims abstain from claiming that they are guaranteed a place in Paradise. Islam has a Day of Judgement, but this does not play a central part in neither belief nor theology. This day will be the day when all dead are reawakened, either to be condemned or let into Paradise. There are no reasons to consider the Muslim Paradise as a place where men will enter more easily than women, but when life in Paradise is described this is in most, but not all, cases described on male conditions. Most learned Muslims consider the descriptions of Paradise as symbolic, and consider Paradise as something that man on earth cannot apprehend.
Islam holds elements from religious traditions from before Islam. These vary from region to region. In modern ages Islam is turning in direction of becoming more and more based upon the Koran, where "" traditions lose their foothold.
Islam is defined out of the following (five pillars):
1. Shahada, the creed stating that " is no God but God, and Muhammad is his messenger"
2. Salat, the prayer which is to be performed five times a day. This prayer is performed after strict rules: bending and uttering phrases from the Koran, as well as facing the direction towards the kacabain Mecca.
3. Zakat, alms. This is a prescription which is practiced in very different ways in Islam today.
4. Sawm, fast during the month of ramadan.
5. Hajj, pilgrimage to Mecca. This an obligation for all Muslims in good health and with the necessary economy.
Islamic Innovations
Islam is one of the great religions of the world and thanks to Islam we have many of the technological and social innovations we enjoy today. Some of these may be disputed but the modern world certainly was given them by Muslim civilisation though its vast trading networks.
The Telescope
The Pendulum
The Watch
The Mariners Compass
Gunpowder
Manufacturing Soap, Paper and Cloth
The Windmill
Astronomy and Navigation
Astrolobe
Mathematics
Street lighting
The Coffe house
The concept of Zero
" you know that fabrics made buy Muslim craftsmen where so valued that in many fine Christian church portraits the subjects can be seen in robes with delecate patterns which dismissed as detailing actually say " ANLA ELAHA ILLA-ALLAH WA ASH-HADU ANNA MOHAMMADAN RASUL-ALLAH" Which means " bear witness that there is no deity (none truely to be worshipped) but, Allah, and I bear witness that Mohammad is the messenger of Allah"
Possibly the most important gift of Islam to the modern world is that of the Arabic language itself. Whilst Europe was in the dark ages Islamic cities had Street lighting learning and even-handed governance and laws protecting trade and religious tolerance. Islam had a very modern approach to science and contrary to misconceptions; Islam was open to new ideas and theory and showed a clear separation of science and religion allowing scientists to make amazing discoveries. It is thanks to Islam whose scholars and schools documented ancient civilisations that we have the knowledge of them at all.
