Changes

==Overview==

==Overview==

[[File:World Muslim Population Pew Forum.png|thumb|The Muslim population of the world map according to the Pew Forum 2009 report.]]

[[File:World Muslim Population Pew Forum.png|thumb|The Muslim population of the world map according to the Pew Forum 2009 report.]]

The word "Islam"<ref group=note>Arabic الإسلام‎‎ , specifically referring to submission to Allah</ref> means "submission" in [[Arabic language|Arabic]]. Islam, as originally designed in the Koran, presents itself as an "Abrahamic faith" and has [[Moses]] in it,<ref>Brannon Wheeler. Moses in the Koran and Islamic Exegesis. Routledge, 2002.</ref> as well as [[Jesus]] as a prophet in Islam,<ref>Muhammad Ata ur-Rahim, Ahmad Thomson. ''Jesus: Prophet of Islam''. TTQ, INC., 2003.</ref> but not as God's son.  

The word "Islam"<ref>Arabic الإسلام‎‎ </ref> , specifically referring to submission to Allah</ref> means "submission" in [[Arabic language|Arabic]]. Islam, as originally designed in the Koran, presents itself as an "Abrahamic faith" and has [[Moses]] in it,<ref>Brannon Wheeler. Moses in the Koran and Islamic Exegesis. Routledge, 2002.</ref> as well as [[Jesus]] as a prophet in Islam,<ref>Muhammad Ata ur-Rahim, Ahmad Thomson. ''Jesus: Prophet of Islam''. TTQ, INC., 2003.</ref> but not as God's son.  

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[[Multiculturalism|Multiculturalists]] ignore or minimize violence in the history of Islam and exaggerate Christian atrocities to advance a [[moral equivalence]]. Proponents of this view often cite the [[Crusades|Great Crusades]]--an unsuccessful attempt by Western Christians to retake parts of the [[Byzantine Empire]] that had been conquered by Islamic armies--and various religious wars which were later fought in Europe between branches of Christianity. However, they brand critics of Islam "racists" (even though Islam is not a "race") and "[[Islamophobia|Islamophobes]]" (a smear term invented for the purpose of censoring and silencing legitimate criticism of Islam) for exposing today’s threats by [[jihadism|jihadists]].<ref>http://www.bcbsr.com/topics/charity.html</ref>

[[Multiculturalism|Multiculturalists]] ignore or minimize violence in the history of Islam and exaggerate Christian atrocities to advance a [[moral equivalence]]. Proponents of this view often cite the [[Crusades|Great Crusades]]--an unsuccessful attempt by Western Christians to retake parts of the [[Byzantine Empire]] that had been conquered by Islamic armies--and various religious wars which were later fought in Europe between branches of Christianity. However, they brand critics of Islam "racists" (even though Islam is not a "race") and "[[Islamophobia|Islamophobes]]" (a smear term invented for the purpose of censoring and silencing legitimate criticism of Islam) for exposing today’s threats by [[jihadism|jihadists]].<ref>http://www.bcbsr.com/topics/charity.html</ref>

A follower of Islam is called a "[[Muslim]]" (rarely 'Moslim'), a term which means "one who submits (to Allah)". The older terms "Mohammedan" and "Muhammedan" ("follower of Muhammad"), have fallen out of use.<ref group=note>Additional archaic terms for Muslims include "Hagarene", "Musselman", and "Saracen". Saracen as a term for Muslims was limited to the Crusades era, although it makes frequent re-appearances in pre-modern polemics. Hagarene was a more common term in pre-modern works, as it denotes the Biblical connection of Hagar, the mother of Ishmael, who is claimed to be a patriarch of Islam. Additional names for Muslims in pre-modern and Medieval works are generally derived from misspellings.</ref>

A follower of Islam is called a "[[Muslim]]" (rarely 'Moslim'), a term which means "one who submits (to Allah)". The older terms "Mohammedan" and "Muhammedan" ("follower of Muhammad"), have fallen out of use.<refe>Additional archaic terms for Muslims include "Hagarene", "Musselman", and "Saracen". Saracen as a term for Muslims was limited to the Crusades era, although it makes frequent re-appearances in pre-modern polemics. Hagarene was a more common term in pre-modern works, as it denotes the Biblical connection of Hagar, the mother of Ishmael, who is claimed to be a patriarch of Islam. Additional names for Muslims in pre-modern and Medieval works are generally derived from misspellings.</ref>

==Theology==

==Theology==

[[File:Kaaba.jpg|thumb|Masjid al-Haram, the holiest site in Islam.]]

[[File:Kaaba.jpg|thumb|Masjid al-Haram, the holiest site in Islam.]]

There are no clergy, but there are religious teachers, or [[Imam]]s, who have their followings.  All Muslims are supposed to follow the teachings of Muhammad, whom they believe to be Allah's<ref group=note>Arabic الله</ref> last and greatest [[prophet]] (although Jesus, in Matthew 7:15-20, warned "Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves. You will recognize them by their fruit. Grapes are not gathered from thorns or figs from thistles, are they? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree is not able to bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree to bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will recognize them by their fruit", which serves to explicitly describe Muhammad and such like him). The teachings of Muhammad are transmitted through the [[Koran]], the Hadith, and the Sunnah. The Sunnah is a general term for "the life and doings of the Prophet", which all Muslims are called on to replicate. Islam claims that the Archangel [[Gabriel]] appeared to Muhammad in a cave reciting verbatim a revelation from Allah. The first word that Gabriel says to Muhammad is "Iqra" or "Recite/Proclaim",which is found in the 96th Sura of the Koran.

There are no clergy, but there are religious teachers, or [[Imam]]s, who have their followings.  All Muslims are supposed to follow the teachings of Muhammad, whom they believe to be Allah's<ref>Arabic الله</ref> last and greatest [[prophet]] (although Jesus, in Matthew 7:15-20, warned "Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves. You will recognize them by their fruit. Grapes are not gathered from thorns or figs from thistles, are they? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree is not able to bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree to bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will recognize them by their fruit", which serves to explicitly describe Muhammad and such like him). The teachings of Muhammad are transmitted through the [[Koran]], the Hadith, and the Sunnah. The Sunnah is a general term for "the life and doings of the Prophet", which all Muslims are called on to replicate. Islam claims that the Archangel [[Gabriel]] appeared to Muhammad in a cave reciting verbatim a revelation from Allah. The first word that Gabriel says to Muhammad is "Iqra" or "Recite/Proclaim",which is found in the 96th Sura of the Koran.

Muslims believe that Allah revealed the Koran to Muhammad. The key miracle of Islam comes from the historical condition of the illiterate and uneducated Muhammad, as the Koran is composed in an erudite and complex form of Arabic prose and poetry.<ref>Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created- Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,- He Who taught (the use of) the pen,- Taught man that which he knew not.(Surah 96:1-5)</ref> The Koran was not written down in a systematic fashion until a decade after Muhammad died, preferable transmission being through oral recitation. The Koran is claimed by Muslims to be the pure and holy word of Allah, uncreated and eternal. In Islamic belief the term uncreated is very important, as it implies that there is no author for the Koran, only the delivering of the word to Muhammad who delivered it to the Sahab and the Salaf (The Companions and the Pure), who delivered it to the scribe delegated to record it in the reign of the Caliph Uthman bin Affan.

Muslims believe that Allah revealed the Koran to Muhammad. The key miracle of Islam comes from the historical condition of the illiterate and uneducated Muhammad, as the Koran is composed in an erudite and complex form of Arabic prose and poetry.<ref>Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created- Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,- He Who taught (the use of) the pen,- Taught man that which he knew not.(Surah 96:1-5)</ref> The Koran was not written down in a systematic fashion until a decade after Muhammad died, preferable transmission being through oral recitation. The Koran is claimed by Muslims to be the pure and holy word of Allah, uncreated and eternal. In Islamic belief the term uncreated is very important, as it implies that there is no author for the Koran, only the delivering of the word to Muhammad who delivered it to the Sahab and the Salaf (The Companions and the Pure), who delivered it to the scribe delegated to record it in the reign of the Caliph Uthman bin Affan.