Islam
Islam is a religion of Abraham that has grown to be the second largest religion with over 1.4 billion followers. The word "Islam" means submission to God. The followers of Islam are called Muslims. Muslims practice complete monotheism, worshiping Allah and believing Muhammad to be his last and greatest prophet. They live by the Koran, the pure and holy word of Allah that must be treated with the utmost respect. Muslims wash their hands before reading the book, which is considered complete and perfect only in the original Arabic, and burn old copies instead of throwing them away. Muslims follow the five pillars of Islam, which are straightforward and easy to understand. The belief in one god is clear, and encourages familiarity. Five daily prayers are recited facing toward Mecca with specific movements and times. Giving to the poor keeps them from becoming greedy or putting too much stake in worldly possessions. A month of fasting brings them closer to Allah. A pilgrimage to Mecca shows respect for the prophet Muhammad and his journey. Intoxication, gambling, stealing, adultery, and false accusations of adultery along with other offenses, are forbidden and highly punishable. Because Islam is an uncomplicated religion to live by, it is sure to continue in its popularity around the world.
The Five Pillars of Islam are:
1. To have submit to the one god, Allah, whose prophet was Muhammad.
2. Pray to Allah five times each day while facing Mecca.
3. Fast during daylight hours for the entire month of Ramadan. No food is eaten in that month during daylight hours. Fasting strengthens the body and soul.
4. Almsgiving: this means Muslims must donate to the poor.
5. A Muslim must take a Hajj or pilgrimage at least once during his lifetime to Mecca where Muhammad himself made a hajj from A.D. 629 to 632.
Islam and Paganism
Although most Muslims profess belief in a single, almighty God, a substantial minority of accredited Western scholars believe that some Muslim beliefs, like those of the early Coman Catholic Church, system can be traced back to distinctly polytheistic antecedents. Some, for example, have attempted to link Allah to a moon deity, though Allah (arabic for God) is cited in the Koran as the God of Abraham and Isaac (Judaism and Christianity). [1] Others have pointed to the pagan roots of various Muslim prohibitions, such as the ban on pork (also practiced in Orthodox Judaism) originating in the 3rd-century AD Damascene cult of the pig-god Jamal. [2] There is some evidence that traditional Muslim scholars have been suppressing this information as well as various recently-recovered scrolls that hint at early Muslim human sacrifice, which was also a part of early Judaism which ended after the Genisis story of Abraham and Isaac (e.g., at Uhud). [3]