Islam is a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion alongside Judaism and Christianity. It is currently the second largest religion in the world today. Its beliefs come from the Qur'an which literally means "the recitation" which is believed to be a literal transcription of the word of God. Its main prophet is named Muhammad who began Islam by speaking with the angel Gabriel in a cave during his meditation and then acting as an instrument of God to help write the Qur’an. Muhammad then spread Islam to the scattered tribes of Arabia by becoming the leader of Yathrib and using his wonderful leadership abilities to then grow his influence over virtually all of Arabia. Muhammad is known by Muslims to be the seal of the profits because no profits after Muhammad should be considered legitimate. Muhammad also left behind the Hadith or “tradition” which is a collection of writings compiled of reports of Muhammad’s actions as leader of Yathrib. These reports are used as a more specific code of ethics in day to day life and from these reports the 5 Pillars of Islam are derived (Smith 160). Although Islam shares many similarities to Judaism and Christianity it is often viewed in the US with hate derived from preconceived notions following the attack on September 11th 2001. This paper seeks to provide an overview of Islam’s history as well as its two major sects and 5 main pillars to remove preconceived notions and provide a glance into the minds of the Islamic people. Islam has a deep history, beginning with ideas originating before Muhammad and spanning to the present day. Before Islam, the Bedouin people’s faith contained a belief in supreme beings alongside animism. They also put a large emphasis on ancestor worship (Swartz 15). Some groups... ... middle of paper ... ...t. Burns, Thomas J. "Islam." Religion and Society. OU Campus' Dale Hall, Norman. 14 Apr. 2014. Lecture. Burns, Thomas J. Canonical Texts: Selections from Religious Wisdom Traditions. San Diego, CA: Cognella/U Readers, 2012. Print. Horrie, Chris, and Peter Chippindale. What Is Islam? London: Virgin, 1997. Print. Huda. "Shia and Sunni Muslims: What's the Difference?" Religion and Spirituality. Ask.com, n.d. Web. 01 May 2014. . Rahman, Fazlur. Islam & Modernity: Transformation of an Intellectual Tradition. Chicago: U of Chicago, 1982. Print. Rippin, Andrew. Muslims. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 1993. Print. Smith, Huston. The Illustrated World's Religions: A Guide to Our Wisdom Traditions. San Francisco: Harper SanFrancisco, 1994. Print. Swartz, Merlin L. Studies on Islam. New York: Oxford UP, 1981. Print.
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There is and has been a clash between Islam and the Western nations which has been becoming more and more apparent, increasingly so in in the 21st century. The clash is based on a fallacious understanding that has shaped the worldview of generations of Europeans and Americans that has progressively found its way into Western scholarship. This worldview’s roots were developed early on in the European-Christian ethos and its ideological tree now produces fruits that are fed mouth to mouth by the talking heads of modern political movements. This paper will attempt to present the recent perception of Islam in the West and how it developed and effected American society.
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