Arabs a Minority in 2nd-Largest Religion

Islam is the world’s second-largest religion, with nearly 1 billion followers, or about 18% of the global population. Christianity has 1.7 billion and 33% of the religious population.

Arabs, the ethnic group that originally spread Islam, are now a minority in the religion. There are large numbers of Muslims (literally “submitters” to the will of God) from the northwestern edge of Africa through the southern regions of Asia to Indonesia.

Here are some basic features:

MOHAMMED--The Prophet Mohammed (born circa 570, died 632) founded the religion in the early 7th Century in Arabia. Orphaned at an early age, Mohammed Ibn Abdullah was a businessman when, in 610, it is said he received his first revelations through the angel Gabriel. These continued for another 20 years to form the Koran.

Westerners once called Islam “Mohammedanism” but Muslims dislike the term because they do not regard Mohammed as divine. He is considered the last and most important prophet in a line that includes Abraham, Noah, Moses and Jesus. The accounts of Mohammed’s life and teachings are second only to the Koran as authoritative guidelines in Muslim faith and law.

KORAN--Often spelled Quran , the holy book of Islam is considered to contain the literal words of Allah, or God. The Arabic text includes stories, admonitions, verse and prophetic segments.

FIVE PILLARS--The five religious obligations of Muslims begin with the public witness, or shahadah , “I testify that there is no God but God; I testify that Mohammed is the Messenger of God.” Saying this confession with conviction makes one a Muslim.

The other pillars are prayer, alms-giving, fasting and the pilgrimage to Mecca.

* Short prayers are recited by individuals five times daily at intervals from early morning to evening, each time after washing hands, arms, face, hair and feet (although rubbing water lightly over socks is permissible). Facing east (toward Mecca), Muslims go through prescribed motions of standing, kneeling and touching the floor with the forehead and palms. Congregational prayers at Friday noon are led by an imam, or spiritual leader.

* Alms-giving is the duty of sharing with the poor a small percentage of wealth beyond one’s basic expenses.

* Fasting is central during Ramadan, the ninth month on Islam’s lunar calendar and beginning in mid-March this year. Muslims abstain from food, drink and sexual intercourse during the daylight hours. Nourishment is allowed for the sick, the elderly and the very young.

* At least once in a Muslim’s lifetime, a believer is expected to make a pilgrimage, or hajj , to Mecca.

SECTS--Muslims generally fall into the Sunni or Shiite sects, which are not very different in beliefs.

The Sunni, who are in the majority, believe Muslim leadership in the early years passed to a series of caliphs, while the Shiites believe leadership fell to the martyred Ali, Mohammed’s son-in-law, and his descendants. Shiites tend to be more ecstatic in their practice and have messianic expectations of a future imam who will bring justice to the world.

Sufism is a mystical tradition that has run through Islam and continues to have small groups of enthusiasts. The Nation of Islam, a sect among African-Americans, grew most rapidly in the 1960s, but most of its mosques underwent reforms after 1975 to join conventional Islam.