ISLAM RISING : The Faith : DEFINITIONS

Muslim is an Arabic word meaning “one who submits (to God)”

Islam is Arabic for “submission”

HISTORY:

Islam is the name of the religion preached by the Prophet Mohammed in the 7th Century.

He began preaching in Mecca, in what is now Saudi Arabia, about AD 610. In 622, under the threat of murder, he fled to Medina, an event known as the Hegira. Muslims date their lunar calendar from this point.

The prophet and his followers later returned to convert Mecca to Islam and established their mosque there. They launched a vast expansion that eventually reached throughout the Middle East, North Africa and into Western Europe.

After Mohammed’s death, Abu Bakr was selected caliph, or successor, and continued to expand the Muslim empire. The spread into Western Europe was stopped only with the Muslims’ defeat by Charles Martel at the Battle of Poitiers, also called the Battle of Tours, in 732.

Companions of Mohammed preserved his teachings and later compiled them into the Islamic holy book, the Koran, from the Arabic word meaning “recitations.” Muslims consider the Koran to be God’s revelations to Mohammed.

TEACHINGS

* Five Pillars of Islam.

These are key duties required of observant Muslims.

Shahadah . Affirming there is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet.

Salah . Praying five times each day.

Zakah . Giving alms.

Sawm . Fasting during the month of Ramadan.

Hajj . Making a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, at least once in a lifetime.

* God and humanity

The Koran teaches the absolute unity and power of God, the creator of the universe.

God is just and merciful and wishes people to repent and purify themselves so that they can attain paradise after death. God sent prophets with sacred books to teach the people their duties.

Muslims believe that Mohammed was the last of the prophets. Jesus and the Old Testament prophets were his predecessors.

* Ethics and morals

The Koran forbids lying, stealing, adultery and murder. Punishment is based on the Old Testament law of retaliation, “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”

The Koran denounces usury, games of chance, and the consumption of pork and alcohol.

* Life and death

Life on Earth is a period of testing and preparation for the life to come. The angels in Heaven record the deeds of a person’s life. On judgment day, people will depend on the mercy of God to reward them for living properly--or be condemned to Hell.

The sorrows and tortures of Hell resemble those described in the Bible. The Muslim Heaven is a garden with flowing streams, luscious fruits and richly covered couches.

* Customs and ceremonies

The most important are the Five Pillars, outlined above.

There are many public and private celebrations during the Muslim year marking the birth of Mohammed and other important people.

In personal life, ceremonies mark birth, circumcision, weddings and a child’s memorizing of the entire Koran.

* Family life

Marriage is encouraged. The Koran permits a man to have up to four wives, providing justice be done among co-wives. But monogamy has remained the standard practice.

Marriage is accomplished through a contract with the bride, acceptance of a dowry and her consent to the marriage. It is legal for a Muslim man to marry a Christian woman, but it is not legal for a Muslim woman to marry outside her faith.

Divorce is discouraged. However, a marriage can be terminated by repudiation by the husband, mutual consent by both parties or a judicial ruling upon the request of the wife.

* Government and law

Islam draws no distinction between the religious and the temporal aspects of life. Thus the Muslim state is by definition religious. The canonical law of Islam, known as Sharia, is based on the Koran, the example of the Prophet Mohammed and elaboration by scholars.

BRANCHES

Despite the hope for a unified and consolidated community, as taught by Mohammed, serious differences arose within the Muslim community after the prophet’s death.

The most significant split occurred after the death of the fourth caliph (successor) Ali ibn Abi Talib, a son-in-law of Mohammed. The split over the line of succession grew out of a political question of leadership. Complex theological differences developed over time. Here are some of the major branches:

* Sunni

The full name is ahl as-sunnah wa-I-ijma , “the people of the Sunnah (the custom of the prophet) and the consensus.”

The Sunni represent the largest branch, accounting for 85% to 90% of the world’s Muslims.

Often known as the “orthodox,” they recognize the first four caliphs but attribute no special religious or political distinction to the descendants of Mohammed’s son-in-law Ali.

* Shiites

Meaning partisan , the term comes from shi’at or “the party of Ali.”

Shiites make up roughly 10% of the Muslim world.

The Shiites believe Ali ibn Abi Talib had a divine right to the caliphate, or spiritual leadership, which he passed on to descendants known as imams.

Various other differences exist between Shiites and Sunnis. For instance, Shiites accept temporary marriage and the doctrine that God changes his decisions. They deny the efficacy of prayers led by a morally unworthy leader; Sunnis make a distinction between the function and the person.

Shiites themselves are divided into many subgroups.

* Sufism

This is not a branch per se but rather an ascetic movement within all of Islam directed toward mysticism. Sufis seek to find the truth of divine love and knowledge through direct personal experience of God.

* Druze

Sometimes considered to be independent from Islam, this sect arose in the 11th Century out of a cult of deification of the caliph Hakim of Egypt. The Druze believe that Hakim did not die, but vanished and will one day return to inaugurate a golden age. They follow a secretive, eclectic system of doctrines. SOURCES: Concise Encyclopedia of Islam. Encyclopedia Britannica. World Book encyclopedia. RESEARCHED by Times researcher Kevin Fox

Muslim Majority Nations Afghanistan: Sharia* is Primary Law; Legal Islamic Political Parties Albania: No Sharia Influence Algeria: Sharia Influences Civil Law; Legal Islamic Political Parties; Organized Islamic Opposition Azerbaijan: No Sharia Influence; Legal Islamic Political Parties Bahrain: No Sharia Influence Bangladesh: Sharia Influences Civil Law; Legal Islamic Political Parties Brunei: Sharia Influences Civil Law Comoros: Sharia Influences Civil Law Djibouti: No Sharia Influence Egypt: Sharia Influences Civil Law; Organized Islamic Opposition Gambia: Sharia Influences Civil Law Guinea: No Sharia Influence Indonesia: Sharia Influences Civil Law; Legal Islamic Political Parties; Organized Islamic Opposition Iran: Sharia* is Primary Law; Legal Islamic Political Parties Iraq: Sharia Influences Civil Law; Organized Islamic Opposition Jordan: Sharia Influences Civil Law; Organized Islamic Opposition Kuwait: Sharia Influences Civil Law; Organized Islamic Opposition Kyrgyzstan: No Sharia Influence; Legal Islamic Political Parties Lebanon: No Sharia Influence; Legal Islamic Political Parties; Organized Islamic Opposition Libya: Sharia Influences Civil Law; Organized Islamic Opposition Malaysia: Sharia Influences Civil Law; Legal Islamic Political Parties Maldives: Sharia Influences Civil Law Mali: Sharia Influences Civil Law Mauritania: Sharia Influences Civil Law; Organized Islamic Opposition Morocco: Sharia Influences Civil Law; Organized Islamic Opposition Niger: No Sharia Influence Nigeria: Sharia Influences Civil Law; Organized Islamic Opposition Oman: Sharia Influences Civil Law Pakistan: Sharia Influences Civil Law; Legal Islamic Political Parties Qatar: Sharia Influences Civil Law Saudi Arabia: Sharia* is Primary Law Senegal: Sharia Influences Civil Law; Legal Islamic Political Parties Somalia: Sharia Influences Civil Law; Organized Islamic Opposition Sudan: Sharia* is Primary Law Syria: Sharia Influences Civil Law; Organized Islamic Opposition Tajikistan: No Sharia Influence; Organized Islamic Opposition Tunisia: Sharia Influences Civil Law Turkey: No Sharia Influence; Legal Islamic Political Parties Turkmenistan: No Sharia Influence United Arab Emirates: Sharia Influences Civil Law Uzbekistan: No Sharia Influence; Organized Islamic Opposition Yemen: Sharia Influences Civil Law; Legal Islamic Political Parties ** Sharia is the canonical law of Islam Sources: The 1993 Information Please Almanac; Foundation for Islamic Knowledge; Times correspondents.