Islam is a religion that is still very much alive today. A man named Mohammed offered Arabs the religion of Islam. Mohammed was born in about 570 A.D. in Mecca. He became known for honesty and good business sense when he was a teenager. He married a woman by the name of Khadija who was a widow that ran her own business. He often meditated in a cave outside Mecca and rejected the many gods of the tribal religion. At the age of 40 he believed he saw the angel Gabriel. He said Gabriel ordered him to, “Recite in the name of thy Lord!” He then offered the Arabs the religion of Islam, which is monotheistic. Islam means, “surrender to Allah” in Arabic. The followers of Islam are called Muslims, which means “those who submit to God’s will”.

The Islam religion has a holy book called the Koran. The Muslims believe it contains the word of God as it was revealed to Mohammed. They believe that the Koran should not be changed or questioned – even translations from Arabic. The Muslims view God as the ruler of heaven and Earth – like Christianity and Judaism. They believe God is all-powerful, merciful, and just. The have no priests, because they believe they can communicate directly with God. They believe Mohammed was the last and greatest of the prophets, and do not believe Jesus and the Hebrew prophets are messengers of God. They also do not worship Mohammed as a God.

All Muslims have five religious duties (Five Pillars of Islam): 1. They must accept and repeat: “There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet” (statement of faith). 2. They must face the holy city of Mecca and pray at least 5 times a day. 3. They have the duty to be generous to the poor. 4. They must fast during Ramadan – the ninth month in the Muslim calendar. 5. They must make one pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, unless they are not physically and not financially able.

In 622 A.D. Mohammed left Mecca and moved to Medina. The move is now known as the Hegira – which means “the breaking of former ties”. In 630 A.D. Mecca surrendered to the Muslims. Mohammed died 2 years later in 632 A.D. Mohammed’s friend Abu Bakr became leader after he died.

The Muslims have many major cultural achievements. They converted people (other than Christians and Jewish) to the Islam religion, and introduced Arabian horses, new foods, and the Arabic language to Western Europe. They influenced other cultures by their achievements, also. Some of their cultural achievements are in philosophy, mathematics, science, technology, Farming, medicine, literature, architecture, and art. Those are the things we learn in school today and they contributed some of it. In farming they learned how to keep the soil fertile, and brought horses (and new food) to Europe. In medicine they at one time became the most skillful and best-trained doctors. They discovered new medicines and anesthetics that we still use today. In art, they made beautiful paintings, carpets, swords, and miniature paintings. They made marvelous architectural works inside mosques, and mosaics also. A lot of the things we see could have been created or enhanced by the Muslims, if we only took the time to think about it.

Bibliography

Bibliography:

· Textbook: Houghton Mifflin History of the World

Copyright: 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company

Pages 197-207

· Website: The Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis-

An Introduction to Islam

http://www.ifgstl.org/html/basics/basicsnf.htm

· Website: Imuslim- Your Source for Islam on the Net

http://www.imuslim.com

· Website: Al-Islam

http://www.al-islam.com

· Website: Unknown

http://www.mrdowling.com/605-islam.html

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