Islam

1. Islam "Whomsoever God desires to guide, He expands his breast to Islam” (6:125)

2. Submission Islam—submission Muslim—one who submits The second largest of the world’s religions, the teachings of Islam are focused upon the total submission of oneself to the will of God.

3. The Five Pillars Creed (shahadah)—”There is no god but God, and Mohammed is his prophet” (recited with belief makes one a Muslim) Prayer (salat)—five times/day: before dawn, midday, mid-afternoon, sunset, & night (announced from a minaret)

4. 2:144-5 From whencesoever thou comest forth, there turn thy face towards the sacred mosque, for it is surely truth from thy Lord; God is not careless about what ye do. And from whencesoever thou comest forth, there turn thy face towards the sacred mosque, and wheresoever ye are, turn your faces towards it, that men may have no argument against you, save only those of them who are unjust; and fear them not, but fear Me and I will fulfil my favours to you, perchance ye may be guided yet.

5. The Call to Prayer

6. … • Charity (zakat)—a tax on all that one owns (cf. baksheesh) • Fast during Ramadan (sawm)—food, liquid, tobacco, sex…any worldly thing, is forbidden from dawn to dusk (sympathy for the poor) • Ramadan—the ninth month of the Muslim year, in which “the Qurʾān was sent down as a guidance for the people” (Qurʾān 2:185).

7. Pilgrimage (hajj)--When the pilgrim is about 6 miles (10 km) from Mecca, he enters the state of holiness and purity known as ihram and dons the ihram garments, consisting of two white seamless sheets that are wrapped around the body. The pilgrim cuts neither his hair nor his nails until the pilgrimage rite is over. He enters Mecca and walks seven times around the sacred shrine called the Kaʿbah, in the Great Mosque, kisses or touches the Black Stone (Ḥajar al-Aswad) in the Kaʿbah, prays twice in the direction of the MaqāmIbrāhīm and the Kaʿbah, and runs seven times between the minor prominences of Mount Ṣafā and Mount Marwah. On the 7th of Dhū al-Ḥijjah the pilgrim is reminded of his duties. At the second stage of the ritual, which takes place between the 8th and the 12th days of the month, the pilgrim visits the holy places outside Mecca—Jabalar-Raḥmah, Muzdalifah, Minā—and sacrifices an animal in commemoration of Abraham’s sacrifice. The pilgrim’s head is then usually shaved, and, after throwing seven stones at each of the three pillars at Minā on three successive days (the pillars exemplify various devils), he returns to Mecca to perform the farewell ṭawāf, or circling, of the Kaʿbah before leaving the city.

8. the hajj

9. Other common Islamic practices dietary restrictions (no pork or wine) usury and gambling are forbidden (an exception is often made for commissions) circumcision (standard for males, and in some areas females as well) marriage (arranged, and typically held at the home)

10. Authority in Islam Mohammed (570-632 CE) The Koran (Mohammed’s sermons and revelations) The Hadith (Recollections of Mohammed) Sunnis (85%) Shiites (15%)

11. The Koran

12. Conceptions of the Caliphate Shiite (faction) Sunni (tradition, example) rule should come from Mohammad’s tribe, and be chosen by peers as fit to govern everything is shaped by the Koran, which expresses God’s will and guides everyday life the Caliph is to rule in God’s name, primarily as a political authority • rule should come from Mohammad’s blood line, and be spiritual