Teachings of Islam Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Teachings of Islam - Research Paper Example Islam is just another monotheistic religion like Judaism and Christianity and like them preaches the oneness of God whom the Muslims call Allah. There are differences present in the practices but Islam in originality is a peaceful religion and it is the practice of the few which has gotten it labeled as a terrorist, violent or extremist religion. The basic beliefs and tenets of Islam The main belief of Islam lies in monotheism. Islam's fundamental belief is that God is one and Mohammad is His messenger. This belief can be elaborated by believing that God is one and supreme, unique, all encompassing and powerful. The second belief lies in the prophet hood of prophet Mohammad who initiated the religion in 610 A.D. Their belief relative to prophets is that prophets are human being sent for the guidance and showing the right path. Also that out of many prophets sent by God Mohammad is the last prophet. Thus Islam acknowledges the presence and the prophet hood of Jew and Christian prophet s like Jesus, Moses etc and their names are mentioned in the holy book of Muslims, the Quran. The third belief of Islam states that God sent Holy books of which Quran is meant to be for eternal guidance and all other books are negated by the revelation of Quran. The fourth belief lies in angels who are pure non-human beings performing divine jobs and the last belief lies in resurrection and the day of judgment. This day of judgment, according to Muslim beliefs will be the day when all actions will be weighed and decision regarding heavens or hell will be made. (Alhoda, 2001) There are five basic tenets of Islam of which the first and the foremost is belief in God with all his attributes and attributing no other partners with him. The second is saying prayers five times a day and men gathering in the mosque for Friday afternoon prayers. The third is fasting from dawn to duck in the Holy month of Ramadan (Muslims follow the lunar calendar) and the fourth is giving a fixed percentage o f wealth in the path of God to the poor and the needy. The last is performing pilgrimage to Mecca once in the lifetime for all those who can afford to do so. (Devera) Islam and Muslims in the U.S Muslims entered the United States as Moriscoes who accompanied Columbus when the continent was first discovered. These were followed by slaves who were brought to work in the US and the waves of migrations increased the number of Muslims (Kabourra). In the U.S. today there are between 6-8 million Muslims in the United States out of which African-Americans are predominant. It is the fastest growing faith in the United States (A brief history of islam in the United states) and mosques, Islamic centers and Islamic schools are found in every Muslim community. Regional and national conferences of Muslims are held and issues of common concern are streamlined. Muslims in the USA are allowed to freely practice their religion and MSA's (Muslim Students Association) are present and active in all coll eges and universities. A survey reports that there are 1000 mosques, 400 Islamic schools, 400 associations and over 80 Islamic publications in the US. (A brief history of islam in the United states). Thus Muslims in the United States can practice their religion more freely than a few Islamic countries for example like Turkey where the headscarf is banned or like Egypt or Morocco where being extremely devout is often