What do Muslims believe?
They do not believe in crashing planes into skyscrapers any more than Christians
believe in blowing up abortion clinics.
It is impossible to explain Islam in 600 words. But here is an attempt at a very
basic introduction:
The Islamic faith branches from the same taproot as Christianity and Judaism.
Muslims consider themselves descendents of Abraham, although they look upon
Abraham as being a prophet of Allah as opposed to being a Jew. Allah is the Arabic word for God, and a basic concept is the same in all three
religions: God is merciful and forgiving, but quite capable of vengeance if
provoked.
Muslims believe in angels and devils, in Adam and Eve, in heaven and hell. They
believe in a final judgment day when we will have to account for our sins. Muslims believe, however, that Jews and Christians are following tainted
teachings because religious leaders corrupted the Torah and New Testament with
self-serving editing. God decided to set the record straight through Muhammad, they say.
Muhammad was born in Mecca, the dominant city in Arabia, in 570 A.D. A man of
wealth, he was disturbed by the corruption around him and often went off to
meditate in a search for truth. During one of these sessions, the angel Gabriel
appeared with the first of many revelations from God. These were compiled in a book called the Quran. Muslims consider it the pure
word of God. Muhammad took his revelations public. He condemned belief in pagan gods. He
condemned exploitation of orphans, widows and slaves. He defended the poor and
oppressed, and said the wealthy had an obligation to care for them.
This put Muhammad at odds with the ruling class, and he and his followers were
persecuted. They fled to the city of Medina, where Muhammad eventually became a leader.
After a series of wars with Mecca, he eventually took control of that city, and
the faith began to spread across Arabia. But the Jews did not accept Muhammad as a prophet. This led to conflict between
the two religions.
Muhammad considered Muslims natural allies of the Christians against the pagan
rulers of Mecca. But Muslims rejected basic foundations of Christianity -- that
Jesus is the son of God and that God is a Trinity.
The Muslims consider Jesus a great prophet, through whom God revealed the
Gospels. In Islam, followers must submit to God and demonstrate this through their
actions.
There are "Five Pillars of Islam" they must follow. They must recite a
creed acknowledging Allah as God. They must pray, including five prayer sessions
a day facing Mecca. They must give 2.5 percent of their wealth every year to the
poor. They must fast from dawn to sundown during the month of Ramadan, the
anniversary of Gabriel's first appearance to Muhammad. They must make one
pilgrimage to Mecca if physically and financially able.
Violence is no more a core belief in Islam than it is in Christianity. What we
know as a jihad, or holy war, is described by the Quran thusly: "Fight for
the sake of Allah those that fight against you but do not attack them first.
Allah does not love aggressors." The Islamic faith does not condone killing innocents.
Unfortunately, many people in this country don't know enough about Islam to
realize that.
Mike Thomas can be reached at [email protected] or 407-420-5525.