Islam
The religion of the Muslims, a monotheistic faith regarded as
revealed through Muhammad as the Prophet of Allah.
• 17 …Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of Heaven, and said
to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for god has heard the
voice of the lad [Abraham’s and Hagar’s son Ishmael] where he is.
• 18 Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will
make him a great nation.”…
• 20 So God was with the lad; and he grew and dwelt in the
wilderness, and became an archer.” NKJV
According to the Genesis account, he died at the age of 137.
Think about…
• We have a choice…
• We can cling to our fear and ignorance of Islam, …
• Or we can move past the rhetoric of us/them and find our shared
values of kindness and generosity…
Understanding Islam
Rev. MK Lefevour
Adam Hamilton
•“Be bridge builders, not wall builders.”
2015 Muslim World Population
• Over 1.7 billion or about 23.4% of the world population
• 91.2% in the Middle East–North Africa
• 29.6% in Sub-Saharan Africa
• 24.8% in Asia–Oceania
• 6.0% in Europe
• 0.6% in the Americas
• Pew Report predicts that Muslims will equal the world’s Christian
population by 2050 and…
• Will surpass Christians by 2070.
Historical Perspectives
• Islam is reflective of many cultures whose traditions supersede
Islam’s beginnings and are therefore intertwined with Islam.
• Segregation of the sexes: Byzantine and Persia
• Female circumcision: Northern Africa – Pre-dates Christians, Animists, Arabs,
but includes these belief groups in practices today.
• Like Christianity and Judaism, Islam depicts man as a responsible
agent.
• The rise of Islam helped establish the worth of individualism vs. worth of the tribe.
• 19 th – Early 20 th Centuries – Islamic Modernism embraced the ideas of Western Europe: science, technology, democracy and citizenship
• Change occurred with the colonialization of the Middle East following
WWI. (British/French Sykes-Picot Agreement, 1916)
• Western governments removed from colonial power following WWII,
Sunni vs Shia
• Sunni Islam and Shia Islam: two major denominations of Islam
• Sunni–Shia schism following the death of the Islamic prophet
Muhammad in the year 632
• A dispute over succession to Muhammad as a caliph of the
Islamic community spread
• Present day conflict is generally described as Iran (Shia)-Saudi
Arabia (Sunni) Proxy Conflict
Five Pillars of Islam
• Shahadah: the statement of faith.
• Salat: daily prayers.
• Zakat: charity.
• Sawm: fasting. Ramadan..
• Hajj: pilgrimage to Mecca. (2017 – August 30 to September 4)
Shahadah: the statement of faith.
• "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger.“
• When a Muslim recites this they proclaim:
• That Allah is the only God, and that Muhammad is his prophet
• That they personally accept this as true
• That they will obey all the commitments of Islam in their life
• The Shahadah is the first of the Five Pillars of Islam.
• Becoming a Muslim - Reciting this statement three times in front
of witnesses is all that anyone need do to become a Muslim.
• A Muslim is expected to recite this statement out loud, with total
sincerity, fully understanding what it means.
Salat: daily prayers.
• Salat is prayer to focus the mind on God, and is seen as a personal
communication with him that expresses gratitude and worship.
• God ordered Muslims to pray at five set times of day:
• Salat al-fajr: dawn, before sunrise.
• Salat al-zuhr: midday, after the sun passes its highest.
• Salat al-'asr: the late part of the afternoon.
• Salat al-maghrib: just after sunset.
• Salat al-'isha: between sunset and midnight.
Zakat: charity.
• Zakat: "that which purifies“
• Not a charitable contribution, but a tax
to be paid only by those who are able.
• Zakat is based on income and the value
of all of one's possessions.
(Photo of a slot for giving zakat at the Zaouia Moulay
Idriss II in Fez, Morocco)
Sawm: fasting
• In the terminology of Islamic law, sawm means to abstain from
eating and drinking during daylight hours.
• The observance of sawm during the Islamic holy month of
Ramadan is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, but is not confined to
that month.
• Ramadan (Fard – fasting during this holy month) - the ninth month
of the Islamic calendar, and is observed by Muslims worldwide as a
month of fasting to commemorate the first revelation of the Quran
to Muhammad according to Islamic belief.
Hajj: pilgrimage to Mecca
• An annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, the most holy city of the
Muslims.
• A mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at
least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically
and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and can
support their family during their absence.
• The Hajj is the largest annual gathering of people in the world.
Hajj: Mount of Mercy: Mecca
(photo of the Kaaba)
Hajj: the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque: Mecca
The Black Stone of Mecca, or Kaaba Stone, is a Muslim
relic, which according to Islamic tradition dates back
to the time of Adam and Eve. ... The Stone is a dark
rock, polished smooth by the hands of millions of
pilgrims, that has been broken into a number of
fragments cemented into a silver frame in the side of
the Kaaba.
View Adam Hamilton video…
Questions and Comments…
“Look for the soul---you become the soul.
Hunt for the bread---you become the bread.
Whatever you look for---you are.” – Sufi poet Rumi
Karen Armstrong: The Charter for Compassion (TED Talk, 2008)
Adam Hamilton: A Christian Response to Islamic Terrorism
Lesley Hazelton: On Reading the Koran (TED Talk, 2010)