Islam

1
Islam

• A few slides (excerpted from longer lecture)

Courtyard of the Great Mosque at Herat,
Afghanistan. Photo http//www.islamicity.com/
2
Doctrines Pillars of Islam

• Five main pillars of Islam
• Shahada (faith)
• There is no god but God. Muhammad is the
  messenger of God.
• Prayer (salat), 5 times a day at set times
• Almsgiving (zakat)
• Fasting (sawm) during Ramadan
• Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)

• 5 main doctrines of Islam
• Faith in the unity of God
• Angels as helpers of god
• Belief in the scriptures the prophets
• Final judgment
• Divine decree (predestination)

3
Major subtypes of Islam Sunnism Shiism

• Emerged in the late 7th c. through political
  divisions over leadership of the Muslim community
• Differences in belief
• Shiite belief in the Imamate leadership of the
  Muslim community through familial connection to
  the Prophet
• About 85 of the worlds Muslims are Sunni

A young Shiite woman of Iraq worshipping at the
end of the Ashura holiday commemorating the death
of Hussein in 680 C.E.
4
Current Distribution of the Worlds Religions
Map Thomson/Wadsworth