370).
The most egregious sins that can be committed by a Muslim include to deny the unity of God by ascribing divine status to any person or object. This sin is called shirk. Emphasizing the importance of shirk to Muslim morality, all iconography is strictly forbidden in Islam. Iconography in a mosque, the Muslim place of worship, would be akin to idol worship. The second major sin of Islam is kufr, or atheism.
The religious beliefs of Islam are based around a core set of tenets known as the Five Pillars. The first pillar is the Shahadah: there is only one God, and the prophet Mohammed is God's messenger. At the same time, Islam encourages respect of and unity with "all prophets" of God and "all revealed scriptures," (p. 381).
The Second Pillar is prayer, five times a day. Ritual washing is also integral to Muslim prayer. When praying, the worshipper faces Mecca. The Third Pillar of Islam is zakat, meaning almsgiving or giving to Muslim charity. The Fourth...
Ramadan commemorates Mohammed's receiving the Qur'an. The fifth pillar of Islam is Hajj, or spiritual pilgrimage to Mecca. All Muslims are expected to make the pilgrimage unless they are seriously ill. At Mecca, a Ka'bah symbolizes a structure that was described in the Jewish Bible as being built together by Abraham and Ishmael and was designated as a place of holy pilgrimage. Of all the five pillars, zakat is probably the easiest to fulfill, because it does not require anything but donating a certain percentage of income to charity. Poor Muslims are the recipients of the charity, and would not be expected to make sacrifices beyond their means. The most difficult of the pillars to fulfill may be the obligation to pray five times per day. Although prayer can be accomplished silently within one's heart, it would be nearly impossible to perform the ritual ablutions regularly in a non-Muslim society.
