Islam as Complex as Muslim

Islam As complex as Muslim culture may be, Islam remains at its core a straightforward and relatively simple religion. Islam traces its lineage to Abraham, the central patriarch for Judaism as well as Christianity. Jews, Christians, and Muslims can be referred to as "people of the book" in regards to their common religious ancestry. Islam honors the input the Judaism and Christianity have given towards the development of a monotheistic faith and Islam also honors the prophets of God written about in the Jewish and Christian bibles.

Like Judaism, Islam is fiercely monotheistic. The belief in one true God is the most central one of the religion. The phrase, "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God," is so entrenched in Muslim faith and culture that there is one word to sum up the phrase in Arabic: the Shahadah. The concept of metaphysical unity -- the oneness of all the universe and all creation -- is a major Muslim religious belief.

The external world in all its myriad forms is but a distraction from the one true reality and one God. Moreover, Islam does not ascribe divine status to the Prophet Mohammed, the founder of the faith. In this sense, Islam diverges from Christianity. Muslims pray to Allah, God, not to Mohammed. The life and teachings of Mohammed are, however, venerated and form the core set of Muslim teachings. The holy text of Islam is the Qur'an, which literally means "reading" or "reciting" (p. 370).

Muslims believe that the Qur'an was a divinely inspired religious text, received by Mohammed by God via the Archangel Gabriel. Mohammed experienced several spiritual revelations and undertook a mission to guide humanity via the religious teachings he had received from God. Like Christianity, Islam welcomes the concept of angels and believes in an angelic realm. Muslims also believe in Satan, the Last Judgement, and Hell. Islam is not an ascetic, reclusive faith.

Although worship of God is crucial to Muslim religious practices, "the mission of Islam is to reform society, to actively combat oppression and corruption," (p. 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 Pillar of Islam is fasting, and the most extensive fast takes place during the holiday of Ramadan. Ramadan commemorates Mohammed's receiving the Qur'an. The fifth pillar of Islam.