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The following information is provided to assist our readers in understanding the complexity of the religious philosophy and thinking of the Islamic population of the world.

UNDERSTANDING ISLAM AND THE MOSLEMS

THE HISTORY OF ISLAM:  the founder of Islam the religion of the Moslems was Mohammed; Born in Mecca, Arabia, about 579 A.D. Died in Medina, Arabia, 632 A.D.

• Mohammed was born into the Hashemite clan of the Koreish tribe, which controlled the trading city of Mecca
• His parents died when he was a small child, he was brought up by his grandfather and his uncle.
• Later Mohammed went on caravan trips to Syria with his uncle and as an agent for the rich widow Khadija. He married Khadija who was 15 years older than him. They had several children, but only a daughter Fatima, survived.
• On these caravans to Syria Mohammed came into contact with Jews and Christians, whereby he learned about the one God of Abraham and their religious beliefs.
• Arab tribes made annual pilgrimages to the Kaaba, a sacred building in Mecca. This was the burial place of Ishmael and his mother Hagar.
• At the Kaaba they worshiped tribal idols, nature gods, called daughters of Allah, and a meteorite known as the Black Stone which is set in the southeastern corner of the Kaaba.
• According to legend; Abraham banished Hagar and their son Ishmael, because Ishmael had tried to kill Isaac with an arrow at Hagar’s beckoning. Hagar sat down on a rock in the dessert and wept. From there a fresh spring of water gushed forth. Abraham built a well around the spring and called it Zamzam. Its waters, which are still flowing, were thought to have healing properties.
• Abraham constructed the Kaaba on the site of the miracle. There he put the Black Stone that Adam brought out of Paradise.
• Arab and other Semitic tribes around Mecca believed they were descended from Ishmael, who had settled in the city that grew up around Zamzam. Note: Not all Arab tribes are descended from Ishmael.
• Mohammed’s Koreish tribe held undisputed control in Mecca. Many Koreish leaders came from the Omayyad family, who controlled the business of selling Zamzam’s waters.
• The merchants of the Koreish tribe prospered from the caravan trade and from the neighboring Arabs who came to Mecca to trade, to worship and pay homage to the gods, and to gamble and drink wine.
• The city of Mecca’s holiest shrine, the Kaaba is the most important center for all Arabs. It is written as the fifth pillar of the Koran.

Development of Mohammed’s Ministry

• Mohammed longed for the one true God of the Hebrew patriarch Abraham, who was also considered the ancestor of the Arabs. He had learned much about the true God from the Jews during his caravan trips to Syria
• When Mohammed was 40, he went to visit a cave on Mount Hira to meditate frequently. According to tradition, during the night of Power and Excellence he received a revelation from the archangel Gabriel, that he was a messenger of the true God of Abraham. Mohammed received other revelations during trance like states in which he spoke poetic Arabic. Note: the works of the poet Hafiz.
• Mohammed believed he was the true messenger and a prophet; who included the Major Prophets Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus.
• Mohammed’s first converts were his wife, his cousin and future son in law Ali, his servant Zeyd, and his friend Abu Bakr.   
• When he began to preach in public against idolatry, he aroused the opposition of Koreish. He emphasized the coming of the Last Judgment and the necessity of Islam, or surrender, to the will of Allah. The opposition feared loss of trade if the pilgrimage stopped.  
• Three years later, Mohammed accepted an invitation from the city of Yathrib ( Medina ) to settle quarrels between two Arab tribes.
• On the night of a Koreish plot to kill him, he left Mecca with his friend Abu Bakr and escaped to Yathrib. This escape is called the hegira or migration.
• The date of the hegira, July 16, 622 A.D. became the first day of the new Islamic calendar. The year 1 Anno Hegira (A.H.)

Mohammed’s Development of Islam and the Koran

• In Medina (meaning city) Mohammed formed a political-religious community under his authority with equal citizenship for all who followed him.
• Since the Jews would not convert, and later actively opposed him, he gradually drove them out.
• For Moslems (followers) he developed forms of worship that became distinct from those of Jews and Christians.
• He required Moslems to perform duties that are called the Five Pillars of Islam.
  • First: Confession of faith in God and the prophet. A Moslem must believe with all his heart and must declare aloud that “There is no god but God and Mohammed is his prophet.”
  • Second: Formal prayers (salat) must be made each day at five appointed times: at daybreak, at noon, in midafternoon, at sunset, and after nightfall.
  • Third: Islam requires the giving of alms (sakat). A Moslem must contribute 2 ½ percent of his property to this poor tax. Prosperous Moslems are encouraged to make additional contributory gifts. The Koran emphasis that a sincere spirit of generosity should accompany the act of sharing.
  • Fasting is the fourth pillar of faith. It is considered a way of sharing the conditions of the hungry poor and of purifying the spirit, and humbling the flesh. The month of Ramadan, the ninth month in the Moslem calendar, is holy because it was the month when the Koran started to be revealed. During Ramadan no food or liquid should be taken between dawn and sunset. People who are sick or soldiers on the march are excused from fasting. They must make it up by feeding the hungry.
  • Fifth: For basic Islamic acceptance one must vow to make a pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca. This is to be done once in a lifetime, in person or by proxy.  Proxies are paid considerable sums. On the pilgrimage everyone must put himself in a holy state and must not hurt a living creature or uproot a plant.
  • In Mecca, pilgrims must perform certain rituals, such as walking around the Kaaba and kissing the Black Stone. They must join a three day pilgrimage to Arafat (a hill outside Mecca) where the archangel Gabriel was supposed to have taught Adam how to pray.
  • On the way back to the holy city Mecca, pilgrims perform the ritual of throwing seven stones to symbolize Abraham’s driving away Satan.
  • At the end of the pilgrimage there is a great feast at which everyone sacrifices a camel or a sheep and shares it with the poor.

Forms of Worship

• The mosque is the place of public worship in Islam. A muezzin or crier calls the faithful to pray. In some places the muezzin calls from the rooftop, but generally calls from the minaret or tower attached to the mosque.
• A Moslem may pray in his own home or elsewhere on a prayer rug or mat.
• On Friday the Sabbath day of Islam, a Moslem must come at noon to worship at the mosque. He covers his head and performs ritual washing in the fountain of the mosques open courtyard, where he may also listen to readings from the Koran, or the Hadith. He must leave his footwear outside.
• The worshipper enters the mosque through a colonnade, where he passes rooms where religious instruction is given to young boys.
• The inside of a mosque may have a huge domed hall with rugs covering its tiled floor. There are no other furnishings except for the pulpit. Every mosque has a mihrab, or niche which marks the direction of Mecca.
• The worshiper participates in the prayers led by the salaried imam or religious leader.
• The Koran (“Recitations”) was put together by Mohammed’s personal scribe, after Mohammed’s death. In 651 A.D. an approved version was decided upon and all other versions were prohibited.
• The Koran contains 114 suras or chapters that follow no logical order, but are arranged according to length. These chapters are divided into two parts, one representing Mohammed’s revelations at Mecca and the other those at Medina.
• The Meccan chapters reflect the Prophet’s struggle, the duties of the faithful and the punishment that awaits the faithless and the infidels, or unbelievers.
• The Medinite chapters reflect Mohammed’s victory that followed the Battle of Badr, the Battle of the Trench and the Byzantine Empire which did not oppose him. The warfare traditionally based on a command from god to destroy persecutors and infidels set the military character of the Islamic Jihad.
• The Medinite chapters lay down the rules of discipline regarding prayer, fasting, and pilgrimage as well as the prohibitions against drinking wine, eating pork, and gambling, as well as social law.

Arab Traditions

• Before the rise of Islam the Arabs were deeply rooted in superstition. They worshipped the stars, stones, trees, wells, rocks, and mountains. Each tribe and clan had its household god and a god for every day of the year.
• There were gods of good fortune and powerful evil spirits (or jinn’s) who were placated with sacrifices. Communicating with the spirits of the dead was a common practice as were primitive forms of fortune telling.
• Female babies were often killed to control tribal populations.

Islamic Law and Moslem Traditions

• In Islam or the way of life, or path, followed by Mohammed is called the Sunna
• It is set down in the Hadith (Traditions). The Hadith are collections of sayings, legends, and elaborations on the Koran’s teachings.
• The Hadith are distinct from the revelations in the Koran. They represent attitudes that evolved in the changing political and social conditions after Mohammed’s death.
• The Koran now forbids the killing of female children. Women have the right to control property.
• A Moslem should not kill a fellow Moslem. If this should happen accidentally the perpetrator or his family must compensate the survivors of the victim in money or in kind.
• A thief should be punished by cutting off his right hand.
• It limits a man to four wives at once, providing he can support them and treat them equally. A substantial interval of separation is required before divorce.
• The Koran permits slavery. Slaves are to be treated kindly and may purchase their freedom. Any children a Moslem has by a female slave are assured their freedom and inheritance rights.
• There is a belief that angels serve god and do his bidding. There is a belief  in spirits, good and evil (jinn’s)
• Everything happens because god has willed it to happen
• The Hadith is used to supplement the Koran in supporting decisions in law whose basis cannot be found in the Koran.
• The Hadith condemns monopolistic practices, such as the dictum that a workman must be paid before the sweat dries off his back, and the admonitions regarding kindness to animals.
• Moslem law or Sharia is divided into four systems, the Hanafite, Malikite, Shafiite, and Hanbalite. These systems evolved in the 8^th and 9^th centuries and are adhered to in religious and personal matters not covered by civil codes.
• The Hanafite School of law was founded by Abu Hanifa. This system utilizes the Koran, individual opinion, in preference to Hadith. When the Koran could not provide the answer in a dispute, individual opinion, analogy or previous rulings of similar cases determine the judgment. The Abbasid rulers of Baghdad favor Hanafite law which is used in much of the Middle East and Asia .
• Malikite law was founded by Malik ibn Anas. It relies on the Koran, the Hadith and liberal consensus of opinion.  Judgment is usually in term of “public advantage”. Malikite law is in use in northern and western Africa .
• Shafiite law was founded by Ash-Shafii. It is a combination of Hanafite and Malikite law. It is prominent in Lower Egypt , eastern Africa , and Indonesia .
• Hanbalite law was founded by Ahmad ibn Hanbal. It is fundamentalist and conservative, dedicated to erasing heresy. It follows the Koran to the letter. The Hanbalite religious courts are active in the ultra orthodox modern state of Saudi Arabia .
• Various regimes implement their individual opinions to form additional laws in which they dictate judgments.

Islamic Schism

• There are about 150 special sects in modern Islam.
• There is a major division between orthodox Sunnites and the Shiites (Sectarians), who consider Ali, Mohammed’s son in law, and his descendents as the Prophet’s true successors.
• However Abu Bakr, the Prophet’s closest associate became the first caliph (successor)
• In 656 A.D. rebels murdered the third caliph, Othman (Omayyad family), and proclaimed Ali (Hashemite family) as caliph.
• The leader of the Omayyad forces was Muawiya, then governor of Syria.
• Ali left Medina and made his headquarters in Iraq. Ali remained caliph with the backing of the tribes of Iraq, and the mawalis (converts) of Persia.
• Muawiya and the Omayyad consolidated their position in Syria, Arabia and Egypt.
• A fanatical sect called the Khaijites vowed to destroy both caliphs. Muawiya escaped assassination, but Ali was killed in 661 A.D.
• Ali’s eldest son Hasan became caliph but eventually was forced to resign by the Omayyad leader, who paid him a large sum of money as compensation.
• The Omayyad’s established the seat of the caliphate in Damascus , and Muawiya. He demanded the use of the hereditary principle, ensuring the caliphate for Muawiya’s heirs.
• Mohammed’s grandson Husein opposed and when Muawiya died in 680 A.D., Husien’s band of followers raised a revolt.
• Near Karbala in Iraq the new caliph’s forces ambushed and slaughtered Husien’s forces. Husien’s body was butchered into many pieces; his head was recovered and buried at Karbala.
• Karbala became the holiest shrine of the Shiites, who paid homage to his martyrdom.
• The Shiite movement became separated from the orthodox Sunnites.

Shiite Beliefs

• The Shiites who predominate in Iran, and have a following in Pakistan and in parts of Africa, believe in the sainthood of Ali, whom they call Wali Allah (True Friend of God).
• They also believe in the sainthood of all of Ali’s heirs and that the other caliphs were usurpers.
• They look forward to a messiah, or Mahdi, whom they believe God will send down to establish justice on earth.
• The reject as invalid the Hadith and the Sharia of the orthodox Sunnites.
• The Shiites contend that Ali, their first Imam, or divinely inspired Moslem leader, did not ordain these interpretations of Mohammed’s teachings.

Splinter Sects

• The Druses and Assassins
• The extreme groups of Shiite Ismailis are known as the Seveners. They believe that the eldest son of the sixth Imam, Ismail, was unjustly deprived of the caliphate. He will return as the Mahdi.
• Ismailis are in Pakistan, central Asia, and eastern Africa. The Aga Khan was a leader of a large section of them.
• The Twelvers are a larger group. They believe that the 12^th Imam, who disappeared at Samarra in Iraq, became the invisible Imam. He will return as the visible Mahdi to unite Islam.

Sufism

• In the 10th century A.D. a movement began that opposed worldliness and ostentation and against the dogmatism of orthodox Islam.
• The Sufi’s are mystics. The name Sufi comes from suf, meaning wool, and describes the woolen robe worn by the Sufi ascetics. They adopted the ideal of celibacy, poverty, and submission to god’s will.
• Some Sufi’s live in monastic isolation, others called fakirs (poor men) and dervishes (beggars) wander throughout the land preaching the mystical views of Mohammed.
• Sufis believe that god exists and is not known through reason but that he may be understood through intuition and ecstasy. To achieve this, some dervish orders engage in whirling dances and other religious exercises.
• Sufis believe that the worthy goal of man is to seek union with god and thereby the loss of ones own identity.
• Most schools of Islam theology incorporate Sufism.
• The extreme fanatical movements encourage martyrdom. The essence of god is goodness, and evil is merely the negation of good. 
• One may seek martyrdom to destroy evil.

The MAHDI (the messiah)

• Over the years a number of spellbinding leaders disturbed the orthodox Sunnites establishment, with the expectation that a Mahdi would appear in a severe crisis.
• Obaidallah, who claimed direct descent from Mohammed’s daughter Fatima, declared himself a Mahdi.
• He seized control of Egypt and northern Africa and set up the Fatimite dynasty. This family ruled Egypt from 909 A.D. until Saladin deposed it in 1171.
• In the 19^th century, self proclaimed non Shiite Mahdis Ahbu-l-Kadir in Algeria and Mohammed Ahmed in Sudan were so political powerful they opposed the great European powers of France and Great Britain for many years.
• The Sunnite orthodoxy often cooperated with secular tyranny.
• A jihad (holy war) in northern Nigeria in 1804 was led by Usman dan Fodio. The Fulani defeated the Hausa ruler of northern Nigeria and established the powerful Sokoto Empire which endured until the British conquered this part of Nigeria in 1903. 
• The Wahabi ultra orthodox movement of fundamentalist Hanbalite law was the establishment of the House of Saud, and the nation of Saudi Arabia.
• In the 19^th century the Saudi leader destroyed the shrines of the Shiites at Karbala and established the strictest piety at Mecca and Medina.
• In the 20^th century the Wahabi movement and its leader Ibn Saud, gained control of areas of the Arabian Peninsula, and designated his domains Saudi Arabia .
•  Opposing Moslems to the House of Saud sought refuge in the deserts of Palestine , Egypt , and parts of Jordan .
• Outside of Saudi Arabia , Islamic revivals have strong opposition to the impact of the West and particularly against imperialism. The well educated feel they have been under the dominations of the west and are treated as second class citizens.
• The Mahdist movements in Algeria and the Sudan , as well as other movements have dedicated themselves to ridding themselves of Western domination. In Egypt and elsewhere the Moslem Brotherhood formed a religious body, a nationalist group that opposes foreign influence.
• This regime was outlawed by then President Gamal Abdel Nasser whom they attempted to assassinate.
• The Moslem Brotherhood movement is alleged to have gone underground in 1954 and some of its members have been realized as International Terrorist cells.
• Al-Azhar University in Cairo has been the leading Islamic education center. It trains missionaries and teachers to spread Islam throughout the world.
• Sunnah Book is the sayings and deeds of the Prophet.
• In the home the Muslim woman is the boss; outside the home she must respect and abide by what her husband dictates.
• In most rural Arab villages there is nothing else for them but religion. The well educated; readers of the Qu’ran control dictate to the residents of these villages.
• There are numerous differences between Muslim Arab tribes which include food, dress, dialect (language) and interpretation of the Qu’ran. Therefore the readers of the Qu’ran determine the translation. Hatred comes from the person.
• The intention of the Arab population in “the street” is to topple the Arab governments and hierarchy’s through terrorism, and continued threats to the western world and democracy. The end result of their vision is to put their own terrorist leaders in those positions.
• The “Arab street" hatred is predominately against Britain (UK) and its Commonwealth which they feel has destroyed the balance of the economics of the world. The “street” feels British government is a dictator and controls the decisions of the US and the rest of the world.
• Through immigration into European countries, and Britain their vision is to topple the British regime and its monarchy.
• The British press uses bias tactics to pacify the enraged Arab populace. In general the international media aggravates the enemy by provoking, instigating news flashes that create animosity. Arab pacifists suggest that the British media and all media stay out of Middle East business.
• Regardless of what is taking place within the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, moderate Arabs consider members of their population that practice Judaism as Arab Jews. Arab Jews are respected for their religion and culture.
• Zionism is considered by the Arabs as a political movement and not a religious one. If it was a religious movement there would be a different perspective. Arabs revere Judaism and All its patriarchs, prophets and Kings. A Muslim will purchase kosher foods and meats when Halel is not available. They will not purchase meat from any other source outside their community.
• To learn more about the subject study the material from the following references.

References: Short History of Islam by Sayyid F. Mahmud ( Oxford U.P. 1960)

The Sword of the Prophet; the Story of the Moslem Empire by Richard Suskind (Grosset, 1972)

Only accepted literal translation of the Qu’ran

Translation: Yusef Ali

Information provided by Azanne Research

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