In the name of Allah d most beneficent the most merciful
"When truth prevails falsehood parishes, for falsehood is bound to perish" -the glorious Qur'an
1) "Islam" means "Peace through the submission to
God".
2) "Muslim" means "anyone or anything that submits
itself to the will of God".
3) Islam is not a cult. Its followers number over 1.5
billion worldwide. Along with Judaism and Christianity,
it is considered to be one of the three Abrahamic
traditions.
4) There are five pillars of practice in Islam. These
practices must be undertaken with the best of
effort in order to be considered a true Muslim: A)
Shahadah - declaration of faith in the oneness of
God and that Muhammad is the last prophet of God.
B) Formal prayer five times a day. C) Fasting during
the daylight hours in the month of Ramadan. D)
Poor-due "tax" - 2.5% of one's savings given to
the needy at the end of each year. E) Pilgrimage to
Mecca at least once, if physically and financially able.
5) There are six articles of faith in Islam. These are
the basic beliefs that one must have in order to be
considered a true Muslim. They are belief in: A) the
One God. B) all the prophets of God. C) the original
scriptures revealed to Prophets Moses, David,
Jesus, and Muhammad. D) the angels. E) the Day of
Judgment and the Hereafter. F) the divine decree
(or destiny).
6) Islam is a complete way of life that governs all
facets of life: moral, spiritual, social, political,
economical, intellectual, etc.
7) Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in the
world. To become Muslim, a person of any race or
culture must say a simple statement, the shahadah,
that bears witness to the belief in the One God and
that Prophet Muhammad was the last prophet of
God.
"Allah" is an Arabic word that means "God".
Muslims also believe that "Allah" is the personal name
of God.
9) Allah is not the God of Muslims only. He is the God
of all people and all creation. Just because people
refer to God using different terms does not mean
that they are different gods. Spanish people refer
to God as "Dios" and French people refer to God as
"Dieu", yet they are all the same God. Interestingly,
most Arab Jews and Arab Christians refer to God
as "Allah". And the word Allah in Arabic appears on
the walls of many Arab churches.
10) The Islamic concept of God is that He is loving,
merciful, and compassionate. But Islam also teaches
that He is just and swift in punishment.
Nevertheless, Allah once said to Prophet
Muhammad, "My mercy prevails over my wrath."
Islam teaches a balance between fear and hope,
protecting one from both complacency and despair.
11) Muslims believe that God has revealed 99 of His
names (or attributes) in the Holy Qur'an. It is through
these names that one can come to know the
Creator. A few of these names are: the All-
Merciful, the All-Knower, the Protector, the
Provider, the Near, the First, the Last, the Hidden,
and the Source of Peace.
12) Muslims believe in and acknowledge all the
prophets of old, from Adam to Jesus. Muslims
believe that they brought the message of peace
and submission (islam) to different peoples at
different times. Muslims also believe that these
prophets were "muslims" because they submitted
their wills to God.
13) Muslims neither worship Muhammad nor pray
through him. Muslims solely worship the unseen and
Omniscient Creator, Allah.
14) Muslims accept the original unaltered Torah (the
Gospel of Moses) and the original Bible (the Gospel
of Jesus) since they were revealed by God.
However, none of those original scriptures are in
existence today, in their entirety. Therefore,
Muslims follow the subsequent, final, and preserved
revelation of God, the Holy Qur'an.
15) The Holy Qur'an was not authored by
Muhammad. It was authored by God, revealed to
Muhammad, and written into physical form by his
companions.
16) The Holy Qur'an has no flaws or contradictions.
The original Arabic scriptures have never been
changed or tampered with.
17) Actual seventh century Qur'ans, complete and
intact, are on display in museums in Turkey and many
other places around the world.
18) If all Qur'ans in the world today were burned and
destroyed, the original Arabic would still remain. This
is because millions of Muslims, called Hafiz (or
"preservers" have memorized the text letter for
letter from beginning to end, every word and
syllable. Also, chapters from the Qur'an are
precisely recited from memory by every Muslim in
each of the five daily prayers.
19) Muslims do not believe in the concept of
"vicarious atonement" but rather believe in the law
of personal responsibility. Islam teaches that each
person is responsible for his or her own actions. On
the Day of Judgment Muslims believe that every
person will be resurrected and will have to answer
to God for their every word, thought, and deed.
Consequently, a practicing Muslim is always striving
to be righteous.
20) Islam was not spread by the sword. It was
spread by the word (Islamic teachings) and the
example of its followers. Islam teaches that there
is no compulsion in religion (the Holy Qur'an 2:256
and 10:99).
21) Terrorism, unjustified violence and the killing of
innocent people are absolutely forbidden in Islam.
Islam is a way of life that is meant to bring peace
to a society, whether its people are Muslim or not.
The extreme actions of those who claim to be
Muslim may be, among other things, a result of their
ignorance or uncontrolled anger. Tyrant rulers and
those who commit acts of terrorism in the name
of Islam are simply not following Islam. These people
are individuals with their own views and political
agendas. Fanatical Muslims are no more
representative of the true Islamic teachings than
Timothy McVeigh or David Koresh are of
Christianity. Extremism and fanaticism is a problem
that is common to all religious groups. Anyone who
thinks that all Muslims are terrorists should
remember that the famous boxer Muhammad Ali,
perhaps the most celebrated person of our era, is
a practicing Muslim.
22) The word "jihad" does not mean "holy war".
Instead, it means the inner struggle that one endures
in trying to submit their will to the will of God. Some
Muslims may say they are going for "jihad" when
fighting in a war to defend themselves or their
fellow Muslims, but they only say this because they
are conceding that it will be a tremendous struggle.
But there are many other forms of jihad which are
more relevant to the everyday life of a Muslim such
as the struggles against laziness, arrogance,
stinginess, or the struggle against a tyrant ruler or
against the temptation of Satan, or against one's
own ego, etc.
23) Women are not oppressed in Islam. Any Muslim
man that oppresses a woman is not following Islam.
Among the many teachings of Prophet Muhammad
that protected the rights and dignity of women is
his saying, "...the best among you are those who
treat their wives well." (Tirmidhi)
24) Islam grants women numerous rights in the
home and in society. Among them are the right to
earn money, to financial support, to an education,
to an inheritance, to being treated kindly, to vote,
to a dowry, to keep their maiden name, to worship
in a mosque, etc., etc.
25) Muslim women wear the head-covering (hijab)
in fulfillment of God's decree to dress modestly.
From a practical standpoint, it serves to identify
one as attempting to follow God in daily life and,
therefore, protects women from unwanted
advances from men. This type of modest dress has
been worn by righteous women throughout history.
Prominent examples are traditional Catholic Nuns,
Mother Teresa and the Virgin Mary, mother of
Jesus.
26) Arranged marriages are allowed in Islam but are
not required. Whereas "forced" marriages, usually
stemming from cultural practice, are forbidden.
Divorce is permissible, however, reconciliation is
what is most encouraged. But if there are
irreconcilable differences then Islam permits a fair
and just divorce.
27) Islam and the "Nation of Islam" are two
different religions. Islam is a religion for all races and
enjoins the worship of the one unseen God who,
orthodox Muslims believe, never took human form.
The "Nation", on the other hand, is a movement
geared towards non-whites and teaches that God
appeared in the form of Fard Muhammad in 1930
and that Elijah Muhammad (a man who died in 1975)
was a prophet of God. These beliefs clearly
contradict the basic Islamic theology outlined in the
Qur'an. The followers of "the Nation" adhere to
some Islamic principles that are mixed with many
other teachings that are alien to Islam. To better
understand the difference between the two, read
about Malcolm X, his pilgrimage to Mecca and his
subsequent comments to the media. Islam teaches
equality amongst all the races (Holy Qur'an 49:13).
28) All Muslims are not Arab. Islam is a universal
religion and way of life which includes followers
from all races of people. There are Muslims in and
from virtually every country in the world. Arabs
only constitute about 20% of Muslims worldwide.
Indonesia has the largest concentration of Muslims
with over 120 million.
29) In the five daily prayers, Muslims face the
Kaaba in Mecca, Arabia. It is a cube-shaped stone
structure that was originally built by Prophet Adam
and later rebuilt by Prophet Abraham. Muslims
believe that the Kaaba was the first house of
worship on Earth dedicated to the worship of one
god. Muslims do not worship the Kaaba. It serves as
a central focal point for Muslims around the world,
unifying them in worship and symbolizing their
common belief, spiritual focus and direction.
Interestingly, the inside of the Kaaba is empty.
30) The hajj is a simultaneous pilgrimage to the
Kaaba made by millions of Muslims each year. It is
performed to commemorate the struggles of
Abraham, Ishmael and Hagar in submitting their wills
to God.

Am proud to be a muslim