What is a Muslim?

This is the first in a series of looks at some of the religions around the world. Many of you probably already have a better understanding than what I can provide. For those of you who don’t, I hope this is at least a wee bit enlightening. I know it was for me. All of the information is derived from the Wiley Publishing, Inc. book, Religion For Dummies. Basically, none of this information is mine, with exception of a comment here and there!

We’ll start with the religion of Islam. It’s thought to be the fastest growing religion in the world. It seems as though most of the news in the world involves someone from the Muslim faith. I think it is safe to say there are more Muslims in America every day.



Islam joins Judaism and Christianity as what many refer to as the Western religions. Each of these religions traces themselves back through Abraham and claim to have descended from him. All of these traditions believe in one single, all-powerful, all-knowing God. All three of the traditions worship the same God. Muslims refer to him as Allah. They believe He created the world out of nothing. He made everything in the world and gave living things a special blessing. They believe humans were made in the image of God and were given free will to decide how they would live. They also believe that God will eventually redeem the world from all its sins and imperfections and usher in an age of universal peace, which may be preceded by terrible wars. I would think all of this would sound very familiar to all my Christian friends.

They believe God reveals things to them through prophets and the written word. The written word of God for them is the Qur’an. They do not believe in the Trinity, as this concept appears to be the worship of three Gods. They believe Jesus to be one of the great prophets, similar to Moses, Abraham, and Muhammad. They do not hold him to be the Messiah, or the son of God, for that matter.




The Qur’an is made up of 114 chapters and outlines what Muslims’ moral and religious duties are in light of God’s wishes and in preparation for the Day of Judgment. It is an instructional book on how to build a society that’s compatible with the moral life that Allah demands. The Qur’an considers Muhammad to be the most recent and final prophet of Allah. It traces the Islamic tradition back to Abraham’s second wife’s son, Ishmael, as the founder of their religion and heritage. Muslims believe the Qur’an continues and culminates the revelations that God began in the Old and New Testaments. They also believe that it cannot be adequately translated and should preferably be read in Arabic.

One of the traditions or rituals for Muslims is to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, at least once in their life. About one and a half million Muslims make this pilgrimage each year. The entire ritual takes between six and ten days. This place is so holy, that Non-Muslims are not even allowed to visit it. It is in Saudi Arabia. Muslims fast during the holy month of Ramadan and celebrate the night that the prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven and descended into hell. He made this trip to tell the Muslims about the rewards and punishments that awaited moral and immoral people. Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset during this period. This sacred month of Ramadan is devoted to acts of charity and the seeking and granting of forgiveness.

Muslims observe certain dietary restrictions. They can eat only the food that is allowed (halal). They can eat meat that has been ritually slaughtered, for example, but they must never eat meat from animals that have died of themselves or that have been clubbed to death or gored by other animals. Nor can they eat pork. If no other food is available, however, Muslims can eat even forbidden foods, as long as they don’t enjoy it or get used to it.

Five times a day, Muslims remember Allah and their relationship with him. The content of their prayer includes praise, gratitude, and supplication. The prayer’s purpose is to keep life, and their place in it (submissive to God), in perspective. They must be clean and facing Mecca when they pray. Men and women usually pray in separate areas. Muslims affirm God by reciting the shahadah: “There is no god but God, and Muhammad is his prophet.” This is the first of the Five Pillars of Islam. At least one time during his or her life, every Muslim must say the shahadah aloud, correctly, and with purpose. This is how they acknowledge they are Muslim.




Most all religions of the world have very different beliefs and rituals. However, most of them have very similar ethics and morals. This is true for Islam. Islam offers a path to salvation from sin. Muslims believe that our journey is a way to prove our loving surrender to the will of Allah, so that after being judged on the Last Day, one may cross the bridge that leads to the gardens of paradise. Otherwise, one’s soul ends up in the Fire, or hell.

With all the similarities, including worshiping the same God, it seems like we Christians have a hard time getting along with many of the Muslims of the world. The truth is, as I see it, much of the problem comes from the fact that we attempt to separate Church and state in our country, while most countries that are predominantly Islamic, tend to run their country in that manner. Therefore, they politicize their religion. While a Jew and a Muslim could probably live peacefully down the street from each other here in San Angelo, the political and religious conflicts between Israel and Palestine make that common life nearly impossible in the Middle East. There are two major sects of Islam, the Sunni and the Shi’ism.

In general, Islam tolerates other religious beliefs, believing each person should choose his or her path and that conversions should be voluntary and not forced. However, the Muslim teachings about unbelievers, has led fundamentalist Muslims to the idea that the only religion for the world must be Islam and that Muslims must endeavor to make this happen. The hijacking of Islam by fanatical Muslim extremists is a painful example of a perverted religion. Several Islamic fundamentalist branches have radicalized their messages and their ways of bringing purity to their religion using tactics like jihad or holy war, and the use of force to attain their goal of a pure Islamic state. These groups use the Qur’an to justify their actions, even though these actions conflict with the ancient Islamic teachings. By employing Islamic beliefs for their own political and social goals, these Muslim radicals and those mullahs, ayatollahs, and imams who support them pose a threat to the majority of Muslims who reject their teachings and violence. Islam does not teach that killing non-Muslims is the will of Allah, nor does it teach that terrorists will be received in heaven as holy martyrs. True Muslim leaders have made these points, but their words are often drowned out by words of hate wrongly spoken in the name of one of the great religions of the world.

This is only an overview. Hopefully, it will add something to your knowledge. If you have any thoughts and/or comments, let me know.

Little Boze