What+is+Islam?

//What is Islam, and what is it based on?//

Islam is a religion stretching mainly from the middle of Russia, to the west as far as Morocco. Though it is most heavily concentrated in these areas, Indonesia has a huge Muslim population. It extends downward as far as Zimbabwe, and is the religion on some islands in Europe very close to Turkey. It was started around the year 620-622. Prophet Muhammad had grown unhappy with his life as a shepherd. He went into caves on a hillside to reflect and meditate. While he was there, he received his first messages from God. Soon after, he returned home. He told few people about what had passed, but three years after the fact started preaching to the public. They greeted his stories with hostility and rejection. Nearly no one believed him. Even so, Muhammad didn’t stop trying to get their attention. Slowly, he got a small group of followers. They started to preach together, but it helped nothing.  Muhammad and his followers fled to get away from persecution, and went to Medina on the Arabian Peninsula. Once there, he started preaching anew about his experiences. Muhammad came in a time of ignorance, and his distrust. He spoke calmly and truly about his revelations, and people slowly started to confide in him. His words were so pure, and honest that they changed many people to Islam. Muhammad and his followers united the tribes on the Peninsula, and conquered the ones that refused to convert to Islam. Soon, the number people following Islam swelled to around ten thousand. The followers went back to Mecca and got other people there to convert to Islam. By the time of Muhammad’s death - and any of his companions, he had converted the whole Peninsula and some surrounding areas to Islam. Today - near 1,400 years later - the number of Muslims in the world is hovering around 1.4 billion. The religion is based on the Qur’an and the teachings of Muhammad and some of the other prophets. Muslims think that the Qur’an is the finest piece of literature in Islam. It offers guidance and direction for morality. The original text is supposedly the last revelation of God. It is believed that the text was shown to Muhammad when he received his first message from God and before he died. His companions wrote it down from dictation by Muhammad. All Muslims follow the five pillars of Islam. The five pillars are the essential rituals practiced by Muslims. The pillars - fasting during Ramadan, alms giving, the pilgrimage to Mecca, and belief in one god - are at the very center of Islam. It doesn’t differ for what sect you are in, these things are completely standard.