World Religions

Islam
Lecture 14

Islam Among the Nations
•	Islam makes up about ______________ of the world’s population.
•	It is the second largest religion behind Christianity.
•	Its followers cover N. Africa, Middle East, South-Central Asia, and Indonesia.
Islam Began in Saudi Arabia
•	 non-Arab Muslims now outnumber Arab Muslims by a ratio of almost ______________ to ______________ 
The four nations 
•	with the largest number of Muslims today are all outside the Middle East:
•	Indonesia – 166 million (88 % of population)
Pakistan – 111 million ______________Bangladesh – 97 million ______________India – 93 million ______________Roughly 1/5th of
•	The 530,000 international students in the USA come from ______________ Islamic countries. 
•	Most of these have a minimal number of Christians in them (0-2%).
The Founding of Islam
•	In AD 570 Muhhammad was born into an Arabian tribe called the Quraysh. They were influential and controlled the city of ______________.
Economically, 
•	Mecca was a convenient ______________ place for traveling caravans.  
Religiously 
•	Mecca was important because the Ka’bah was located here.
•	The Ka’bah was a cubical structure that contained ______________ deities in the time of Muhhammad. Each Arabian tribe had hand picked its god and came to Mecca once a year to worship its god.
Muhhammad
•	Followed the traditional practice of finding a place of solitude once a year. He went several years to a cave in Mount Hira. In AD 610, at the age of ______________, Muhammad received his first revelation from the angel Gabriel. This was the first of a series of revelations which eventually were compiled into Islam’s Qu’ran, which means “recitations”.
It is said
•	That Muhammad initially questioned these visions, thinking that he was possessed by a jinn, or ______________. His wife Khadijah reassured him that his visions were of divine origin, and she encouraged him to teach what he had had revealed to him. 
Muhammad
•	Continued to ______________ and ______________ his doctrine of monotheism. His towns leaders told him to be quiet.  They viewed his views as a threat to their polytheistic ways.  But more important was the threat to their economic welfare from the pilgrims coming to the Ka’bah.  He refused to quit preaching and gained quite a following.
Mohammad
•	Preached against polytheism and persecution increased against his followers.  In time around ______________ of his followers and their families fled to a city named Yathrib (now called Medina), which is around ______________ miles north of Mecca.
Muhammad followed
•	Followed the families and fleed Mecca in 622.  Muslims now look to the  year of his flight to Yathrib as the beginning of the Muslim calendar.  This is known as the Hijrah (also spelled Hegira) which means “a ______________ of ______________.”
Muhammad
•	Tried to siege Mecca and finally signed a treaty with the Quraysh tribe. He and his army took control of Mecca in ______________ without a struggle. When they entered into the city, Muhammad himself destroyed the idols of the Ka’bah. Within a year of Mecca’s defeat Muhammad unified the tribes of the Arabian peninsula under the religion of Islam.
Muhammad died
•	On June 8, 632.
The Sects of Judaism
•	Include the two major sects of Sunni and Shi’ite.
•	They originally divided over who should serve as the first caliph, or successor, to Muhammad, who failed to provide one before his ______________. 
The Sunni Muslims
•	Felt that the successor should be elected. The Shi’ite Muslims felt the caliph should come from Muhammad’s bloodline, which would mean that Ali, Muhammad’s ______________ and ______________ would have been his successor. The Sunnis got their way.
The Sunni’s now make up
•	______________ of the Muslim population. They differ from the Shi’ites in other ways than just the dispute of who should follow Muhammad. 
Differences Over Source of Authority
•	The Sunnis emphasize the authority of the written sources which include the Qur’an and also the Sunna (custom) from which the Sunni’s derive their name. The Sunna includes the Hadith in which the sayings and conduct of Muhammad and his companions are recorded.
The Sunna
•	Fill in many areas where the Qur’an is ______________. The Sunnis receive guidance from the principles arrived at by a consensus of the elders, or religious scholars (uluma) who derive their decisions based on the Qur’an, the Sunna, and subsequent rulings.
The Shi’ites
•	Are more authority oriented (rather than census oriented). When they began, the believed God spoke through an Imam, the Muslim equivalent of the Catholic Pope. 
•	In the 9th century, the 12 Imam occultated or became hidden and the source of authority was passed on  the ulama, who considered themselves the general______________of the______________ Imam.
The Shi’ites
•	Await the return of the ______________ Imam, called the Mahdi, like many Christians do the Christ. Shi’ites are typically more authority oriented than census oriented—the Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran, for example, was a Shi’ite leader.
The Sunnis
•	Believe there should be a separation between ______________ and ______________authorities.  
•	The Shi’ites maintain that the religious authorities should maintain both the political and religious authority.
A Third Party of Islam
•	Is Sufism. It is a msytical wing. The goal of the Sufi is to renounce worldly attachments, to see only God, in all things and to attain assimilation of the self into the vast ______________of ______________.
Other Minor Sects of Islam
•	Include: Wahhabis (Saudi Arabia); Druze (Lebanon, Syria, and N. Israel); The Alawites (primarily in Syria); and Ahmadiyas (primarily in Pakistan).
•	It has also influenced Sikhism and Baha’I.
Beliefs and Obligations of Islam
•	The term “Islam” means “to ______________ to the ______________ of ______________.”  The person who submits to God’s will is called “Muslim”.  
•	The religion of Islam can be divided into beliefs (iman) and obligations (deen).
The Major Beliefs of Islam
•	God
Their central doctrine is that ______________ is one and that no partner is to be linked to him. To associate a partner with God is to commit the sin of ishrak (spelled as shirk too). The Qur’an offers no forgiveness  for this sin (Surah 4:48). 
2. Angels
They see a hierarchy of ______________ filling the gap between ______________ and ______________ according to the Qur’an. Gabriel, the archangel, is the highest rank, succeeded by the rest of the angels.
Each person has two angels assigned to him or her, one to record the persons good deeds and the other to record the bad deeds.
3. The Prophets of God
The Qur’an says that God has sent a ______________ to every nation to preach the message of there being only one God. In all, tradition says that 124,000 prophets have been sent.  Most are not known. But some of them include Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, Jonah, John the Baptist, and Jesus.
Each Prophet
Was given a message for a particular age, but Muhammad is the only prophet who is for all time. He is considered to be the “______________ of the ______________”. 
4. The Holy Books
Four of the highest ranking prophets were given books of divine revelation.  These are ______________, who had the Tawrat (Torah), ______________ given the Zabur) Psalms), ______________ who received the Injil (Gospel) and ______________ was given the Qur’an. 
For the Muslim
The only book that has been preserved without corruption is that of the Qur’an.  
5. The Day of Judgment
The Muslim god has declared that there will be a day when every human will stand before him in judgment.  On that day each person’s deeds will be weighed in the balance.  Those with ______________ deeds outweighing their ______________ deeds will be rewarded with paradise. Those whose deeds are more evil than good will end up in hell.  Whether one’s deeds are good enough or not is subjective and only god knows. 
6. Humanity
Is seen as ______________ by nature.
7. Sin
Is thought of in terms of rejecting right guidance. It can be forgiven through ______________. No atonement is necessary.
8. Salvation
The standard for ______________ is having one’s ______________ deeds outweigh one’s ______________ deeds.  There fore, it is based on human effort.
9. Jesus
Is one of the major ______________. TO associate Jesus with God is blasphemy. Muslims affirm the virgin birth of Jesus and the miracles that he did.
10. The Death of Jesus
According to Islamic tradition, Jesus did not die on the cross. Instead, He ______________ to ______________, and Judas died in His place on the cross. Muslims believe that God would allow one of his prophets—and especially one of his most honored prophets to be crucified.
11. The Bible
The Muslim believes the ______________ has been corrupted by the ______________ and the ______________. It has also been abrogated by the Qur’an. This is known as the doctrine of Tahrif, or alteration.  
They quote from Surah 2:75, Ali
“A party of them heard the Word of Allah, and perverted it knowingly after they understood it.”
“And there are among them (the Jews) illiterates, who know not the Book, but desires, and they do nothing but conjecture. Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say, “This is from Allah,” to traffic with it for a miserable price!” (Surah 2:78-79, Ali).
(Yet… these do not really talk about altering, but misinterpreting).
The Obligations of Islam
•	The Recite the Shahadah
The word “Shahadah” means “to______________ ______________” When reciting the shahadah, the Muslim says, “I bear witness that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is His messenger.” Saying this Shahadah with sincerity is all that it takes to become a Muslim.
2. To Pray (Salat)
A Muslim is required to ay ______________ ______________ (rak’a) of prayer per day. These cycles are usually spread over five times of prayer per day—dawn, noon, midafternoon, dusk and two hours after sunset (Hamada, 162). 
Muslims Pray
Either alone or in a group. They must ______________themselves with a prescribed manner before praying, which is called ablution or wudu. When they pray they must face Mecca. The direction of prayer (qibla) is marked by the niche, or mihrah, in the mosque (Hinnells, 142). The noon service on Friday is the only time Muslims are expected to gather at the mosque.
3. To Fast (Sawm)
In commemoration of Muhammad receiving the Qur’an during the 9th lunar month of Ramadhan. Muslims are expected to ______________ during the daylight hours that month. During the fast, they must abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and sexual relations. After sundown, Muslims are allowed to partake of all those things again until sunrise.
4. To Give Alms (Zakat).
•	Muslims are commanded to give ______________ of their income (2.5%). Most of this is for the poor and needy.
5. To Make the Pilrimmage (Hajj) 
•	Every Muslim is required to make a pilgrimmage to ______________ at least one time in their lifetime.  This is dependent upon their health and finances.  Each visitor is required to wear a white garment called a thram. This has the effect of eliminating classes and status distinctions during the Hajj. The process of visiting several sites takes more than a week. After this pilgrimage has been made, the pilgrim is called a Hajj.

Bibliography:
•	Halverson, Dean C. “Islam”, ______________, Bethany House Publishers, Minneapolis, 1996.