Islam is the second largest religion in the world, after Christianity, with approximately 1.2 billion followers. It is also the largest growing religion in the world, as well as in the United States. Muslims are those who follow Islam, and it is incorrect to call the followers of this faith, Islamic. Behavior can be Islamic, but believers are Muslims. Islam is based on the revelations given to Prophet Muhammed (d. 632 AD) in the early 7th century by the Angel Gabriel. These revelations were compiled into what is called the Qur'an (the recitation). Angel Gabriel, as a messenger of God (in arabic, Allah), told Muhammed (saw), Iqraa, which means, "recite" (can also mean, "read," but not in this context), and the Prophet recited after Angel Gabriel the words that have become immortalized in the Qur'an. The word islam means "to submit," as all the prophets, including Abraham, Noah, Moses, David, Jesus, etc. did. Thus, the Qur'an's purpose was to bring the people back to the religion of Abraham, a religion of submission to God's will. To submit does not mean, as non-Muslims sometimes believe, that Muslims are mindless robots following orders they do not understand. To submit means to follow God's injunctions, and to do it with the INTENT to follow His guidance. Intention is very important in Islam, for God judges according to our intentions. Islam has no recognized clergy, no hierarchy. Although there are sheikhs, imams, etc. in Islam, these are scholars of the Qur'an and the hadith (traditions of the Prophet) who submit their opinions based on their knowledge. However, Muslims are not required to follow any particular sheikh or imam. And, it is an Islamic injunction on every Muslim, male and female, to seek knowledge: "Travel the earth and see how God has brought the Creation into being" (Qur'an, 29:20) The issue of jihad should also be addressed here since it is a word commonly used in western newspapers. The jihad mentioned in the Qur'an refers to the personal struggle each of us experiences to fight against our weaknesses while trying to follow God's path (jihad is Arabic for "striving"). The idea of jihad as "holy war" came into existance with the Crusades. This is not to say that Muslims cannot fight in the name of God. But warring or fighting is not permitted as an agression, per the Qur'an. Muslims are allowed to fight in defense of their lives, property, and the right to practice their faith. Nevertheless, the greater jihad is the struggle against oneself, not against the other.


Allaah said, ‘Whoever shows enmity towards a friend (wali) of Mine, I declare war against him. My slave does not draw close to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties that I have enjoined on him, and My slave continues to draw close to Me with supererogatory (naafil) acts, so that I will love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it.’” And Allaah is the Source of Strength and the Guide to the Straight Path.