Before we learn about Islam What is Judaism

Before we learn about Islam…

What is Judaism? • Oldest of the 3 major religions that originated in the Middle East. • Belief in one God • Abraham is the father of Judaism. • Their holy book is called the Torah • They believe that they are God’s chosen people and that they must obey his laws. • The Jews were originally settled in Israel, but were forced out of this land by the Romans.

Judaism continued… • When the Jews were forced out of this land, this is called the Diaspora. • We will learn more about the Jews and Israel later on. Stay tuned

What is Christianity? • Christianity has the same foundation as Judaism, but believes that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah that the Bible tells about. • The Bible contains the Old Testament and the New Testament, but the New Testament contains the Gospels which are the basis of Christian beliefs.

Islam

History of Islam • It all begins with Abraham, a prophet. • Abraham is considered to be the father of BOTH the Muslim and Jewish people. • Abraham and his wife Sarah couldn’t have a child, so Abraham had a child with his wife’s servant. This child was named Ishmael.

History Continued… • Then…Abraham and Sarah were able to have a child and had a son named Isaac. • Ishmael was then sent away and lived in a city called Mecca. • Abraham went to visit Ishmael in Mecca, and they built a temple there. This temple is called the Kaaba. • The Kaaba is the holiest and most sacred place for Muslims.

Muhammad- “The Great Prophet” MUHAMMED’S BIRTHPLACE: MECCA

Muhammad v. Muhammad was born about 570 into the leading tribe of Mecca. v. Muhammad was an orphan and was raised by his uncle. v. He was a hard-working boy, honest and dependable who began his life as a shepherd and later went into the trading business. v. He was a caravan manager for a wealthy widow, Khadija, whom he eventually married. v. Muhammad was 25 and Khadija was about 40! v. They had at least 6 children and a long and happy marriage.

Muhammad as a prophet v. Muslims believe Adam was the first prophet, and that there were many prophets including Abraham and Jesus. Muslims believe that Muhammad was the LAST prophet. v. Muhammad supposedly received a divine message from the angel, Gabriel and he commanded Muhammad to “recite”! v. Citizens of Mecca were hostile to the message. They thought that he was disrupting their life.

• Muhammad and some of his followers fled north to Medina • This trip was known as the Hegira, an event on which the Muslims base their calendar AND this is the official beginning of Islam!!!! • While in Medina, Muhammad changed the direction to which they pray, facing towards Mecca. This is still true today.

• Muhammad ended up leading an army of 10, 000 men and went back into Mecca. • Most of Arabia were converted to Islam by the time of Muhammad’s death in 632. • Muslims believe that Muhammad ascended into Heaven from a mosque in Jerusalem.

DOME OF THE ROCK- holy mosque / site in Jerusalem where Muslim’s believe Mohammed ascended into heaven from.

Terminology: The religion is called ISLAM. The people are MUSLIMS. 15

Fact: Of more than 1 billion Muslims worldwide, only about 1/5 are Arabs. 4

Try to Guess: Which country has more Muslims than any other country in the world? 5

Answer: Indonesia - with over 200 million Muslims. Note: The U. S. has about 5 million Muslims. 6

http: //www. skidmore. edu/academics/arthistory/ah 369/islam_map. jpg 7

Fact: Muslims are monotheistic and worship the same one God of Christians and Jews. 9

Note: Allah’ is the Arabic word for ‘God. ’ ‘ 10

You guess…True or False? ? ? Most Muslim women wear veils over their faces and are treated very badly. 13

FALSE!!! • Muslim women have many different styles of dress. (Very few cultures require women to cover their faces. ) • The treatment of women varies from country to country and family to family. • Some Muslim countries, like Pakistan, have had female prime ministers. The U. S. has never had a female president. 14

Pakistani dress (left); Saudi Arabian (right) Shariah TV website 15

Iranian woman Green Cine. com 16

Somali (left); West African (right) Shariah TV website 17

Malaysian (left); Indian/ Bangladeshi (right) Shariah TV website 18

Afghani women wearing burqas International Medical Corps photo 19

Muslim girls in Texas protesting discrimination for wearing head scarves http: //www. cairdfw. org 20

Something to think about: Should women in a Western country (like the U. S. ) be allowed to wear a headscarf if they choose? 21

Main Beliefs of Islam 5 Pillars of Islam 22

1. Faith: Belief in one God and that Muhammad is His prophet. 23

2. Prayer: 5 times a day – facing Mecca http: //www. bbc. co. uk/religion/galleries/salah/images/5. jpg 24

3. Alms Giving money to the poor is REQUIRED, not optional 25

4. Fasting During the month of Ramadan, Muslims cannot eat or drink anything during the daylight hours. 26

5. Pilgrimage Once in their lives – IF they can afford it, Muslims make a pilgrimage to Mecca 27

In Mecca during the pilgrimage www. thefaithclub. com 28

VISITING MECCA TODAY

*NOTES* FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM WHAT IS A PILLAR? ? ? IMPORTANT BELIEFS & VALUES 1. There is no god but ALLAH who spoke through the prophet Mohammed 2. Pray five times a day 3. Give to the poor 4. Fast during the holy month of Ramadan 5. Visit Mecca at least one in your lifetime (HAJJ) MUSLIMS DO NOT GAMBLE, DRINK ALCOHOL OR EAT PORK

Vocabulary: MOSQUE: a Muslim place of worship 29

Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia http: //islamicbooks. info/H-21 -Madh'habs 30

Mohammed Ali mosque, Cairo, Egypt http: //www. solarnavigator. net/geography/egypt. htm 31

Inside the Mohammed Ali Mosque http: //www. ask-aladdin. com 32

Dome of the Mohammed Ali mosque http: //www. ask-aladdin. com 33

Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Mosque), Istanbul Turkey http: //cs. ua. edu/~greg/personal. html 34

Interior of the Blue Mosque http: //www. britannica. com 35

Dome of a mosque, Esfahan, Iran http: //www. perceptivetravel. com/issues/1106/maclean. html 36

Interior of a mosque in Iran http: //www. worldisround. com/articles/73022/photo 621. html 37

Mosque in Djenne, Mali (West Africa) http: //www. travelblog. org/Photos/17028. html 38

North African mosque http: //www. galenfrysinger. com/ tunis. htm 39

Indonesian mosque http: //www. richard-seaman. com/Travel/Brunei/index. html 40

Muslim mosque and tombstone in Sarajevo, Bosnia Yugoslavia: Republics and Provinces 42

Mosque in Tempe, Arizona http: //www. 4 uth. gov. ua/usa/english/society/muslimlife/mosques. htm 43

Vocabulary: QURAN (or KORAN): Muslim holy book 44

The Quran: Holy Book Of Islam

• After Muhammad, the people had to decide who was going to be their religious leader. They came up with the leader called a caliph. • A caliph calimed to be the successor of Muhammad.

• After Muhammad and a series of caliphs, the Arab Empire experienced invaders and military attacks. • The Crusades were a series of military conflicts between Muslims and those trying to recapture the Holy Land. • The Ottoman Empire existed in the 1300 s and 1400 s and included growth of the Islamic culture and religion.

Just like there are different denominations of Christianity (Baptist, Presbyterian etc. ) are there different branches of Islam? ? ? • YES!! This division happened after Muhammad died and people were fighting about who is the new leader. The two groups are: • Sunnis • Shiites • Which group are there more of? ? ? • Sunnis!! About 90% of Muslims are Sunnis!!!

Sunni or Shiites? ? ? • What is the difference between these 2 groups? • Sunni-believe that any righteous male was qualified to be the leader. • Shiites-believe that a leader must be a direct descendant of Muhammad.

Conclusions: • Islam is an important religion, which shares many beliefs and practices with Christianity and Judaism. • Muslims live in many different countries. Islam is especially widespread in Africa, Asia, and southeastern Europe (the Balkans). 50