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Islam is a monotheistic and Abrahamic religionarticulated by the Qur'an, a text considered by its adherents to be the verbatim word of God and by the teachings and normative example (called the Sunnah and composed of Hadith) of Muhammad, considered by them to be the last prophet of God. An adherent of Islam is called a Muslim.
The majority of Muslims are Sunni, being 75–90% of all Muslims. The second largest sect, Shia, makes up 10–20%. The most populous Muslim-majority country isIndonesia home to 12.7% of the world's Muslims followed by Pakistan (11.0%), Bangladesh (9.2%), and Egypt (4.9%). Sizable minorities are also found in India, China, Russia, and parts of Europe. With about 1.6 to 1.7 billion followers or 22 to 24% of earth's population,Islam is the second-largest and one of the fastest-growing religions in the world.
Criticismof Islam Criticism of Islam has existed since Islam's formative stages. Early written criticism came from Christians, prior to the ninth century, many of whom viewed Islam as a radical Christian heresy. Later there appeared criticism from the Muslim world itself, and also from Jewish writers and from ecclesiastical Christians. Objects of criticism include the morality of the life of Muhammad, the last prophet of Islam, both in his public and personal life. Issues relating to the authenticity and morality of the Qur'an, the Islamic holy book, are also discussed by critics.Other criticisms focus on the question of human rights in modern Islamic nations, and the treatment of women in Islamic law and practice.In wake of the recent multiculturalism trend, Islam's influence on the ability of Muslim immigrants in the West to assimilate has been criticized.
Government Mainstream Islamic law does not distinguish between "matters of church" and "matters of state"; the scholars function as both jurists and theologians. In practice, Islamic rulers frequently bypassed the Sharia courts with a parallel system of so-called "Grievance courts" over which they had sole control. As the Muslim world came into contact with European secular ideals, Muslim societies responded in different ways. Turkey has been governed as a secular state ever since the reforms of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1923. In contrast, the 1979 Iranian Revolution replaced a mostly secular regime with an Islamic republic led by the Ayatollah Khomeini.
PRAYER Ritual prayers, called Ṣalāh or Ṣalātmustbe performed five times a day. Salah is intended to focus the mind on God, and is seen as a personal communication with him that expresses gratitude and worship. Salah iscompulsory, but flexibility in the specifics is allowed depending on circumstances. The prayers are recited in the Arabic language, and consist of verses from the Qur'an.
Five pillars The Pillars of Islam (arkan al-Islam; also arkan ad-din, "pillars of religion") are five basic acts in Islam, considered obligatory for all believers. The Qur’an presents them as a framework for worship and a sign of commitment to the faith. They are: (1) the shahadah (creed), (2) daily prayers (salat), (3) almsgiving (zakah), (4) fasting during Ramadan and (5) the pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj) at least once in a lifetime. The Shia and Sunni sects both agree on the essential details for the performance of these acts.
Predestination In accordance with the Islamic belief in predestination, or divine preordainment (al-qadā wa'l-qadar), God has full knowledge and control over all that occurs. This is explained in Qur'anic verses such as "Say: 'Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has decreed for us: He is our protector'..."For Muslims, everything in the world that occurs, good or evil, has been preordained and nothing can happen unless permitted by God. According to Muslim theologians, although events are pre-ordained, man possesses free will in that he has the faculty to choose between right and wrong, and is thus responsible for his actions. According to Islamic tradition, all that has been decreed by God is written in al-Lawh al-Mahfūz, the "Preserved Tablet".
Revelations The Islamic holy books are the records which most Muslims believe were dictated by God to various prophets. Muslims believe that parts of the previously revealed scriptures, the Tawrat (Torah) and the Injil (Gospels), had become distorted—either in interpretation, in text, or both.TheQur'an (literally, “Reading” or “Recitation”) is viewed by Muslims as the final revelation and literal word of God and is widely regarded as the finestpiece of literature work in the Arabic language.
QUIZ The majority of Muslims are Sunni, being 75–90% of all Muslims.T F Criticism of Islam has existed since Islam's formative stages.T F The most populous Muslim-majority country is Indonesia home to 12,2% of the world's. T F As the Muslim world came into contact with European secular ideals, Muslim societies responded in different ways. T F Salah is compulsory but flexibility in the specifics is allowed depending on circumstances. T F
