An Introduction to Islam
Islam, along with Judaism and Christianity, is a monotheistic religion. They are the only three major religions that are monotheistic. Translated from Arabic Islam means Submission to Allah. Muslims are taught that Allah is the God of Christians and Jews. In Islamic practice all Muslims are equal and together regardless of sectarian differences make up the Umma. Muhammad was born in Mecca about 570 AD and about 510 AD began to preach a Monotheistic creed with himself as the last and primary Prophet. He taught a rule based belief that was based on a holy book that he caused to be written called the Koran. Islam teaches that the Koran is the word of Allah and accepted the Bible and the Hebrew bible as inspired by God and then flawed by man. (The view that over time man materially changed the Christian Bible is no longer a defensible position by reputable scholars.) In 622 AD Mohammed had to leave his home in Mecca and he fled to Yathrib. Mohammed renamed Yathrib as Medina. It was the flight to Medina that begins the reckoning of years in the Hegira Calendar. It was from this point that Mohammed spent 10 building the foundation of what we know as Islam. He died in 632 AD |
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