C H R I S T I A N I T Y

I S L A M

J U D A I S M

THE ROLE OF

WORLD RELIGIONS

Understanding

ISLAM Christianity, and Judaism

WHAT IS ISLAM? •ISLAM IS THE ARABIC WORD FOR SUBMISSION.

•IT IS THE NAME OF THE RELIGION THAT

REFERS TO PEOPLE WHO FOLLOW THE

TEACHINGS OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD.

•ITS FOLLOWERS ARE CALLED MUSLIMS,

WHICH IN ARABIC MEANS “ONE WHO SUBMITS.”

ISLAM • ISLAM HAS 1 BILLION FOLLOWERS.

• 1/6 OF EARTH’S POPULATION IS MUSLIM.

• 3 MILLION MUSLIMS LIVE IN THE USA.

• ONLY 18% OF MUSLIMS ARE ARABS

• INDONESIA HAS THE HIGHEST POPULATION

OF MUSLIMS ON EARTH.

CURRENT

RELIGION DISTRIBUTION

ON EARTH

WORLD RELIGION DISTRIBUTION: A World of Beliefs

WORLD RELIGION DISTRIBUTION: A World of Beliefs

ALL DENOMINATINS OF ISLAM ARE IN GREEN / CHRISTIANITY ARE IN RED

DISTRIBUTION OF ISLAM IN THE UNITED STATES

EXPRESSED

AS A %

OF THE

POPULATION

THE SYMBOL FOR

ISLAM IS

A CRESCENT MOON

AND A STAR.

THERE IS NO RELIGIOUS

SIGNIFICANCE TO THE SYMBOL

OTHER THAN THE ISLAMIC

CALENDAR FOLLOWS A

LUNAR CYCLE.

MANY NATIONS

INCORPORATE ISLAMIC DESIGNS IN THEIR FLAG.

ALGERIA SINGAPORE MALAYSIA

PAKISTAN AZERBAIJAN TUNEISA

TURKMENISTAN TURKEY UZBEKISTAN

MALDIVES ARAB LEAGUE JORDAN

STAR – FIRST SEVEN VERSES OF THE KORAN

SAUDI ARABI “THERE IS NO GOD BUT GOD

MUHOMMAD IS HIS MESSANGER”

AFGHANISTAN MOSQUE AND MIRHAB

FACING MECCA

IRAQ ALLAH AKBAR

“GOD IS GREAT”

Iran PRIOR TO THE REVOLUTION THIS WAS THE NATION’S FLAG. The LION and sun were ancient symbols of power.

Iran AFTER THE 1979 IRANIAN REVOLUTION, THE FLAG CHANGED The center symbol spells the work “Allah” in four crescents. The shape represents

the idea that a red rose grows on the grave of martyrs.

Iran THE BORDER WRITING SPELLS OUT “GOD IS GREAT.”

MUHAMMAD

WAS BORN AROUND 570 AD IN

THE TOWN OF MECCA, IN SAUDI

ARABIA. HIS FATHER DIED

SEVERAL WEEKS BEFORE

HIS BIRTH AND HIS

MOTHER DIED WHEN

HE WAS 6 YEARS

OLD. HE WAS

RAISED BY HIS

GRANDMOTHER AND

THEN HIS UNCLE.

MUHAMMAD DID NOT WANT TO BE WORSHIPPED HE COMMANDED THAT NO IMAGE OR LIKENESS OF HIM BE MADE OR PRESERVED. NO PHOTO AVAILABLE!

ONLY HIS NAME IS USED

AS A WRITTEN REPRESENTATION.

MUHAMMAD

•WAS NEVER SCHOOLED AND COULD NOT

READ OR WRITE.

•AT THE AGE OF 12 HE WORKED AS A TRADER

ON A CARAVAN ROUTE

•AT THE AGE OF 24 CONTROLLED HIS

OWN TRADING ROUTE AND WAS A GREAT

BUSINESSMAN.

AT THE AGE OF 40 HE WAS VISITED BY THE ANGEL GABRIEL.

THE VISITATION TOOK PLACE

IN THE CAVE OF HIRA ON THIS MOUNTAIN.

THE ANGEL GABRIEL

TOLD MUHAMMAD TO GET A PEN

AND WRITE DOWN THE WORLDS

OF ALLAH.

THE EVENT WAS CALLED

THE NIGHT OF POWER.

MUHAMMAD EXPLAINED THAT

HE COULD NOT READ NOR WRITE.

THE ANGEL EMBRACED HIM.

WHEN HE LET GO, HE WAS

LITERATE.

THIS EVENT IS MARKED

DURING THE HOLY MONTH OF RAMADAN

ISLAM OPERATES UNDER A LUNAR, NOT SOLAR CALENDAR.

THE CAVE OF HIRA ON THE

MOUNTAIN OF LIGHT.

THE VISITS WOULD CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT 23 YEARS.

THE QUR’AN

• THIS IS THE HOLY

COMPIALIATION OF THE

WORDS OF ALLAH.

• IT HAS 114 CHAPTERS.

THEY ARE NOT ARRANGED

IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER,

BUT INSTEAD, ACCORDING TO

CHAPTER LENGTH.

THE UTTERANCES OF MUHAMMAD ARE NOT

INCLUDED IN THE KORAN. THEY ARE PRINTED

IN ANOTHER SEPERAT WORK.

ABOUT ALLAH…

•ALLAH IS THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THEREFOR THE SAME GOD

WORSHIPPED BY CHRISTIANS AND JEWS.

•UNLIKE THE CHRISTIAN WORD “GOD”, ALLAH HAS NO PLURAL,

AND CAN MAINTAIN NO GENDER. IT CANNOT BEGAT.

BELOW: “ALLAH” written in Arabic.

ISLAM HONORS ALL THESE MEN AS GREAT

PROPHETS SENT BY GOD

ADAM, ENOCH, NOAH, EBER, SHELAH,

ABRAHAM, LOT, ISHMAEL, ISAAC, JACOB, JOSEPH,

JOB, JETHRO, MOSES, AARON, EZEKIEL, DAVID,

SOLOMON, ELIJAH, ELISHA, JONAH,

ZACHARIAS, JOHN THE BAPTIST, JESUS

AND MUHAMMAD.

WHAT ABOUT THE ROLE OF JESUS?

CHRISTIANITY BELIEVES THAT JESUS CHRIST IS GOD. BELIEVES THAT

HE WAS CURCIFIED ON THE CROSS FOR THE SINS OF

THE WORLD AND ROSE FROM THE DEAD.

JUDAISM REGARDS JESUS AS A TEACHER. DOES NOT BELIEVE

THAT HE WAS THE MESSIAH. JEWS STILL AWAIT THE

MESSIAH FORTOLD IN THE TORAH (Old Testament)

ISLAM BEIEVES JESUS WAS A GREAT TEACHER. DOES NOT

BELIEVE JESUS WAS GOD. BELIEVES JESUS WAS RESCUED

BY GOD PRIOR TO THE CRUCIFIXATION AND RESIDES

WITH GOD IN HEAVEN.

IN 632 AD MUHAMMAD WAS MET AGAIN IN

MEDINA BY AN ANGEL.

HE WAS PLACED ON A MYSTERIOUS WINGED BEAST AND FLOWN TO MECCA, SAUDI ARABIA.

HE WAS PLACED ON

THE BACK OF A

BORAK , A CREATURE

THAT IS HALF MAN,

HALF EQUINE.

THE BORAK FIRST TOOK HIM

TO THE TEMPLE AT MECCA.

MUHAMMAD’S ENTIRE JOURNEY TOOK ONLY 1 NIGHT. HE STARTED HIS JOURNEY AT THIS TEMPLE.

ON ROYAL JORDANIAN AIRLINES... Thinking about religion... THE POSITION OF THE KABA IS TRACKED BY GPS.

MUSLIMS are required to pray five times per day, facing Mecca. The plane’s GPS system shows passengers where the Kaba is throughout the flight.

FOLLOWING THE TRIP

TO MECCA, THE WINGED

BEAST (THE BORAK)

SPIRITED MUHAMMAD TO

JERUSALEM.

IN

JERUSALEM,

MUHAMMAD

WAS

TAKEN

TO THE

DOME OF

THE ROCK

THE DOME OF THE ROCK

IS A BUILDING THAT

COVERS A LARGE

BOULDER.

IT IS ONE OF THE

MOST HOLY

SITES ON

EARTH.

THE DOME OF THE ROCK

CARRIES

ENORMOUS

SIGNIFIGANCE

TO 3 RELIGIONS.

CHRISTINAITY THE SITE IS BELIEVED TO BE THE PLACE WHERE JESUS

OVERTHREW THE TABLES OF THE MONEY CHANGERS

IN THE TEMPLE.

JUDAISM THE PLACE WHERE THE ARK OF THE COVENANT WAS

KEPT, AND THE PLACE WHERE ABRAHAM NEARLY

SACRAFICED ISAAC.

ISLAM THE SITE WHERE GOD CHOSE TO GIVE HIS GREATEST

REVELATION TO THE PROPHET MUHAMMED BY

TAKING HIM DIRECTLY INTO HEAVEN.

THE VIEW FROM THE TOP OF THE DOME, LOOKING DOWN

FROM THIS ROCK, MUHAMMAD ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN.

THERE HE MEETS 3 OF GOD’S SERVANTS

MUHAMMAD

IS GIVEN THE 5 PILLARS OF ISLAM

MOSES

ABRAHAM

JESUS

THE 5 PILLARS OF ISLAM…

1. RECITING THE CREED THERE IS BUT ONE GOD AND MUHAMMAD IS HIS PROPHET.

2. PRAYING 5 TIMES PER DAY.

3. ALMS GIVING TO THE POOR.

4. FASTING

5. PILGRAMIGE TO MECCA (HAJJ)

The CALL TO PRAYER In Islam

The CALL TO PRAYER In Amman, Jordan...

The Call to Prayer - Amman, Jordan

WHILE INSIDE

THE DOME OF

THE ROCK,

THE WINGED

BEAST WAITED

AND CIRCLED.

FOLLOWING

THE HOLY

NIGHT

THE BAROK

RETURNED

MUHAMMAD

TO THE

CITY OF

MECCA.

MANY PEOPLE

MOCKED

HIM.

LATER, IT WAS DISCOVERED

THAT MUHAMMADS

DESCRIPTIONS OF LAND-

MARKS WERE ACCURATE.

THIS CAUSED FEAR,

AND LOCAL LEADERS

PLOTTED TO MURDER

MUHAMMAD.

THE ANGEL GABRIEL

WARNED MUHAMMAD AND

HE RETURNED TO MEDINA.

ALLAH PROTECTS HIM ON HIS VOYAGE BACK…

THIS IS CALLED THE HIJRA OR MIGRATION.

AFTER HIS RETURN MUHAMMAD IS EMBRACED. MOST OF THE CITY CONVERTS TO ISLAM.

MUHAMMAD’S FIRST WIFE DIES. HE WILL MARRY 8 ADDITIONAL WIVES OVER THE NEXT 4 YEARS. HE WILL HAVE

1 DAUGHTER, NAMED FATIMA.

FAMILY

TREE

DURING THIS TIME, THE CITY

OF MECCA RETURNS TO

POLYTHEISM, INSTALLING

IDOLS IN THE TEMPLE.

MUHAMMAD MARCHES ON MECCA WITH

10,000 MUSLIMS, CLAIMING THE CITY FOR ALLAH.

WITHIN 1 YEAR, VIRTUALLY EVERYONE

CONVERTED TO ISLAM.

The Prophet Muhammad dies at age 63.

ABU BAKR WAS THE

FATHER OF ONE

OF MUHAMMAD’S

WIVES.

HE WAS SELECTED

AS ONE OF THE FIRST

CALIPHS (OR

SUCCESSORS)

MUHAMMAD LEFT NO SUCCESSOR…

OVER TIME, HOWEVER, MANY

FOLLOWERS BELIEVED ONLY

DIRECT FAMILY MEMBERS SHOULD

SUCCEDE. THEY SELECTED

ALI AS THE CLOSEST FAMILY AVAILABLE.

EMBRACED ALI, BUT AFTER SELECTED CALIPHS BASED ON BEHAVIOR

SUNNIS -

EMBRACED ALI, AND SELECTED ONLY HIS DESCENDANTS. SHIITES -

KEY

SUNNI

SHIITE

DISTRIBUTION OF MUSLIM FAITHS

NOTE:

In some areas (like Iraq) the population is largely mixed. This sometimes causes division within a society.

IRAQ

SAUDI ARABIA

JORDAN

IRAN

TURKMENISTAN

ISLAM IS

PRACTICED

BEAUTIFULLY

AND

PEACEFULLY

ALL OVER THE

WORLD.

ISLAMIC Mosques

MOSQUES ARE PLACES OF WORSHIP IN ISLAM. SOME ARE COSTRUCTED BY THE GOVERNMENTS OF ISLAMIC NATIONS AND OTHERS ARE CONSTRUCTED BY INDIVIDUALS.

A tour of the KING ABDULLAH MOSQUE in Amman, Jordan reveals much about the modern practices of ISLAM. As the sign at the left illustrates, ancient practices and beliefs are constantly being challenged by the devices of modernity.

BASIC TERMINOLOGY... Understanding Islam!

MINARET

CRESCENT MOON

BASIC TERMINOLOGY... Understanding Islam!

MINBAR

MIHRAB

THE MOSQUE OF KING ABUDLLEAH, IN JORDAN...

IS LOCATED DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.

THE QURAN’S

WRITINGS ARE CONSIDERED SO BEAUTIFUL THAT THEY ARE OFTEN TURNED INTO

EXPRESSIONS OF ART.

THE FOLLOWING VIDEO WAS FILMED AT THE COLLEGE OF ISLAMIC ART AND

ARCHETECTURE IN AMMAN JORDAN.

END ISLAM

INTRO