Islam
'al-'islâm
Islam is a religion with more than 800 million believers. It is dominant in East- and North Africa, Middle East, Central Asia and in Indonesia. It's normally divided into three groups, sunni, shici and kharijî.
This religion based upon the Koran, and the examples of conduct from the messenger Muhammads life, the Sunna, or hadîth. Islam is according to Islam dated back to Adam, the first man created, and the first Muslims. Ibrahim enjoys the same position in the history of Islam, through being the founder and builder of the Ka'ba in Mecca. Western scientists and many Muslims, too, regards Islam as historically beginning with the first revelations to Muhammed in 610 in Mecca (in what is now Saudi Arabia).
The teaching of Islam is that there is only one God, and that the God of Judaim, Christianity is the same as the God of the Koran, but that the teachings of the two religions are corrupted by man. The original teachings of the two religions was exactly the same as what is found in Islam today, but man has altered the the lore given to both groups. Nevertheless, this teaching in Islam, has made Muslims show a lot of respect for both Christians and Jews, as they are considered People of the book, âhlu l-kitâb.
There is no message of love in Islam, like the one found in parts of the Gospels (Christianity), but the responsibility towards the community is the most central issue in Islam. The Koran and the Sunna contains many rules on how to act in life, what to do, what not to do. The core of Islam is the family, the extended family, and from this, society is understood as concentric circles. There are no obligations on the Muslims towards people who are not Muslims, Jews or Christians.
Man can not be sure to enter Paradise, unless he lives as a Muslim. Most Mulisms abstain from claiming that they are guaranteed a place in Paradise. Islam has a Day of Judgement, but this does not play a central part, except that this will be the day when all dead will be reawakened, either to be condemned or let into Paradise. There are no reasons to consider the Muslim Paradise as a place where men will enter more easily than women, but when life in Paradise is described this is in most, but not all, cases described on male conditions. Most learned Muslims consider the descriptions of Paradise as symbolic, and consider Paradise as something that man on earth cannot apprehend.
Islam holds elements from religious traditions from before Islam. These vary from region to region. In modern ages Islam is turning in direction of becoming more and more based upon the Koran, where "popular" traditions lose their foothold.

Islam is defined out of the following (five pillars):

  1. shahada, the creed stating that "There is no God but God, and Muhammad is his messenger".
  2. salât, the prayer which is to be performed five times a day. This prayer is performed after strict rules, where bending and uttering phrases from the Koran, as well as facing the direction towards the kacabain Mecca.
  3. zakât, alms. This is a prescription which is practiced in very different ways in Islam today.
  4. sawm, fast during the month ramadân.
  5. hajj, pilgrimage to Mecca. This an obligation for all Muslims able to, or with the necessary economy.