Islam

• called people to Islam (that means submission and surrender to Allah; or God in English) and called them to worship God as the one and only one God with no partner, no son, no companion, no associate, and no equivalence.

• called people to good morals.

• taught Muslims the ritual worships and other Islam rules for marriage, inheritance, ... etc; as instructed by God.

• corrected; per God Quran revelations; man made alterations that were introduced into the original God messages and the original God holy book revelations.

• It is not logic for an angel to force a prophet to the ground three times. The angel Gabriel hugged the prophet strongly three times and the prophet was exhausted and scared.

• When back to his wife Khadija, they talked to her cousin Waraqah (who was Christian) and he told him that It was the angel who hugged him and that

Kindly, refer to related questions below.

Answer C (comments on Answer B above):

• God never spoke directly to any of His prophets except through an angel. The only exceptions are God direct talk to prophet Moses (without being shown to Moses) and God direct talk to prophet Muhammad during the prophet miracle called "Alisraa&Miiraj".

• Prophet Muhammad was not sleeping in the cave when the Angel Gabriel talked to him. He was meditating and worshiping God the same way was prophet Abraham doing.

• When prophet Muhammad returned back home, he was heavily sweating and his wife Khadija talked to her cousin Waraqah (he was prophet Jesus believer -and was deeply familiar with the God holy books) who told him that he was visited by the angel and he will be the prophet of this nation and that if he (Waraqa) will be alive until then he (Waraqa) will be the first to defend his message.

• Prophet Muhammad never thought of committing suicide. It is a crystal clear lie. He was faithful even before being assigned by God to call for Islam.

• The proofs claimed above that It was not the angel Gabriel are not correct for two reasons: First: The current readable God holy book texts are not reflecting real God words revelations to His prophets as Quran. They were written by more than one man and over hundreds of years after death of Jesus (Peace be upon him) and not in the original revelation language. So, no one knows the real feelings of other prophets when met with the angels. Second: One can read in the proofs that Quran is a real God word revelations to prophet Muhammad to believe that Quran was revealed to him by the angel Gabriel and in its current Arabic language without single letter change. This explains why many famous Christian priests and Jewish religious people and others converted to Islam.

General Answer

It happens with Islam as it happens with most religions of the world. Strong personalities and differing cultural needs led to various kinds of divisions. These divisions are sometimes interpreted as breaks with orthodox teaching, and so various sects take root. The divisions can form around issues of scriptural interpretation, the application of various teachings, or the nature of authority in the religion and how that is going to be passed down.

Specific to Islam

There are numerous splits in Islam, these are probably the most historically important.

The Sunni-Shiite Split

The main reason for the split here was: Disagreements over Succession after Muhammad's death.

The Muslim community was united while Muhammad was the leader of this community. Most Muslims hold, however, that he never specifically chose a successor to his leadership. There was a minority in the community that supported the candidacy of 'Ali, the Prophet's son-in-law, this political faction became known as the "Supporters of 'Ali" which in Arabic is Shiat 'Ali (where the modern term "Shiite" comes from). They derived their support from specific hadiths and events that they claimed showed that God had revealed to Muhammad that 'Ali would succeed him. The majority of Muslims held that these hadiths and events showed nothing more than that 'Ali was very pious, something they did not deny. Therefore they gave power to the man who was Muhammad's second-in-command and father-in-law Abu Bakr. This majority were called the People of the Customs [of the Prophet] which in Arabic is Ahl Sunna (from where the modern term "Sunni" comes from.)

The Sunni & Shiite-Kharijite/Ibadi Split

The main reason for the split here was: Impurity of Leadership.

The Kharijites were dominant in Egypt at the same time that the Shiites and Sunnis saw their first major confrontation: the Fitna Al-Kubra. At this point, the Kharijites fought along with the Shiites against the Sunnis and were able to press the Sunni leader, Mu'awiya, to the precipice of defeat. However, Mu'awiya asked to treat with 'Ali, the Fourth Rightly-Guided Caliph and leader of the Shiites. 'Ali's accepting of this invitation and the trickery that Mu'awiya played on him during the meeting deeply angered the Kharijites who believed that 'Ali was too easily deceived to be a true leader of God. They abandoned the Shiites and became a third party to the conflict. This made it possible for Mu'awiya to emerge victorious and conquer the Shiites. He then turned his attention to Kharijites and routed them. Kharijites disappeared completely a few centuries later, but they were succeeded by a less puritanical subgroup called the Ibadis who form the majority in Oman.

The Sunni-Mu'tazilite Split

The main reason for the split here was: Whether Islamic Law should be viewed through the lens of rational thought or purely Divine Edict.

The Mu'tazilites developed as a school in Baghdad that taught that a rational outlook on the Qur'anic traditions and the discussion of God, postulating a creation of the Qur'an, actual time-bound actions of God, and momentary attributes. In contrast, mainstream Sunni Islam at the time endorsed the idea that everything about God was co-eternal with Him (including any speech he made or books he revealed). While Mu'tazilites had power in Baghdad for roughly 200 years, they slowly waned and were "outvoted" by traditional Sunni theology.

The Sunni & Shiite-"Modern Prophets Islam" Split

The main reason for the split here was: Whether a Prophet could arise after the Death of Mohammed.

There have been a number of different Islamic Sects (like the Druze, the Baha'i, and the Ahmadiyya) who disavow the Muslim claim that Mohammed was the final prophet and the seal of the prophet. This betrays one of the fundamental claims of Islam. In order to avoid scrutiny and persecution about this, the Druze and Baha'i now self-advocate as different non-Islamic religions. The Ahmadiyya, however, still claim to be Muslim and are subject to violence due to their "apparent heresy".

Answer 1

Jerusalem is the first, & the holy House of Almighty GOD. It's the first place built to worship Almighty GOD on this Earth and it's the only door to the heaven. It is the real door. That is why; the Muslims and the Jews know this.

Answer 2

While the Jews are one united religion, Arabs are not. The vast majority are Muslim, but there are a minority of Christian Arabs who also revere Jerusalem. Jerusalem's importance to each group is primarily religious. See the links below to find out more about these religious claims.

There is also the political dimension to control of Jerusalem in that this city symbolizes the longevity of both Jewish and Arab historical occupancy of the land.

The great and scholarly Sultan of Egypt and Syria!

Saladin, pronounced Salah al-Din in Arabic, was a Kurd born in Tikrit, Iraq in 1137. In 1174 he became Sultan of both Egypt and Syria after the death of Nur ad-Din, who was once Saladin's political rival and once-mentor.

During the time he spent gaining power in Egypt and Syria, Saladin tried to avoid open conflict with the Crusaders, who the Muslims referred to collectively as Franks. But after Nur ad-Din's death, Saladin know had a large enough army to pursue his goal of recapturing the Holy Land.

Following a year long truce with the Crusaders, on July 4, 1178 Saladin defeated the Crusaders at the Battle of Hattin. During this battle Saladin captured the King of Jerusalem Guy de Lusignan. Next he marched on the city itself but found it defended by a knight, Balian of Ibelin. Balian and only a handful of other knights successfully defended the city from Saladin's attack until an agreement was made between the two, Balian would surrender the city to Saladin, as long as Saladin allowed the Christians to leave safely with the payment of a ransom.

The fall of Jerusalem led to the calling of the Third Crusade, and soon Saladin's famous rival Richard I of England was on his way to the Holy Land along with the King of France and the Hly Roman Emperor. The armies of Richard and Saladin soon fought several times and the two leaders had a great respect for each other. Before Richard surrounded the city, Saladin burnt all the crops in the fields outside of the city walls so Richard and his army would have no food. Eventually Richard realized that even if he did capture Jerusalem, he would not be able to defend it against Saladin, so in 1192 the two kings agreed to a truce. Saladin would remian in control of Jerusalem, so long as he allowed safe passage to and from the city for Christian pilgrims.

The following year, in the city of Damascas in Syria, Saladin passed away on March 4. When his advisors opened his treasury there was not enough money to even bury the great Sultan, he had long since given nearly everything away to charity.

An answer from the WikiAnswers community:

The Jewish religion is similar to the Christian religion in many aspects. These include the beleif in one almighty ruler of the universe, the notion that all men are created equally (though in different ways) and that kindness among people of the world is perhaps the most important aspect of living. Although there are many differences, the overall moral code is similar for both religions.

Jewish people do not believe in the Christian notion that Jesus was the holy son of God, or (depending on the branch of Christianity) that Jesus was God incarnated on Earth. That does not mean that the Jewish people nessicarily believe that Jesus' teachings of kindness were misguiding, but they do believe that the concept of Jesus posing as one with a seat at the right hand of the Father was inexcusable and for this reason they exclude him from religious study.

Of course, many people would agree that the Old Testament God was somewhat of a tyranical overload and that with the exclusion of the New Testament Jews accept their God as such. However, this is not nessicarily true. Ultimately its a matter of opinion. Some may look past the Old Testament God's actions against humans and see the greater good in what he was doing- preserving the goodness of existence.

Ultimately all religion is a matter of opinion. There are many different aspects that separate Christians from Jews, but Jews do generally believe the following key points:

1.There is a God- He created the Universe, as well as man. He Judges man and seperates the Righteous from the Fallen by uplifting them to either Heaven, or by damning them to hell.

2.To be considered Righteous you must...

-Beleive in the one almighty Father and respect his word.

-Remain kind to all despite the sinful nature of things.

3.Jesus was a preacher, but not a prophet- In no way was he the son of God and he most certainly was not an incarnation of him.

4.God's word is absolute- You should obey his word without second thought and initiate the plan he has set for you.

Jewish answer:

The above answer is mistaken. Judaism as it is actually lived is very different from Christianity.

Answer 1

Ask them. It may be due to their ignorance about Islam. It may be due to the Media that is biased against Islam. It may be due to the biased politics against Islam. Many reasons could be possible but non of them is rational or logic or based on sound reasons. Islam is the religion of truth, love, peace, justice, and good morals.

Refer to questions below for more information.

Answer 2

Its because westerners, who live in a Judeo-Christian/Greco-Roman culture don't understand Islam, and what they don't understand they are afraid of.

They don't understand is that all three religions (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) are all members of the same family of Religions, the Abrahamic Religions. Christianity branched off Judaism, then Islam split off Christianity and then split into Shiite and Sunni Islam. To add to the misunderstanding are these constant views and images that media is spewing all over. So whenever they speak of terrorism they make sure it follows an image of a woman wearing a hijab, or crazy extremists shouting death to America.

They think, wrongly, that all Muslims are like the Al Queda or Taliban. Which is totally retarded, as there are many Muslims that are totally against Al Queda and fighting along the British, Germans, Americans and Poles/Czechs!

Actually, the Taliban and Al Queda have twisted and distorted the Koran to fit their wants and desires.

Answer 3

This is not part of the one above. People don't understand that the extremists are not actually Muslims because it say in the Quraan that you have to, respect your neighbours, believer or nonbeliever.

Secondly, I as a Muslim get really angry when someone draws the prophet. But so would any Christian if I drew Jesus with a bomb on his head!

Answer 4 (Non-Muslim Answer)

One of the major problems with even putting forward a question like this today is the presence of the term "Islamophobia" which has really no definition and can be so easily applied. Any criticism of Islam or of Muslim practices just gets branded with this label, even if the words are spoken by Muslims. Therefore, I propose (in this answer) three separate words to discuss the varied feelings of Non-Muslims towards Islam:

• Anti-Mohammedan(ism) = The belief that Muslims as people are wicked or problematic. This is the Muslim rough equivalent to Anti-Semitism for Jews. The term actually existed historically, but has been "outmoded" because Muslims are no longer called Mohammedans in recognition of the fact that they do not follow Mohammed because he is their Lord and Savior, but only as a Prophet.
• Anti-Islamic(ism) = The belief that the ideology and beliefs of Islam as a religious construction and lifestyle manifesto promotes wrong-doing or are seriously problematic to a multicultural society.
• Anti-Islam(ism) = The belief that Islam as politically manifest and capable of determining actual laws promotes inequality, injustice, and moral incorrectness.

Put most simply: Muslim people are lovable, Islamic religion is salvageable, Islamic politics are insufferable.

Anti-Mohammedanism

Most Non-Muslims (contrary to Muslim assertions) are not actually Anti-Mohammedan. While there are certainly a minority of individuals who say that Muslims themselves are a cancer on society, this is a very limited opinion. Muslims of all backgrounds, like Arabs, Indians, Southeast Asians, etc. are typically warm, hospitable, and loving people. They work diligently at their jobs, aspire for their children to have better lives, and are every bit as caring and nurturing as any other citizen. The TV show "Muslims in America" was cancelled after one season because the participants in the show were "too normal". The only difference between them and non-Muslims were that some of the women wore hijabs and everyone prayed on Fridays instead of Sundays. Their ideologies and views were quintessentially American. Muslims in Dearborn, Michigan famously joined the celebrations when Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan, because they opposed the terror and fear that he represented.

If there may be one thing worth noting here, it is that Non-Muslims hope that Muslims can take a critical look at their past in a way that, up to this point, few of them have dared to do.

Anti-Islamicism

Many more non-Muslims are Anti-Islamic and point to a number of issues with Islamic legal practice and belief. Some of these Islamic "ideas" are incredibly frightening to many non-Muslims. The discussions about declaring Holy Wars on Unbelievers, are very frightening and scary to many who treasure the idea of Freedom of Conscience. Furthermore, Islam as a religion may promote tolerance of other religions, but certainly does not promote equality between religions. Qur'an verse 9:29 which formed the backbone Islamic legal treatment of Non-Muslims historically, says:

Fight those who do not believe in Allah or in the Last Day and who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Messenger have made unlawful and who do not adopt the religion of truth from those who were given the Scripture - [fight] until they give the jizyah [tax] willingly while they are humbled.

This has led persistently negative treatment of Non-Muslims in Muslim countries. Admittedly, in the Middle Ages, it was superior to European treatment, but today the situation is reversed. Muslims in Europe live without fear that their Mosques could be destroyed or that violence will be used against them. However, Egyptian churches continue to be bombed and Egyptian Christians have no recourse. Lebanese Christians fled Lebanon in the 1920s and 1930s to escape Muslim pogroms. Jews departed from nearly every Muslim-majority country to go to Israeli internment camps because living there was better than their historical ties for centuries to the countries in which they lived. Islam has not learned from this and continues to tell Muslims that they did nothing wrong.

Additionally, Islamic Penal Law makes Non-Muslims very scared. Some particularly problematic issues include: claiming that the rape victim is criminally liable for "getting raped", chopping off a thief's hands as punishment for theft, the execution of homosexuals, blasphemy laws in general, permission given to enslave people, and execution of apostates.

If Islamic views modernize and its adherents show that they are willing to compete in the marketplace of ideas instead of just yell, scream, and perform violent acts until everybody listens, Islam may get a fairer shake. Until then, many see Islam as undesirable and regressive. If voices like Tawfik Hamid ring louder than those of Ayatollah Khamanei, Islam may garner many more Non-Muslim advocates or at least alienate far fewer. A link to Tawfik Hamid's "Mr. Tolerance" PDF has also been provided to get a flavor of the type of Islam that he advocates.

Anti-Islamism

The overwhelming majority of Non-Muslims oppose (either strongly or weakly) Muslim attempts to impose Islamic Laws on a country's citizens and people. Given that many Non-Muslims find the Islamic Penal Law outdated and horrendous and see that Islam seeks to repress religious minorities, they are not interested in a government that seeks to rule by exactly these mechanisms. This is not opposition to Muslim politicians like Keith Ellison, since he is not an Islamist, but merely a politician informed by values. An Islamist actively seeks the implementation of part or the whole of Shari'a Law, with the intent of creating an Islamic State. Many Non-Muslims in the West hold dearly to the idea that religion should stay out of politics in order to allow every religion the freedom to operate and discuss its views. An Islamist State would also be very restrictive to Muslims, forcing them to live in a Puritanical Way that would prevent differing local customs from informing the cultural richness that can be found in Islamic countries. Islamist regimes (like Iran) are notoriously violent to their own citizens and Non-Muslim compassion for Muslims (Anti-Anti-Mohammedanism) is greatly saddened when such regimes come to power.

Answer 5 (Hints on Answer 4 above)

• When Muslims take a critical look at their past, they find that they granted a big civilization to Europe in all branches of sciences to the extent that many Europeans leaned Arabic to be able to digest the Islamic civilization that covered mathematics, physics, medicine, philosophy, ... etc. The Islamic nation in the past spread the spirit of justice, equal human rights, and respect of all religions.
• The mentioned verse above (9:29) is truncated from its text and hence gives different impression and different meanings. One should be very careful when reading Quran to understand the whole text and understand the true meanings. e.g the verse 9:5 that says: "Fight and kill the disbelievers wherever you find them, take them captive, harass them, lie in wait and ambush them using every stratagem of war." The verse 9:4 before it says that: "Those with whom you made a treaty among the polytheists and then they have not been deficient toward you in anything or supported anyone against you; so complete for them their treaty until their term [has ended]. Indeed, Allah loves the righteous [who fear Him]." It means that verse 9:5 doesn't apply to all disbelievers but only to those who do not keep their treaties with Muslims and/or those who support others against you. Even for those God instructs to complete their treaty until the term. the verse 9:6 after the verse 9:4 says that: "And if any one of the polytheists (or disbelievers) seeks your protection, then grant him protection so that he may hear the words of Allah (or God and same God worshiped in Christianity and Judaism). Then deliver him to his place of safety. That is because they are a people who do not know." It means that not only you are not allowed to kill disbelievers but also if they seek your protection you should protect them until you keep them safely.

So, you conclude that truncating a specific verse from its full text could give a wrong meaning and wrong impression. Same applies for other verses.

• Jews immigrated from Muslim majority countries not because discrimination or terrorism in these countries but mainly to support the newly born Israel State. One can refer to history to observe how many disturbances in Muslim countries were created by the Jews themselves to persuade Jews to depart to Israel.
• The Islamic law (or Sharia) is composed mainly of four pillars:1) ritual worships, 2) Morals and conduct, 3) rules for commercial trades, marriage/divorce, and other rules, 4) punishment rules. The application of punishment rules is the one that non Muslims are scared about. They don't know that this application is subject to strict conditions. e.g. to apply the rule to cut the palm of a thief, he/she should: 1) not be in lack of food to eat. 2) the property to be theft should be well protected and maintained, and 3) he/she should admit that committed the theft . You find that it is very difficult to apply the rule of cutting the palm on theft. To apply the rule of committing fornication, the one who committed it should admit of his/her doing or 4 people should say that they saw the fornication process by eyes. Again, you find that it is difficult to be applied. The other important point is that the Penal law applies on on Muslims and for other religions their own penal laws applies per their own religions. This is what is applied e.g. in Egypt.
• In the Quran, Holy book of Islam, God has said (meaning English Translation): " God does not forbid you from showing kindness and dealing justly with those who have not fought you about religion and have not driven you out of your homes. God loves just dealers." (Quran, chapter 60, verse 8). Even in time of war, Prophet Muhammad (peace upon him) used, in any military conflict, to prohibit soldiers from killing women, children, old people, or any civilian. He would advise them: {Whoever has killed a person having a treaty with the Muslims shall not smell the fragrance of Paradise, though its fragrance is found for a span of forty years.}. Prophet Muhammad (peace upon him) listed murder as the second of the major sins (the first major sin is denying the oneness of God), and he even warned that on the Day of Judgment, {The first cases to be adjudicated between people on the Day of Judgment will be those of bloodshed.}
• The jizya to be paid by non-Muslims was not to be not killed. It was for one reason. Non-Muslims were exempted from sharing the military services. That is why they paid Jizya to share military expenses. That why it was not imposed on women, children, old people, and/or unfit people for military service. Regarding the kharaj, this was applied on all citizens; Muslims and non Muslims. Regarding justice, you can refer to history of Islam to recognize how many court cases Jews and Christians won the case against Muslims. Unfortunately the limited space here do not allow to write some of them.
• Never ever any non-Muslim was forced to convert to Islam because it is the explicit Quran teachings that no compulsion in religion. Jews and Christians are called by Muslims as "people of the book" for holding Torah and the Bible that Muslims believe in as God holy books and believe in all God prophets from Adam through Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad (peace be upon them all)
• The ratio of the houses of worship to their relevant followers for non-Muslims in any Muslim majority country is much higher than the ratio for Muslims. Anyone can check these statistics to be sure that it was not restriction on building new houses of worship for non-Muslims and/or restoring old houses of worship but just to maintain even statistics for all religions including Islam. It is the opposite, check in Korea, Japan, UK, USA and you find that this ratio is by far less for Muslims than for Christians and Jews.
• One final point is that Muslims never got control of any country to get more power but only to free the will of their people, to spread peace and civilization, and to guard against their attacks against Muslims and Islam. The historical example of the call of the Christians in Egypt to the Caliph Omar to save them from the tyranny of their rulers at that time is well known.
• It is a pity that some people spread unauthenticated information introduced by media that is biased against Islam. Unfortunately after the decline of communism, the west ranked Islam and Muslim countries as they first enemy and plotted their actions accordingly either through military actions, and/or media, and/or initiating internal disturbances.

To conclude; Quran says (Meaning English translation): "O mankind, indeed We (Allah or God in English and same God in Christianity and Judaism) have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes (different nations and different countries) that you may know one another (and cooperate for mankind benefit). Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah (or God and same God worshiped in Christianity and Judaism) is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted" (Quran, 49:13)

because they don't know what is true Islam,I'm an Islam too!