1. WHAT IS ISLAM? 

Islam is one of the great world religions. It was articulated by the prophet Muhammad in the seventh century. The word 'Islam' means submission-submission to the will of God--and is derived from a word meaning peace. The name given to God in Islam is Allah, which is the Arabic name for God. 

2. WHO ARE MUSLIMS? 

Muslims are people who practice the Islamic faith. Muslims are the second largest group of religious people in the world, next to Christians. Muslim people come from many races, nationalities and cultures. Many parts of the Asian and African world are Muslim. About 18% of Muslims live in the Middle Eastern Arab part of the world. However, it should be noted that all Arabs are not Muslims. Some are Christians and others practice other religions. Many African-Americans are Muslims as their original religion in Africa was Islam. Muslims do not see themselves as a "new religion," but rather the last stage of God's revelation that began with Abraham continued to Moses, Jesus and ultimately Muhammad. Many people of American and European descent have embraced Islam. 

3. WHAT DO MUSLIMS BELIEVE? 

Muslims believe in One God. They often use the words, One, Unique, Incomparable God. They believe in angels and in the prophets through whom God's revelations were made known. Muslims believe in life after death and in accountability for one's actions. 

4. DO MUSLIMS BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST? 

Muslims believe Jesus Christ was a great prophet. They do not believe that Jesus Christ is the second person of the Trinity, the son of God. 

5. IS THERE ANY CONNECTION BETWEEN MUSLIMS AND CHRISTIANITY? 

Muslims trace their origins back to Abraham as do Jews and Christians. They believe that Muhammad, their great prophet, was descended from Abraham's son Ishmael and that Moses and Jesus were descendents of Isaac. Muslims believe in many of the prophets of the Old or First Testament as well as in the prophetic mission of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ.

6. WHO WAS MUHAMMAD? 

Muhammad was born in 570 and orphaned as a young child. As he grew up people noticed that he was a truthful, generous and sincere person. He was deeply religious and contemplative. He was known as a fair arbitrator. According to Islamic belief when Muhammad was forty years old he received his first revelation from God through the Angel Gabriel. His revelations continued for 23 years. The revelations were written down and formed the Islamic holy book or Qur'an (Koran). The Qur'an has passages very similar to the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, plus unique revelations that Muhammad received. 

7. DO CHRISTIANS BELIEVE IN MUHAMMAD? 

Christians recognize Muhammad as a great religious leader. The Catholic Church has a high regard for Muslims. 

8. HOW DO MUSLIMS PRACTICE THEIR RELIGION? 

There are five pillars in Islam: 

• One: THE CREED - The creed is very simple. Basically, it is as follows: There is no god except God. Muhammad is the messenger of God. 
• Two: PRAYER - Prayer is central to Muslim religious practice. Muslims pray five times a day: dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and nightfall. Muslims pray in mosques or wherever they are. The prayers are based on the Qur'an and said in Arabic, although personal petitions are said in the vernacular. 
• Three: FASTING - During the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn until sundown as a means of purification and as a way of identifying with the hungry of the world. The Muslim calendar is based on a lunar year. This year Ramadan begins toward the end of November. 
• Four: PURIFYING TAX (Zakat) - Muslims believe that all things belong to God and that possessions are a trust given to people. The "Purifying Tax" is a way of exercising detachment from things as well as a way of providing for the poor. It is similar to the concept of stewardship or tithing in the Judeo-Christian tradition. 
• Five: PILGRIMAGE - The journey to Mecca is required once in a life time, if it is possible. Mecca is in Saudi Arabia. 

9. WHAT ARE SOME OTHER THINGS UNIQUE TO MUSLIMS? 

Muslims are restricted from eating pork or drinking alcoholic drinks. Their weekly holy day is Friday. They worship in mosques. Three mosques are particularly important: Mosque of Kaaba in Mecca, Mosque of the Prophet Muhammad in Medina and Masjid Aqsa, next to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. 

10. WHAT HAVE MUSLIMS CONTRIBUTED TO THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE WORLD? 

Since the early centuries of Islam, Muslims have made significant contributions to society in the fields of medicine, chemistry, mathematics, arts, poetry, spirituality and physics. Two well known landmarks in Chicago, the Sears Tower and the John Hancock building were designed by a Muslim architect. 

11. WHY IS IT THAT SOME PEOPLE ASSOCIATE TERRORISM WITH ISLAM AND MUSLIMS? 

There are small groups of Muslims who have distorted the practice of Islam and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad by choosing terror and violence as a means of fighting perceived injustice. They are extremists. This does not mean that all Muslims are violent killers. The vast majority of Muslims oppose these violent acts. Just because some Catholics and Protestants act violently in Northern Ireland does not mean all Catholics and Protestants are violent. Most Christians and Muslims live throughout the world in peace and harmony with their neighbors. There are approximately 7,000,000 Muslims living as good neighbors in the United States today. 

12. WHAT IS THE TALIBAN THAT WE HEAR SO MUCH ABOUT THESE DAYS? 

The Taliban currently rules most of Afghanistan. The country has been torn by civil war for the last thirty years. The rise of the Taliban and the United States' role in this is complicated. The word, 'Taliban' in Arabic means "seekers of truth." The Taliban is an extremist Islamic group that controls ninety percent of Afghanistan. Their interpretation of Islam is not shared by the majority of Islamic people. Under their interpretation of the "truth," television, dance, film, playing cards, chessboards, fashion catalogues, neckties, photography, kite-flying, non-religious music have been banned. Women cannot attend school or work and generally receive little or no medical care. Famous statues of the giant Buddhas have been destroyed. The majority of Islamic scholars call the Taliban interpretation of Islam a gross distortion. 

13. WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF TERRORISM? 

There is no easy answer to this question. Many acts of terrorism are rooted in the experience of oppression and social injustice. Terrorists choose to use violence to eradicate injustice rather than political processes or non-violent approaches as Ghandi or Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. did. 

14. HOW CAN TERRORISM BE ELIMINATED? 

Terrorism can be eliminated by helping all people respect diversity, working for social justice on a global scale and teaching effective skills of dialogue, negotiation and non-violent ways to bring about change. We must also continue to promote the sanctity and basic dignity of all human beings in such a way that we grow in a global respect and promotion of human dignity. 

15. AS CATHOLICS WHAT SHOULD OUR ATTITUDE AND OUR RELATIONSHIP TO MUSLIMS BE? 

Nowhere is this better stated than in the teachings of the Second Vatican Council: "The Church has ... a high regard for Muslims. They worship God, who is one, living and subsistent, merciful and almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to men. They strive to submit themselves without reserve to the hidden decrees of God, just as Abraham submitted himself to God's plan, to whose faith Muslims eagerly link their own. Although not acknowledging him as God, they venerate Jesus as a prophet. They honor his virgin Mother and even at times devoutly invoke her. They highly esteem an upright life and worship God especially by way of prayer, almsgiving and fasting. Over the centuries many quarrels and dissensions have arisen between Christians and Muslims. The sacred Council now pleads with all to forget the past, and urges that a sincere effort be made to achieve mutual understanding; for the benefit of all, let them together preserve and promote peace, liberty, social justice and moral values." (Nostra Aetate) 

Ecumenical and Interfaith Office
Archdiocese of Milwaukee