Islam
Islam is one of the world's largest religions (Christianity would be the first) with about 950 millions followers. The prophet Muhammad started Islam in the 17th century in Arabia when he received a message from the arch angel Gabriel. In the world today Islam is one of the worlds most spread out religions. Most of the Muslims are found in the eastern parts of the world such as china, Asia, Burma, Sir Lanka, Russia, and the Middle East. Only a small percent of Muslims are found in western countries like Germany, France, Britain, Canada, and America.
The definition of Islam is: the religious faith of Muslims, based on the words and religious system founded by the prophet Muhammad and taught by the Koran, the basic principle of which is absolute submission to a unique and personal god, Allah. (Dictionary.com) and the word Islam also means submission and peace. In the Islamic Faith submission means submitting to the will of god and living in peace with ones self and ones surroundings. The essence of Islam lies in submission to god, which results in the peace of mind. (World religions S.A. Nigosian ch 15). Muslims are the followers and supporters of the Islamic faith.
Islam's start shares a common tradition with Judaism and a common biblical origin when god created the earth and Adam "the first man". The descendents of Adam are traced to Noah, who had a son named Shem. Shem's descendents are traced to Abraham and to the wives Sarah and Hagar. At that point, two familiar stories about Abraham provide the cornerstones of the Islamic religion. The first, Abraham's attempted sacrifice of his son Isaac, demonstrates Abraham's submission to the will of God in the supreme test; hence, the word Islam. The second story, concerning Ishmael's banishment, gav ...