Islam is the name of the religion Muslims follow. Maybe you have a good friend who is Muslim, or a neighbor or family member and you know a lot about it. Maybe you’ve never thought about these words. Our thoughts are made up of the facts we know about something combined with our feelings about it. One feeling we often get when we don’t know very much about something is fear. I bet you can think of lots of examples of this-like little kids who are afraid of friendly clowns until they learn that a clown is a person dressed in a costume. The more we know about something the less afraid we are. Another thing that can happen when we don’t know very much about something is that we make assumptions, which is a big word for guessing and believing without really knowing.

This is a hard time to be a Muslim in America because many people don’t know very much about Islam. Read the FAQs (frequently asked questions) below. The more we learn about people who are different from us, the more respect we will have for them and the less afraid we will be of them. Respect and care for people who are different from us are important to Unitarian Universalist people.

Q. What do Muslims believe?
A. Muslims believe in one God, whom they call Allah. They believe that one man, Muhammad, was chosen by Allah in A.D. 610 to be the last prophet, the last person to bring God’s message to the people of earth. They believe that other prophets came before Muhammad, including the Jewish prophets (like Moses) and the Christian prophets (like Jesus). They believe that all the prophets were human beings put on earth to teach people how to live peacefully and how to worship one God. Muslim people believe that Muhammad was the last prophet and so his words are the final and most important words to live by today. Like Judaism and Christianity that came before it, Islam is a religion of peace, kindness, and forgiveness.

Q. What is the Koran?
A. The Koran, or Qur’an, is the Muslim holy book. Muslims believe it is the record of exact words God said to the Prophet Muhammad. It is written in Arabic, so all Muslims learn Arabic.

Q. What are the ‘Five Pillars’ of Islam?
A. Muslims believe that after death people will go to Paradise or to Hell depending on how well they have lived their lives as Muslims, how well they have followed Islamic laws and fulfilled their duties to God. Every Muslim has 5 duties, called the Five Pillars of Islam. They are:
First Pillar: Make a statement of belief that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah.
Second Pillar: Pray five times a day: at dawn, noon, afternoon, evening and nightfall. The prayer, called Salat, takes about 15 minutes and is done facing toward Mecca (the holiest place in Islam, in Saudi Arabia).
Third Pillar: Muslims must give part of their money or possessions to charity.
Fourth Pillar: Muslims must fast (not eat or drink) in the daytime during the month of Ramadan (The exact dates of Ramadan vary from year to year because the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar. See pages 5 and 6 of the booklet, Cycle of Seasons* for more information about lunar calendars.)
Fifth Pillar: Muslims must try to make a pilgrimage (travel) to Mecca at least once in their lifetimes.

Q. Where do Muslims live today?
A. Muslims live all over the world. Many live in countries where people speak Arabic, like Saudi Arabia where Islam started. But millions of others, in fact most Muslims live in non-Arabic speaking countries. About 7 million Muslims live in the United States. Islam is one of the fastest-growing religions in the world.

Q. Why do some Muslim women wear scarves on their heads and veils over their faces?

A.Islam teaches both men and women to be modest, to wear clothes that cover their bodies loosely. In some Islamic countries, women are required to cover their bodies so only their faces and hands show. Muslims believe this protects women from being stared at and that helps people to give them respect. The scarf many Muslim women wear is called a "hijab." In only a few, very strict Islamic countries are Muslim women required to cover their faces.

Q.What is jihad? What does Islam say about terrorism?
A.In the Arabic language the word "jihad" means "struggle," to try your best and put out a great effort. In Islam, it means to struggle to be a good Muslim-sometimes to struggle within yourself to live by Islamic rules and to be the best Muslim you can be. Islam does not support terrorism! Muslims who commit terrorist acts are not following Islam. They are wrongly using the name of Islam to get more power.

Q.Can Jews or Christians live in Islamic countries?
A.Yes. Islamic law allows people to practice any religion they want. In general, Muslims are very tolerant of religious differences.

*If you are a member of CLF, your family got a copy of The Cycle of Seasons booklet when you joined. If you can’t find it, look lunar calendar up in the encyclopedia.