Islam - University Of Arizona

Islam:Myths and Reality

Terminology:The religion is calledISLAM.The people areMUSLIMS.2

Myth #1:Most Muslims are Arabswho live in the Middle East.3

Reality:Of more than 1billion Muslimsworldwide, onlyabout 1/5 areArabs.4

Try to Guess:Which country has moreMuslims than any othercountry in the world?5

Answer:Indonesia - with over 200million Muslims.Note: The U.S. has about 5million Muslims.6

/islam map.jpg7

Myth #2:Muslims have a strangereligion and worship agod called Allah.8

Reality:Muslims aremonotheistic andworship the sameone God asChristians andJews.9

Note:‘Allah’ is the Arabicword for ‘God.’10

Myth #3:Muslims believe it iso.k. to kill civilians ina holy war (“jihad”).11

Reality:Only Muslimextremists believethis. (Just like mostChristians do NOTbelieve in bombingabortion clinics.)12

Myth #4:Most Muslimwomen wear veilsover their faces andare treated verybadly.13

Reality: Muslim women have many different stylesof dress. (Very few cultures requirewomen to cover their faces.) The treatment of women varies fromcountry to country and family to family. Some Muslim countries, like Pakistan,have had female prime ministers. TheU.S. has never had a female president.14

Pakistani dress (left); SaudiArabian (right)Shariah TV website15

Iranian womanGreen Cine.com16

Somali (left); West African (right)Shariah TV website17

Malaysian (left); Indian/Bangladeshi (right)Shariah TV website18

Afghani women wearing burqasInternational Medical Corps photo 19

Muslim girls in Texas protestingdiscrimination for wearing headscarveshttp://www.cairdfw.org20

Something to think about:Should women in aWestern country beallowed to wear aheadscarf if they choose?21

Main Beliefs of Islam5 Pillars of Islam22

Faith:Belief in one God and thatMuhammad is His prophet.23

Prayer:5 times a day – /salah/images/5.jpg24

AlmsGiving money to the poor isREQUIRED, not optional25

FastingDuring the month of Ramadan,Muslims cannot eat or drinkanything during the daylight hours.26

PilgrimageOnce in their lives – IF theycan afford it, Muslims make apilgrimage to Mecca27

In Mecca during the pilgrimagewww.thefaithclub.com28

Vocabulary:MOSQUE: a Muslimplace of worship29

Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabiahttp://islamicbooks.info/H-21-Madh'habs30

Mohammed Ali mosque, /egypt.htm31

Inside the Mohammed Ali Mosquehttp://www.ask-aladdin.com32

Dome of the Mohammed Alimosquehttp://www.ask-aladdin.com33

Blue Mosque (Sultan AhmetMosque), Istanbul Turkeyhttp://cs.ua.edu/ greg/personal.html34

Interior of the Blue Mosquehttp://www.britannica.com35

Dome of a mosque, Esfahan, clean.html36

Interior of a mosque in to621.html37

Mosque in Djenne, Mali .html38

North African mosquehttp://www.galenfrysinger.com/tunis.htm39

Indonesian index.html40

Islamic architecture in Spainhttp://www.islamservices.org41

Muslim mosque and tombstone inSarajevo, BosniaYugoslavia: Republics and Provinces42

Mosque in Tempe, muslimlife/mosques.htm43

Vocabulary:QURAN (or KORAN):Muslim holy book44

The dex.minhaj?id 845

Muslim influences onsecular art46

Muslim profession of faith in theTopkapi Palace, Istanbul, Muhammad47

Arabic calligraphy in secular arthttp://www.plumsite.com/palace/arabic.html49

Stained glass windows in the TopkapiPalace in Istanbul, k.html48

Conclusions: Islam is an important religion, whichshares many beliefs and practices withChristianity and Judaism. Muslims live in many different countries.Islam is especially widespread in Africa,Asia, and southeastern Europe (theBalkans). Islam has had a great impact on world artand culture.50

Muslim women have many different styles of dress. (Very few cultures require women to cover their faces.) The treatment of women varies from country to country and family to family. Some Muslim countries, like Pakistan, have had female prime ministers. The U.S. has never had a female president. 14