Intro to Islam
Today, nearly a billion people practice Islam around the world. The name "Islam" is derived from the Arabic word "salam", which literally means "peace", but still has the additional meaning of "submission". Thus, the full name of this religion can be translated as "absolute peace that comes when human life is subject to God". A man who professes Islam is called a Muslim. Islam is the religion of "people of the book", religion of writings which were sent to people through the prophets. Koran (from the Arabic "alkuran." - "Reading aloud", "a warning") - the holy book of Muslims, the record of prophetic revelations uttered by Muhammad between 610 and 632 years (Alkhateeb).
The decision to make the overall text of the Koran, based on existing records and testimonies of people who heard the testimony of Muhammad himself, was realized under the caliph Uthman between 650 and 656 years (Alkhateeb). This is the official list of the Koran that has been prepared by Zaid ibn Thabit, a man who executed the role of Muhammad secretary. He secured the prevailing at the time breakdown of the system of the text on the sura (chapter) and ayat (verses). Sura arranged in descending order of volume of text.
Uniqueness of Allah, his eternal existence is not possible to compare it with the Christian God, and with the Jewish. One of the theses of the Koran forbids the worship of the angels and the prophets but Muhammad. However, there are four angels, as it were of the highest category, one of which - Gabriel - called the 'holy spirit'. Oppose Allah Shaitan or Iblis (Satan, or the Devil), and his servants gins (former tribal gods). The Koran contains a number of biblical stories in a perverted way. Prophet Jesus Christ is recognized by the name Isa. Recognized the miracles of Jesus, and related to his birth, and also referred to in some of the Apocrypha, for example, Jesus' childhood revived fashioned them from clay birds. But although some suras of the Koran expressed quite a friendly attitude to the Jews and Christians (as opposed to the Gentiles, the ratio of which sharply hostile), the overall attitude toward other faiths is contradictory: it allows you to change the policy, depending on the moment. Muslims revere as a prophet of the Prophet Muhammad, who received the Koran from Gabriel, together with the ability to read it.
On the uniqueness of Jesus testifies to the fact of his miraculous birth from the Blessed Virgin Mary. Her father Imran (Bible. Amram) enjoyed great respect among the learned men of the sons of Israel, for which he was awarded the title of the temple servant. His wife was a very God-fearing woman. But they had no children. Tired of waiting, Mary's mother turned to the Lord. And he listened to her prayers - she became pregnant. Then she made a vow to God that the child who will be born by His grace, will be given to the service of the temple (ChristianAnswers.Net).
The Christian tradition calls God-man Jesus Christ, who came into the world to indicate a way of salvation for mankind. His mother - Maria is also venerated by most Christians as the Virgin. Islamic tradition also honors with Mariam Isa, but this veneration, in fact, is quite different from the Christian.
The Difference between Sunnis and Shiites
Sunnis and Shiites are the largest branches of Islam, whose adherents are in an ongoing feud with each other, aggravating the already tense situation in the Middle East. According to the Research Center Pew Research, 40 percent of Sunnis believe that Shiites are not true Muslims (BBC News).
Today all Muslims are unanimous in recognizing that God - the only God and Mohammed - his envoy. They all follow the five basic tenets of Islam, including fasting during the month of Ramadan, the main holy book the Koran is for all. However, adherents of Sunni Islam in their practice pay special attention to the teachings (Sunnah) of the Prophet, while the Shiites believe their Ayatollah messengers of God on earth. Because of this, the Sunnis often accuse Shi'ites of heresy, and they, in turn, point to the excessive dogmatism Sunni teachings, which leads to the emergence of extremist movements such as Wahhabism.
In most areas of Shi'ism is considered a central element of the belief that the twelfth and last of the Imams veiled God, and one day will be to the world to fulfill his holy will. However, their "excesses" have and Shiites. For example, during the mourning day of Ashura - the day of the death of Hussein, son of Ali, some Shi'ites injured themselves to honor this date.
There has never been a more serious collision in the history of confrontation between Sunnis and Shiites, like the 30-year war, which broke out in the 17th century between the supporters of different directions of Christianity (BBC News). This is partly explained by the fact that Shiites are trying to avoid conflict, realizing outnumbered Sunnis.
Despite the fact that the recent series of political upheavals in a number of Middle Eastern countries contribute to worsening relations between Shia (Iran) and Sunnis (Saudi Arabia, Qatar) Governments, in most cases, those and others live peacefully side by side with each other.
Works Cited
Alkhateeb, Firas. How do we know the quaran is unchanged? (2013). Lostislamichistory.com.
ChristianAnswers.Net.. Muslims—What does the Qur'an say about Isa (Jesus)? (n.d.)Christian Answers Network. Web. 09 Apr. 2016.
BBC News.. Sunnis and Shia: Islam's ancient schism. (2016). BBC.co.uk. Web. 09 Apr. 2016.
