Islam is contained in the five pillars of faith. They include the confession of faith where one recites there is no God but Allah. Prayer is the second pillar; Muslims are supposed to pray five times daily. Zakat is the duty of every Muslim to give to the ones in need. Sawm is fasting during the month of Ramadhan, which lasts from sunrise until sunset. The fifth pillar is Hajj, where every Muslim must see Mecca a minimum of once in their lifetime (Answering Islam, 2014).
The Islam practices vary in different countries and cultures. Most Muslims in America believes that their religion is very important in their lives. Two-thirds of them pray every day and nearly half attend services in the Mosque at least once a week. 90% of them believe in angels while 92% believe in the Day of Judgment that is one of the beliefs of Islam. Research shows that 65% of the Muslims in the United States identify with the Sunni Islam while 11% identify with Shia and the rest describe themselves as just Muslims. Research also shows that Muslim men attend services at the Mosque more regularly than the Muslim women. The numbers are in line with the common understanding among Muslims that it is a must for men to attend weekly religious services but not women (PewResearchCenter, 2011).
Muslims in Britain are well integrated with each other. There are more diverse Muslims from different countries and cultures living together in London than any other city in the world. The most important element of the integration among Muslims is the ability to show distinct Muslim identity over any other ethnic identity or culture (Muslims in Britain, 2014). Islam has become shareable in Britain in the sense that most people know something about it. Conversion to Islam is common too as well.
Today there are more than a quarter billion of Muslims in the Indian subcontinent which includes India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Muslims form about 15% of the Indian population. The Muslim population in India has been influenced by the Hindu religion. They have undergone several attempts at reforms some towards modernization and other towards fundamentalism. Muslims in India are categorized based on their origins, Ashraf and Ajlaf (Hebbar, 2002). Middle East comprises over 350 million people, and they can be differentiated by their ethnicity, religion, and national identity. Most people in Middle East practice Islam but there are a number of important distinctions. Most people belong to the Sunni sect of Islam. Other people especially in Iran, Lebanon, and Iraq are of the Shiite or Shia sect of Islam. Israel is the only Middle East state with a Muslim minority (Wheeling Jesuit University, 2002).
Islam is contrasted with Christianity depending on their difference in practices and beliefs. Christians’ main practices are prayer and sacraments, reading the Bible and Communion while Islam main practices are the five pillars. The Christians have their Holy book, the Bible, while the Muslims have the Koran. Christians’ important beliefs are in the Ten Commandments (Diffen, 2014). Judaism’s place of worship is the Synagogue, and their main practice is prayers thrice a day with a fourth prayer on Shabbat and holidays. Judaism believes in Reincarnation while most Muslims believe in the Day of Judgment (Diffen, 2014).
Most non-Muslims do not understand the Muslim religion which affects their interaction with Muslims. The Federal Bureau of Investigation reported an increase of 1700 percent in hate crimes against Muslim Americans between after 9/11. Following the aftermath of September 11, most Muslims faced negative stereotypes by the larger society. They are conceptualized as a religious minority that acts, thinks, and behaves similarly despite the wide ethnic differences. Research on Islamophobia, a dread or hatred of Islam, conducted in Europe indicated that the discrimination against Muslims has increased in the recent years (Khan & Ecklund, 2012).
References
Diffen. (2014). Islam vs. Judaism. Retrieved from http://www.diffen.com/difference/Islam_vs_Judaism
Diffen. (2014). Christianity vs. Islam. Retrieved from http://www.diffen.com/difference/Christianity_vs_Islam
Hebbar, N. H. (2002, June 12). History of Islam in India: Islam in Modern India. Retrieved from http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=805
Khan, M., & Ecklund, K. (2012). Attitudes Toward Muslim Americans Post-9/11. Journals of Muslim Mental Health, 7(1), 1-16. Retrieved from http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/p/pod/dod-idx/attitudes-toward-muslim-americans-post-911.pdf?c=jmmh;idno=10381607.0007.101
Muslims in Britain. (2014). Islam and Muslims in Britain- A Guide. Retrieve from http://guide.muslimsinbritain.org/guide1.html
PewResearchCenter. (2011, August 30). Muslim Americans: No Signs of Growth in Alienation or Support for Extremism. Retrieved from http://www.people-press.org/files/legacy-pdf/Muslim%20American%20Report%2010-02-12%20fix.pdf
Wheeling Jesuit University. (2002). Middle East. Retrieved from http://www.cotf.edu/earthinfo/meast/mepeo.html
