Brief introduction

With 1.3 billion believers, Islam is the fastest growing faith on earth (where there are 2.1 billion Christians, of whom 1.1 billion are Roman Catholics). The fact that Islam is growing so quickly should be a spur for all men and women of good will to search for dialogue and understanding with the adherents of that faith.

Islam is one of the three great monotheistic (belief in one God) religions, along with Christianity and Judaism. The term islam means “grateful submission”.

Muslims (those who profess the islamic faith) believe that in the early seventh century, a former trader called Mohammed received revelations from God by means of the archangel Gabriel near the city of Mecca, in modern Saudi Arabia. He wrote down what he is said to have been revealed; this is recorded in the Qur’an. Muslims believe that Mohammed was the last in a line of prophets starting with Adam, and including Abraham, Moses and Jesus himself.

The main tenet of Islam is that there is only one God and Mohammed is his prophet.

“Allah” is the Arabic term for God. Muslims believe that God is the all-powerful, all compassionate creator and sustainer of the universe. He has numerous titles, known as “the 99 Names of God”.

As for the Qur’an, since it was originally written in Arabic, it is only to be read as a religious text in that language; all translations are to be used only for personal and study purposes.

Muslims believe in final judgment, the resurrection of the body, heaven and hell. They also follow certain prescriptions regarding moral and dietary norms (for instance, Muslims cannot eat pork or drink alcohol, and some interpretations of the Qur’an allow for more than one wife). On Fridays, prayers are said in a mosque, and an imam, or sheikh, gives a sermon.

Muslims also believe that Jesus was born miraculously, but do not believe that he is divine. They also give veneration to Mary, the mother of Jesus.

There is no priesthood in Islam.