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ISLAM IN THE WORLD
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- Meaning: Islam is an Arabic word that means “peace,” “security,” and “surrender.” Muslim means “one who peacefully surrenders to God.” Anyone from any race could be Muslim; in other words, “Muslim” does not refer to a particular race. The word Islam means 'submission to God', and a Muslim is anyone who submits their life to God.
- Claim: Muslims claim that Islam is a complete way of life that governs all facets of life: moral, spiritual, social, political, economical, intellectual, etc.
- Beginning of calendar: Mohammad’s flight (the Hegira) from Mecca in A.D. 622 is the beginning of the rise of Islam. It also marks the beginning of the Islamic, or Hijri, calendar.
- Revelation from God: Mohammad ibn Abd Allah was born around A.D. 570 in Mecca, Arabia (present-day Saudi Arabia) and died on June 8, 632, in Medina, Arabia. He claimed that when he was 40 years old, he received his first revelation from God.
- Population: There are over 1.9 billion Muslims in the world today, which equates to approximately a fourth of the world's population. So Islam is a truly global faith and not just confined to a particular nation, colour or race.
- American Muslims: Famous Muslims in America include Janet Jackson, Muhammad Ali, Shaquille O’Neal, Mara Brock Akil (writer/producer of the series “The Game” and “Girlfriends”), Mos Def (Yasiin Bey), Mike Tyson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Ice Cube, Akon, and Anousheh Ansari, the first Muslim woman in space.
- The Islamic Golden Age: It is traditionally dated as being the 8th–13th centuries, and was marked by the ascension of the Abbasid Caliphate. The Abbasids were influenced by the Quran’s injunction that “the ink of the scholar is more holy than the blood of the martyr.” During this time, the Arab world became an intellectual center for science, astronomy, chemistry, physics, mathematics, philosophy, medicine, and education.
- Inventions: Inventions that emerged from the Islamic world include the discovery of citric acid (Jabir ibn Hayyan), arabesque architecture, the minaret, the bridge mill, the vertical-axle windmill, teaching hospitals, marching bands, early torpedoes, the guitar, the lute, the water pipe (hookah, narghile,or shisha), early attempts at gliding, algebra, the pinhole camera, the laws of refraction, coffee, and more.
- Fastest growing: Islam is the world's fastest growing religion by the number of conversions every year. The religion began in Arabia, but today 80% of all believers in Islam live outside the Arab world.
- Spain: Islam was ‘implemented’ in Spain for over six hundred years in which it brought peace and stability. Mosques and buildings in Islamic Spain also had some of the most beautiful architectural designs (the Alhambra Palace).
- Statement: Muhammad (pbuh) said "There is no disease that Allah has created, except that he has also created its remedy," (Sahih Bukhari) This led to Muslims trying to make new discoveries in the field of medicine during the Golden Age of Islam. During this period of time, the Islamic world was very advanced in medicine.
- European Muslims: Muslims are a relatively small minority in Europe, making up roughly 5% of the population. However, in some countries, such as France and Sweden, the Muslim share of the population is higher. And, in the coming decades, the Muslim share of the continent’s population is expected to grow – and could more than double.
- France and Germany: These have the largest Muslim populations in Europe (defined as the 28 current European Union member countries plus Norway and Switzerland). As of mid-2016, there were 5.7 million Muslims in France (8.8% of the country’s population) and 5 million Muslims in Germany (6.1%). The EU country in which Muslims make up the largest share of the population is Cyprus: The island nation’s 300,000 Muslims make up about one-quarter (25.4%) of its population, and are mostly Turkish Cypriots with deep roots in Cyprus (and not recent migrants).
- European Muslim migration: Between mid-2010 and mid-2016, migration was the biggest factor driving the growth of Muslim populations in Europe. An estimated 2.5 million Muslims came to Europe for reasons other than seeking asylum, such as for employment or to go to school.
- Prophets: Muslims hold that there have been over 124,000 prophets sent to mankind through history, beginning with Adam and ending with Muhammad. Only 25 are mentioned by name in the Quran.
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