Foundational Issues
Though patterns differ throughout the Muslim world and often contrast sharply with Western ways of thinking, a basic knowledge of Islamic history and culture will help one to be sensitive to problem areas that may develop. Islamic society demands conformity of its members. Values of individualism and personal achievement are of little importance, therefore, individual behavior is often dictated by society. Islam is not only a religious system; it is also political, social, economic, educational, and judicial.

The word Islam means submission and is based on Qur'an 4:125.

Who is better in religion than he who surrendereth his purpose to Allah while doing good (to men) and followeth the tradition of Abraham, the upright? Allah (Himself) chose Abraham for friend.

The most common way that submission is acted out is through doing good works.

Basic History
Islam became an official religion in 622. The years before Islam are known as the time of ignorance. Prior to its inception, scattered groups of Jews and Christians lived on the Arabian Peninsula but there seemed to be little spiritual vitality among those Christians and little effort to evangelize the pagan tribes. Muhammad, the founder, was fasting and praying in the caves at Hira when he felt called to be a prophet of God. First he only told his friends about the visions but years latter he shared them with outsiders.
Prior to Muhammad's new found revelation, the local people worshiped countless lesser and greater gods. Muhammad began to preach a new message that was centered on the worship of one god and living moral upright lives. He first went to Mecca with his message but was angrily turned away. He and his followers fled for their lives to the city of Medina in 622. This event is known as the Hijra and is the start of the Islamic calendar. Muhammad's strong personality and ability to administer resulted in many dedicated followers. After his death in 632, caliphs (successors) carried the new religion across North Africa, Asia, and Southern Europe.

The Qur'an
The Qur'an is the holy book of Islam. It is said that the entire book of the Qur'an only exists in heaven. According to Mohammad, the book was received as a direct revelation from the arch-angel Gabriel. At first, the revelation was only recited, but after Mohammad died, his teachings were organized and written down. Within in 25 years of this event there were so many versions of the Qur'an in circulation that Othman, the leader at that time, ordered all copies destroyed and one official version to take there place. Officially, the Qur'an must remain in its original Arabic language. According to Islam, Arabic is the language of heaven and all other languages fall short in comparison. With this said, the Qur'an has been translated into hundreds of languages simply out of sheer practicality. Within the book, there are 114 chapters, called suras, organized from longest to shortest, except for the first. The earlier suras speak of more tolerant attitude toward the Christians and Jews, while the latter ones are much more hostile. Mohammad considered his revelation the final word from God. According to him, the Qur'an rectifies all the mistakes of the Old and New Testament prophets and the writings of the Bible. Although there are references too many of the same prophets as found in the Bible, the typical Muslim men is told that the Bible has its facts wrong and they should look to the Qur'an for the truth. Similar to the Catholic faith, Muslims rely on tradition, Hadith, to supplement the teachings of their holy book. The authority of tradition is based on the notion that everything Muhammed said and did was revelatory the stories that make it up. There is, however, great confusion and contradiction between the traditions.

Doctrine of Islam
Islam considers itself the first and foremost the religion of God (Qur'an 5:3). Allah is the Arabic word for God. The word is often used in the Middle East by both Muslim's and Christian alike. In addition, Muslim's have 99 names (attributes) for God which they often re-sight in their prayers. There are four archangels and to recording angles. The former protect people from dangers not degreed by God and the latter gather evidence of good and bad things people do. There four books which are considered holy: The Torah, the Psalms, the Gospels, and the Qur'an. The Qur'an mentions 25 prophets sent by God, most of which can be found in the Bible, however, Mohammad is the last one and corrects all the 'mistakes' made by the previous prophets. Islam believes in a day of judgment where good and bad deeds are weighed on a scale. It is believed that all Muslims will all go to heaven even if they have to spend some time in hell. However, anyone who ascribes an equal with God (i.e. Jesus) or anyone who splits God (Christian's and Jew's) is condemned to hell. Muslim's believe God determines all activity in their life and that they cannot do anything about it.

Acts of Worship
There are five pillars or acts of worship that all good Muslims must adhere to.

1. The Shahada is the confession of faith that states "There is no deity but God and Muhammed is God's messenger."
2. The Salat (prayer) takes place five times a day and is supposed to be preceded by ceremonial washings.
3. The Zakat (Alms Giving) is mandatory according to Muslim law.
4. The Saum (Fasting) is obligatory during the daylight hours of month of Ramadan unless there is a medical concern.
   Typically during this month of celebration, large meals are prepared prior to sun-up and following sun-down to help edge off any feeling of hunger.
5. The Hajj (pilgrimage) is a trip to Mecca which must be made by each Muslim financially able to do so.

Two Major Divisions
The two major divisions of Islam are Sunnism and Shi'ism. The Sunnis believe that after Muhammed died, leadership was properly passed down to a series of caliphs (successors). The caliphs were chosen and ruled by a consensus of elders in the community. The Shi'ites, on the other hand, believe the legitimate successor of Muhammed must be from his blood line. Quarrels took place between the two groups and resulted in the assassination of Ali, the son of Muhammed, and later the assassination of Hussan, the son of Ali. Most of the Muslims are Sunnis but Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and India have a large contingent of Shi'ites. The only thing that separates the two groups are their view point on succession of leadership and several nonobligatory traditions.

Understanding the Muslim Worldview
Islam is a law-oriented religion. Christianity, on the other hand, is theology-oriented. For Muslims, the Shahada (confession) defines right thinking and the Shariah defines right acting. The Shariah are the six articles of faith which all Muslims must believe. (belief in God, His angles, prophets, books, divine decrees, and the last day). The word Islam itself means submission, and this attitude shows up all throughout the religion. There are five assumptions about this attitude of submission: First is absolute transcendence which insists that God is completely other or in-other-words dissimilar to contingent beings. Second, Muslims hold that there is a human goodness in every person. Adam's original sin, along with our sins, is only a matter of forgetting what God told us to do. According to them, the current separation between God and man is a direct result of God's transcendence and not a result of mans' sinfulness. Unlike the Christian doctrine of forgiveness, Islam does not offer any way for its people to be free from sin. Divine guidance comes from the book of Moses and the teachings of Jesus but primarily from the Qur'an. The Qur'an, Hadith (traditions), and other sources make up religious law. A community of submission was modeled best by the group of people living in Medina during Muhammad's lifetime. Each Muslim tries to live like the people of that day. Finally, the belief in a heavenly culture is a result of the belief that the Qur'an is a suprahistorical work sent directly from heaven and that Arabic is the language of heaven.
In 1924 the last caliphate (successor) died and in the decades leading up to that event, Islam had lost much of its dominance in specific countries. Since the Qur'an seemed to promise political power and a consistent leader, people were left to wonder about this religion. In the end, the Muslim leadership concluded and propagated that the problem was not with the religion but instead was with the outside community. Following WWII, many countries received their independence and established governments patterned either after the west or forms of socialism. In addition, Islam was declared the state religion and now, a generation latter, because the countries do not feel the receive the respect they deserve from western countries, and lack the success they desire, the countries have rejected the west and are revering back to Islamic law.

Women in Islam
The status of women in Islam varies greatly around the world. At the same time, almost every Muslim woman has a great deal of inner strength even though it is often concealed. Women are noted for leading their family in religious and social practices. From the outside, the women's role is seen as a detriment to her. This can be seen in the Hadiths (traditions). For example, one tradition states that many men have reached perfection but only four women have. Another tradition states, "One marries a woman for one of four reasons: her wealth, her quality, her beauty, or her religion. Get those who have religion, and you get your hands full." Education is bringing a great deal of change to the women of Islam. Even for those who stay at home, the best mothers are portrayed as those who are educated. With education, brings an increased desire for women to join the work force. Many Muslim countries are experiencing an increase in female employees. With that in mind, many believe this uncontrolled mixing of the sexes will bring about a decline in public morals.
Muslim society is centered on the family. Both personal identity and good standing are routed in the family structure. The oldest woman in the family unit is the strongest one. They make sure that everything runs just as they want it to.

Islam and Christianity
Just like many Christians, Muslims are misinformed about the Christian faith. Most consider Christian teachings unimportant because they are taught that the Christians follow an inferior set of guidelines. The biggest misunderstanding is that Christians worship three gods; the Father, the Virgin Mary, and Jesus. In the Muslim mind, Christian's teach that God had a son through Mary, Jesus. It is inconceivable to Muslims that God would do this and therefore they consider this belief heresy of the highest degree. This confusion is a result of traditions and the teachings found in the Qur'an. Incidentally, the Bible teaches that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and that He was born of the Virgin Mary. They also believe that as a result of being born of a woman, Jesus only capable of having a human nature and therefore cannot be divine. In addition, at the time of the crucifixion, the Qur'an teaches that either Simon of Cyrene or Judas were mistaken for Jesus and were crucified in His place. Muslim tradition states that Jesus will hold a significant place in heaven but will be inferior to God and Muhammad.
Although both the Qur'an and the Bible claim to be of divine origin, only the Bible claims to be the self-revelation of God. The Bible states that God can be known by man while the Qur'an emphasizes God's exclusive transcendence. The message of the Qur'an focuses on submission and obedience while the message of the Bible focuses on God's activity throughout history and man's response to that activity. Muslim's acknowledge that the Bible is a holy book but do not feel they need to obey it because the Qur'an has taken its place. According to Islam, the Bible has been corrupted by the Christians and Jews to the point that it is no longer reliable, so therefore the Qur'an is a final and complete record of all that was and is needed to know.