Islam

The most surprising element of Islam is that it was and still is the fastest growing religion. The surprising element is not the speed, but relatively how young it is compared to the other religions like Christianity. Islam was established in modern day Saudi Arabia and had spread along the western edge of the Arabian Peninsula under Muhammad's leadership. Muhammad founded Islam when he had meditated in a cave, realizing that he was the true messenger of Allah for the Arabs.

The Quran is the sacred scriptures of Islam. It consisted of Allah's message through the translation of Muhammad. The Quran also challenged the polytheism, wealth, and social injustice of the Arabs. The main message of the Quran was the core concept of the five pillars of Islam,which should be followed to submit one's self to Allah. The first pillar of Islam states that there is no other god except Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of God. The second pillar consisted of praying five times a day and the prayer is conducted in the direction of the Mecca or the location of the Kaaba. Mecca is the holy city of Islam and has a significant impact on Islam because it was the first city that was converted to the faith. The Kaaba was already built in the city and had housed false idols. Muhammad came to Mecca with his small force and destroyed all of the false idols in the Kaaba. He then claimed that it be the place to worship Allah and declared that no other god be worshiped.

The third pillar of Islam is the alms giving or a donation of one's income. Today a Muslim must give alms equal to 2.5 percent of their annual income to the poor and needy. This is apart of the social justice message in the Quran and it requires that believers act to help the poor and needy. The fourth pillar of Islam is the fasting for Ramadan. Ramadan is a holy month where Muslims must fast or abstain from food, drink, and sexual relations during the daylight hours. It is the reminder of self-purification and the reminder of the needs of the hungry and less fortunate. The fifth and final pillar of Islam is the hajj. The hajj is the pilgrimage a Muslim must make at least once in their lifetime to the holy city of Mecca. Muslims from around the world gather at the Kaaba, wearing white clothing and have certain routines that involve running around the sacred site.There is another requirement called the jihad or "struggle" from within and is sometimes referred to as the sixth pillar of Islam. Islam has been very successful because many converts were either given the chance to live by converting or killed by the sword. Also, great military victories by the Muslims had led to many Arabs converting to the faith based because their God must be watching over them.