Islam RP 1 (Q1)

Before I studied Islam I was not very aware of the religion, and what it was like to be a Muslim. I would say that the biggest misconception I had about Islam is that I though it was a strict and demanding religion that was specific to the Middle East and I would not be able to fully understand the religion. These false pretences about Islam came mainly from images I saw of Muslims. For example, picture of thousands of Muslims with their covered heads to the ground, praying towards the Ka’ba lead me to believe that this religion must be a very thorough one because of the fact that all these people have to get together to pray like that throughout the day, a strict one because of their dress and because of how serious every seemed to take their praying, it seemed so foreign because of the language and dress. This image, along with the knowledge that the Qur’an is not translated, leads me to believe that Islam is a very culturally different and intense religion.
Learning about Islam has opened my eyes to see how unaware I was of the beliefs of such a universal religion. Islam is a young, major world religion; this may be credited to its wide appeal. I have now learned that in the Islamic belief, “All people were created by God and all are accepted as Muslims.”(Hopfe 336) There is no discrimination by race or nation in Islam, and the main belief in Islam is a very universally understood concept “There is no God but God”. Though it may seem from an outsider’s view that Islam is a very extreme religion, in fact the “Five Pillars of Islam” are all that is needed to be a good Muslim. Profession of faith, daily prayer, pilgrimage to Mecca, fasting during the month of Ramadan, and charity are all the commitments needed to making one a Muslim. This religion does not require group worship; the main focus in Islam is just belief. The profession of faith is simply to say, and believe, “There is no God but God and Muhammad is his prophet”. Through my studies of Islam, learning about the Five Pillars and the profession of faith, I have learned that the basic belief system behind the religion is very straight forward and the demands to be considered a good practicing Muslim are not extremely extensive, it and focuses mainly on the belief in God.