Muslim Background

​​MUSLIM BACKGROUND
By:Jim Chan and Marcus Bradley
Period:C

Muslim Population around the world

related to the story Kite Runner, the setting is in Kabul, Afghanistan
which is in the 90-100 population percentage

Muslims Beliefs

To be a muslim all you need is to believe and recite the Shahada: "There is no god but god, and Muhammad is his prophet." Many muslims believe that to be considered a muslim one must stay attached to the "Six Articles of Faith".

​The Start of Muslim

• Muslimism began in the Common Era, on 622 CE, In Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

• Muslims read from the Qur'an, which is writen in their native language, Arabic.
• Most religious historians credit Muhammad, who was born in 570 C.E, as the founder. However, Muslims generally regard Islam as dating back to the time of creation.

Six Articles of Faith
One God;
The angels of God;
The books of God, especially the Qur'an;
The prophets of God, especially Muhammad; The Day of Judgment (or the afterlife);
The supremacy of God's will (or predestination)




Beliefs About God





The muslim name for god is allah. the Qur'an does not teach that God does not know muslims, nor that he remains aloof in some distant heaven. Quite the contrary: He is present everywhere.

Muslims believe that there is one god, but, within the Qur'an, Allah mentions the existence of many different gods. An Example of it is

Will ye call upon Baal and forsake the Best of Creators, [Quran: 37:125, Yusuf Ali]

With a monotheistic belief system, why would there be more than one creator?
Prophets Role In The Muslim Background

Muhammad, the founder of Islam, is revered as "the Seal of the Prophets" - the last and greatest of the messengers of God.


The Five Prophets Sent By GodNoah
Abraham
Moses
Jesus
Muhammed




Differences between Sunnah and Shia

	Sunnah	Shia (or Shi'ah)
adherents called	Sunnis	Shiites, Shi'i
meaning of name	"well-trodden path" or "tradition"	"party" or "partisans" of Ali
current adherents	940 million	120 million
percentage of total Muslims	90%	10%
primary locations	most Muslim countries	Iran, Iraq, Yemen
subsects	none, but four major schools of Muslim law are recognized	Ithna 'Ashariyah (Twelvers; the largest), Isma'iliyah and Zaydiyah
origins	c. 632 CE; theology developed especially in 10th cent.	c. 632-650 CE; killing of Ali's son Husayn in 680 CE is major event
did Muhammad designate a successor?	no	yes
true successor of the Prophet	Abu Bakr, father of the Prophet's favoured wife, 'A'ishah (elected by people of Medina)	'Ali ibn Abi Talib, husband of the Prophet's daughter Fatimah (designated by the Prophet)
qualifications for ruler of Islam	tribe of the Prophet (Quraysh); later, any qualified ruler	family of the Prophet
current leaders	imams	mujtahids
identity of imams	human leaders	infallible manifestations of God and perfect interpreters of the Qur'an
Al Mahdi	will come in the future	was already on earth, is currently the "hidden imam" who works through mujtahids to intepret Qur'an; and will return at the end of time
religious authority other than the Qu'ran	ijma' (consensus) of the Muslim community	infallible imams
concealing faith for self-protection (taqiya)	affirmed under certain circumstances	emphasized
temporary marriage (mut'ah)	practiced in the Prophet's time, but now rejected	still practiced
holy cities	Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem	Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem, Najaf, Karbala
major holidays	Eid al-Adha, Eid al-Fitr	Eid al-Adha, Eid al-Fitr, Ashura

​Relations to Kite Runner

• Amir and Baba are Pashtuns, who are Sunnah.
• Hassan and Ali are Hazaras, who are Shia.
• Hassan and Ali always pray five times a day, similar to Muslim.

Work Cited

Mirza, S.K. (2008, August 24). How many Gods are there? allah says many!. Retrieved from http://www.islam-watch.org/SyedKamranMirza/How-Many-Gods-in-Islam.htm

The Religion of islam. (2006-2009). Retrieved from http://www.islamreligion.com/

Dreamweaver, . (2004-2009). Comparison of sunni and shia islam . Retrieved from http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/comparison_charts/islamic_sects.htm