Islam

i used to have collegue who like to chat about anything, he come from Malaysia but used to work in Singapore and Vietnam. one day we chat about Islam, and honestly i have difficulty to discuss about it, beside my knowledge is still "yesterday afternoon-child", there 's so many thing that i know but its so hard to explain, because its about faith...

i copying you something, that maybe can help you in explain Islam (in general way) if just in case you have problem like me or just kindly remind you of it :p

Muslims, or followers of Islam (which means "submission to God" in Arabic), have done the same thing for nearly 1,500 years. Their religion holds that there is just one god (called Allah) and that the prophet Muhammad was his messenger.

Muhammad was born about A.D. 570 in Mecca. Raised by his grandfather and uncle, Muhammad became a respected businessman. Unlike other Arabs, who worshipped many gods, Muhammad embraced the one god already revered by Christians and Jews.

When he was about 40, Muhammad was meditating in a cave when, Muslims believe, he was visited by the archangel Gabriel, who recited to him the word of God.

Muhammad spent the rest of his life passing these revelations on to a growing band of followers. They were often persecuted, ridiculed for their beliefs in a single god. In 622 Muhammad and his followers migrated to the town of Medina. This journey is known as the Hegira and 622 is the year that the Muslim calendar begins.

After several years Muhammad and a small army returned to Mecca, conquered it, and dedicated it to Allah.

Every year as many as 2.5 million Muslims travel from all over the world to Mecca. This pilgrimage, or hajj, re-enacts the prophet's journey and is required at least once from all Muslims who can manage it.

The pilgrimage is one of five pillars, or duties, in Islam. The others are declaration of faith; daily prayer at five appointed times; charity to the needy; and daytime fasting during Ramadan, the ninth month of the lunar year.

(this is I like the most....) The religious life of Muslims is personal and individualistic. There is no established hierarchy (as there is in the Roman Catholic Church, for example), so each individual can interpret the Koran in his or her own way.

Compiled soon after Muhammad's death, the Koran is a record of Muhammad's work. It has 114 chapters, or suras, that are arranged by length. The first chapter invokes God, and the others mostly are revelations. The Koran and the hadith (a record of the sayings and customs of Muhammad and his companions) provide the basic law for Muslims.

The Koran suggests that women adopt modest dress and behavior but does not require it. In Saudi Arabia and Iran, veiling is mandatory but with a wide range of interpretation. A Muslim woman in Saudi Arabia must by law be completely covered, including her hands, face, and feet. In Iran a scarf covering the hair and a loose coat are deemed sufficient.

Today Islam is split into two sects, the Sunnis and the Shiites, each of which holds different beliefs concerning the successor to Muhammad. Most Shiites live in Iran and southern Iraq, while Sunnis predominate in the rest of the region. Indonesia has the highest population of Muslims, roughly 181 million.