Islam and Muslim Meaning of Islam Meaning of Muslim Submission to the will of God Peace Meaning of Muslim A person who submits to the will of God Islam is the name of our religion. Islam is an Arabic word which means “submission to the will of God” and peace. Islam comes from the same root as “Salam” that means peace. Submission to the will of God is what gives us true peace of mind and since we believe that God created everything, one who submits himself to the will of God is prone to live in peace with the whole creation. The word Muslim is used to define a person who belongs the religion of Islam. It means the person who submits himself to the will of God. We believe that we were created to know God and worship Him. If the whole purpose of life is to know God, then a sincere Muslim always acts with God in his heart and mind.

Beginning of Islam First prophet Adam (peace be upon him-pbuh) Reinstatement of the message through Abraham, Moses, Jesus (peace be upon them) Last prophet Muhammad (pbuh) First revelation in 610 AD Conversion of pagans in the Arabian peninsula Spread of the message in nearby countries by the scholars By 700, Islam stretched from Spain to the great wall of China We believe that God first sent the message to the humanity through Adam. However, people forgot the message or changed it. To reinstate the truth, God sent more prophets such as Abraham, Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them). God sent Muhammad , the Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him), in the Arabian peninsula in 610 AD. He taught the message until he died in 632. … By 700, the message, Islam had reached from Spain to the Great Wall of China. Because all prophets were sent by God, we can see striking similarities between religions. For instance there are many similarities between Islam and Christianity. We believe that Mary gave birth to Jesus (peace be upon him) when she was a virgin. We believe in the similar miracles of Jesus (peace be upon him). And the similarities between Islam and Christianity are so numerous that it is a topic of another presentation. And we believe that He was given the first revelation in 610.

Facts on Islam Second largest religion in the world Estimated 2 billion Christians Estimated 1.3 billion Muslims Fastest growing religion More than 80% of Muslims are non-Arabic Islam is not well known and misunderstood in the the West Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. Some people think that Islam is an Arab religion. However, Arabs constitute only less than 20% of Muslims. That is 80% is non-Arabic. There are around 1.3 billion Muslims in the world and Islam is the 2nd largest religion in the world. Islam is not well-understood in the West. One of the reasons is the media campaigns. What most of the people know about Islam is just what they heard from media, and we all know that media covers controversial topics and unfortunately not the main themes.

The Six Pillars of Islamic Faith Belief in God Belief in all the Prophets Belief in all the Holy Books Belief in Angels Belief in hereafter Belief in fate Birbirine bagli

Belief in God Concept of God Definition of God in the Qur’an The Creator The Ever-Living-One, the Giver of Life, the Taker of Life The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful The Hearer of All, the Seer of All First of all, I want to make a clarification. A lot of people are mistaken to think that we worship a different god simply because we use the word “Allah”. “Allah” is an Arabic word which means “God” with capital G. That is to say, we, Muslims, believe in the god of Adam, Abraham, Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them). However, we all know that what we understand from the concept of God is different. Here, I will talk about the Islamic belief in God. Islam is a monotheistic religion and the uniqueness of God is the fundamental belief in Islam. He is the Creator. He is the Ever-Living-One, He is the Giver of Life and He is the Taker of Life. He is Most Gracious and Most Merciful. He is the Source of Peace. He is the Hearer of All and He is the Seer of All. He is not bounded by time and place. And let me recite a few verses from the Qur’an: Hasir suresinin son ayetleri

Belief in All Prophets Chosen people of God Respect to all prophets Distinction of prophets Prophets in the Qur’an In order to guide the people, God sent prophets. The prophet is a person who is chosen by God to teach the message to the people. Prophets have some attributes in Islam. They don’t change the message of God, they are wise and they are trustworthy. Prophets are protected by God, so that they are a model for the followers. Islam teaches us to respect all of the prophets and make no distinction among them. We believe in all prophets, and we have a deep respect for all of them. Prophets were given miracles, so that we can distinguish them from fake prophets. For instance, we are told in Qur’an that Jesus (pbuh) rose the death with the will of God, he healed the sick with the will of God. Muhammad (pbuh) fed the army from just one plate, he supplied them water from his fingers and the moon was divided into half with the will of God. Let me recite some verses from Qur’an about prophets. Teblig, ismet, fetanet, emin,

3. Holy Books Some Prophets came with new books The Gospel after the Torah The Qur’an after the Gospel Belief in and respect to all Holy Books The Talmud, the Torah, the Gospel, the Qur’an Reference to the Gospel and the Torah in the Qur’an God sent revelations to guide the people. People sometimes changed it or forgot it. To correct the mistakes or to remind again, God sent a new prophet. For instance God sent Jesus (pbuh) with Gospel because people changed Torah. Likewise, God sent Mohammad(pbuh), because Gospel was not saved in its original form. Holy Book refers to the Talmud, the Torah, the Gospel and the Qur’an. We believe in all four Holy Books. However, I want to make something clear, when we say Holy Book, we don’t mean the physical book, rather we mean the revelation to the prophet. So, we believe in the revelation to Moses(pbuh), Jesus (pbuh) and Mohammad (pbuh). Verses….. We also have a respect for the physical forms the Holy Books. We respect the Torah and The Gospel, because we believe that even though they are changed, they still contain God’s words and they should be respected. We don’t touch Qur’an when we are not ritually clean. People of the Book; incil inancimiz; KK diger kitaplaruzerine hakem ve koruyucudur; muslumanlarin kitaplara saygisi

4. Angels Concept of Angel Archangels Sinless, neither male nor female, … Archangels Gabriel, Michael, etc. According to Islamic teachings, angles are sinless, they are neither male nor female, they do not eat, drink and sleep. They worship God all the time and they do whatever God tells them. There are similarities in Islam and Christianity in this issue also. It was Gabriel who brought the message to Mohammad (pbuh). Michael is responsible for the events in the world, such as wind and rain.

5. Hereafter Life is a test for the hereafter God is both Merciful and Just Hereafter is a need Desire to be with God, prophets, beloved believers Desire for an eternal life Justice The concept of hereafter is very important in a Muslim’s life. We believe that we were sent down to Earth to be tested. This world is just a temporary place that we can use to know God, worship Him and please Him. And we will be judged in the Hereafter based on our acts. And nobody will be judged because of somebody else’s actions. A common misconception about Islam is that people think that our good deeds and bad actions will be weighed and accordingly we will be rewarded or punished. It is not quite true. God is the only decision maker in the Hereafter and He is both Merciful and Just. Once our prophet (pbuh) said “God has divided His mercy into 100. Whatever Merciful act you see in this world is a reflection of just one part of that 100 parts. And in Hereafter God will act with 99 parts of that 100 parts of His Mercy”. Why is this concept of Hereafter very important? If we live according to what God told us through prophets, we will live in harmony in both this world and in the Hereafter. And life in the Hereafter is the eternal life. Who does not want to live with God’s beloved prophets, saints? Who does not want to live in a place where everybody is mindful of God? Who does not want to see God? Why do we have Hereafter? Because life in this world is just too short. We are never satisfied in this world. And who wants to be nothing after he dies? How will we teskin etmek a child whose parents died? And what will happen to transgressors? There is no king who does not have a reward for the good people and punishment for the bad. Hic bir sultan yoktur ki…adalet; 10.sozun serlevhasi. Kim diriltecek sorusuna Ilk yaratan kimse O yaratacak cevabinin verilmesi.

6. Fate God creates everything Good and bad are from God God creates “good” because of His Mercy God creates “bad” because of our wrongs Whatever God wills for us is for our good God creates everything. Whatever happens, good or bad are from God. Good is because God is Merciful and bad because of our wrongs. Whatever God wills for us is for our good. Since this topic is huge, and we have limited time, I will leave it for another presentation.

Controversial Topics in Islam Jihad Meaning of Jihad: Struggle Struggle against own ego The big Jihad Struggle against Satan Struggle to help those in need Struggle to respect and take care of your mother Struggle against those who physically attack you Defend yourself under strict rules of engagement The small Jihad Gemi de bir innocent varsa, Messenger of Allah! I want to join the fighting (in the path of Allah) and I have come to seek your advice.” He said, “Then remain in your mother’s service, because Paradise is under her feet.” Fight in the cause of God against those who fight you, but do not transgress limits. God does not love transgressors. (2:190) If they seek peace, then seek you peace. And trust in God for He is the One that heareth and knoweth all things. (8:61) .

Controversial Topics in Islam Women Men and women equal before God Obligation of husband and wife Independent woman Work Property ownership Choose husband Marriage In Islam there is absolutely no difference between men and women as far as their relationship to God is concerned, as both are promised the same reward for good conduct and the same punishment for evil conduct. The Qur’an, in addressing the believers, often uses the expression, “believing men and women” to emphasize the equality of men and women in regard to their respective duties, rights, virtues and merits. It says: “For Muslim men and women, for believing men and women, for devout men and women, for true men and women, for men and women who are patient and constant, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in charity, for men and women who fast, for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in Allah’s praise, for them has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward. (33:35) Hadith “The best of you are they who behave best to their wives.” Among my followers the best of men are those who are best to their wives, and the best of women are those who are best to their husbands. To each of such women is set down a reward equivalent to the reward of a thousand martyrs. Among my followers, again, the best of women are those who assist their husbands in their work, and love them dearly for everything, save what is a transgression of Allah’s laws. In Islam a woman is a completely independent personality. She can make any contract or bequest in her own name. She is entitled to inherit in her position as mother, as wife, as sister and as daughter. She has perfect liberty to choose her husband. The worst calamity for a woman is when her husband passes away and, as a widow, the responsibility of maintaining the children falls upon her. In the Eastern World, where a woman does not always go out to earn her living, the problems of widowhood are indescribable Equal before God. Judges during Ottoman Empire. Hz Aise leaded Man and woman are mentioned together. Both man and woman can go to Heaven. Prophet’s wife was a businesswoman. 4 kadinla evlilik. An option, not an obligatory. Adaletle davranmak. Eskiden savaslara erkekler gidiyordu. Erkegi olmayan kadinin yasamasi cok zordu. KK evrensel bir mesajdir. 7. Yuzyilda da 27. Yuzyilda da ayni kural. Bazi meselelerde bayanlara atiflar (annelerin degerleri).

3/64. Say: "O People of the Book 3/64. Say: "O People of the Book! come to common terms as between us and you: That we worship none but Allah; that we associate no partners with him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and patrons other than Allah." If then they turn back, say ye: "Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (bowing to Allah's Will)."