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Religious Structures

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It is hard to know what to say in the wake of the terrible violence that recently engulfed Paris and Beirut. What follows is by no means an attempt to explain the attacks -- nor to justify them -- but rather to tease out some questions about the relationship between ISIS and Islam that seem particularly pressing now.

Ever since September 11, 2001, Americans (and many others) have been asking themselves whether Islam is a violent religion. In some ways, this is an easy question to answer. As Reza Aslan said forcefully on CNN over a year ago, religions are not violent -- people are violent. I often invoke my colleague Rongdao Lai's lecture on militant Buddhist monks in places like Myanmar. Lai explained that even certain interpretations of Buddhism -- a religion associated in the United States with meditation, mindfulness, and the Dalai Lama's embrace of non-violence -- can, in fact, produce violent manifestations. Like Aslan, Lai emphasized that a religion such as Buddhism cannot itself be classified as non-violent; indeed, anything as vast and complicated as a religious tradition cannot be so definitively defined.

But even if we can say with some confidence that Islam is not a violent religion, a thornier question remains: to what extent is ISIS an authentic expression of Islam? There are, essentially, two poles on this issue. Many Muslim groups in America and Europe have vociferously denounced ISIS as un-Islamic (such as in the press conference given by Nihad Awad, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations). Some Muslims have called for avoiding the term "Islamic State" to describe ISIS, since doing so gives it the legitimacy of Islam. (The response of politicians like François Hollande and John Kerry to call it Daesh -- the Arabic acronym for al-dawla al-islamiyya bil-'iraq wal-sham -- is, however, hardly less Islamic in the original.) To these Muslims, ISIS is an aberration -- claiming to be Islamic but perverting the religion's core principles.

On the other end of the spectrum are those who see ISIS -- and other forms of militant Islamism -- as fundamentalist, but nonetheless authentic expressions of Islam. Perhaps the most articulate version of this position can be found in The Atlantic article "What ISIS Really Wants" by Graeme Wood. In this view, "the Islamic State is Islamic. Very Islamic," and "the religion preached by its most ardent followers derives from coherent and even learned interpretations of Islam." As Bernard Haykel, professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University, explains, Islam is "what Muslims do, and how they interpret their texts." In other words, there is no single Islam, especially since Muslims recognize no central religious authority as do Catholics, but rather a shared Islamic textual tradition that is interpreted in myriad ways. In some sense, Haykel echoes an anthropological approach to Islam that sees multiple "islams" in the plural, rather than a single, unified tradition with a mainstream or orthodox core and various heterodox branches.

Ultimately, the distinction comes down to how one decides who is in and who is out of a religious tradition. In other words, Muslims like those involved in CAIR simply do not want to include a barbaric, violent organization like ISIS under the umbrella of Islam, for understandable reasons. The scholars quoted in Wood's article, on the other hand, feel that people who engage deeply with the Islamic textual tradition in recognizable ways and think of themselves as Muslims should unquestionably be considered Islamic.

Islam is not the only religion in which some of the faithful are deeply ashamed of their coreligionists. As an observant Jew, I am horrified by the barbaric and violent acts that have been committed in the name of Judaism. I could not disagree more with the interpretations of Judaism held by individuals such as Baruch Goldstein. But here in the US, I rarely have to defend myself as a Jew against accusations of belonging to a "violent religion," just as few Buddhists are asked whether Buddhism is violent when Buddhist monks attack Muslims in Myanmar. In other words, in the United States and in Europe, not all religions are considered equally guiltless.

In some ways, the distinction between ISIS as Islamic or not comes down to what you mean by "Islamic": is it what Muslims do, or are there things Muslims do that put them outside the boundaries of the Islamic tradition? Either way, there is no justification for labeling an entire religion as violent merely because some of its adherents embrace violence, as do those who see Islam as the problem. This is particularly crucial now, when the New York Times publishes a headline stating that "After Paris Attacks, a Darker Mood towards Islam Emerges in France" and when the United States congress passes a bill to drastically tighten the screening procedures for Syrian refugees in what has been widely labeled the worst refugee crisis since WWII. Even if you consider ISIS Islamic, we must resist any temptation to conflate ISIS and Islam.

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It is hard to know what to say in the wake of the terrible violence that recently engulfed Paris and Beirut. What follows is by no means an attempt to explain the attacks -- nor to justify them -- but rather to tease out some questions about the relationship between ISIS and Islam that seem particularly pressing now.

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Symbols

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Eid

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Ramadan (Fasting)

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Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project

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Muslims around the world express broad support for democracy and for people of other faiths being able to practice their religion freely. At the same time, many Muslims say religious leaders should influence political matters and see Islamic political parties as just as good or better than other political parties.

Many Muslims express concern about religious extremist groups operating in their country. On balance, more Muslims are concerned about Islamic than Christian extremist groups. And while the vast majority of Muslims in most countries say suicide bombing is rarely or never justified to defend Islam against its enemies, substantial minorities in a few countries consider such violence justifiable in at least some circumstances.

Democracy

In 31 of the 37 countries where the question was asked at least half of Muslims believe a democratic government, rather than a leader with a strong hand, is best able to address their country's problems.

Support for democracy tends to be highest among Muslims in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. In 12 of the 16 countries surveyed in sub-Saharan Africa, roughly two-thirds or more prefer a democratic government, including nearly nine-in-ten (87%) in Ghana. Fewer, though still a majority, prefer democracy over a strong leader in Guinea Bissau (61%), Niger (57%) and Tanzania (57%). In Southeast Asia, more than six-in-ten Muslims in Malaysia (67%), Thailand (64%) and Indonesia (61%) also prefer democracy.

In the Middle East and North Africa, at least three-quarters of Muslims support democracy in Lebanon (81%) and Tunisia (75%). At least half in Egypt (55%), the Palestinian territories (55%) and Iraq (54%) do so as well.

Attitudes vary somewhat in the other regions surveyed. In South Asia, the percentage of Muslims who say a democratic government is better able to solve their country's problems ranges from 70% in Bangladesh to 29% in Pakistan. In Central Asia, at least half of Muslims in Tajikistan (76%), Turkey (67%), Kazakhstan (52%) and Azerbaijan (51%) prefer democracy over a leader with a strong hand, while far fewer in Kyrgyzstan (32%) say the same.

In Southern and Eastern Europe, support for democracy is much higher among Muslims in Kosovo (76%) and Albania (69%) than in Bosnia-Herzegovina (47%) and Russia (35%), where a majority of Muslims favor a powerful leader.

Views about the better type of government differ little by frequency of prayer, age, gender or education level.

Religious Freedom

Muslims generally say they are very free to practice their religion. Most also believe non-Muslims in their country are very free to practice their faith. And among those who view non-Muslims as very free to practice their faith, the prevailing opinion is that this is a good thing.

Muslims in Southeast Asia, South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are particularly likely to say they are "very free" to practice their faith. Roughly seven-in-ten or more Muslims in each country surveyed in these regions hold this view.

There is more variation in the Middle East-North Africa region, where Muslims in Iraq (48%) and Egypt (46%) are much less likely than Muslims in Lebanon (90%) and Morocco (88%) to believe they are able to practice Islam very freely. Muslims in Uzbekistan (39%) are the least likely among the Muslim populations surveyed to say they are very free to practice their faith.

In addition to freedom for themselves, most Muslims believe individuals from other religions are able to practice their faith openly. In 33 of the 38 countries where the question was asked at least half say people of other faiths are very free to practice their religion. (This question was not asked in Afghanistan.)

Muslims in Central Asia and the Middle East and North Africa are generally less likely to believe non-Muslims can practice their faith freely. Fewer than half in Kyrgyzstan (48%), Tajikistan (47%) and Uzbekistan (26%), for example, say others are able to practice their faith openly. Similarly, in the Middle East-North Africa region, fewer than four-in-ten Muslims in Iraq (37%) and Egypt (31%) believe non-Muslims are free to practice their religion.

In 15 of the countries surveyed, Muslims are significantly more likely to say they themselves are very free to practice their religion than to say the same about people of other faiths. The gaps are particularly wide in Jordan (-22 percentage points), Kyrgyzstan (-20), Turkey (-20) and Egypt (-15).

Overall, Muslims broadly support the idea of religious freedom. Among Muslims who say people of different religions are very free to practice their faith, three-quarters or more in each country say this is a good thing.

Religious Leaders' Role in Politics

Compared with support for democracy and religious freedom, sharper regional differences emerge over the question of the role of religious leaders in politics. The prevailing view among Muslims in Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Middle East-North Africa region is that religious leaders should have at least some influence in political matters. By contrast, this is the minority view in most of the countries surveyed in Central Asia and Southern and Eastern Europe. With the notable exception of Afghanistan, fewer than half of Muslims in any country surveyed say religious leaders should have a large influence in politics.

Support for religious leaders having a say in political matters is particularly high in Southeast Asia. At least three-quarters of Muslims in Malaysia (82%) and Indonesia (75%) believe religious leaders should influence political matters, including substantial percentages who say they should play a large role (41% and 30%, respectively).

In South Asia, a large majority in Afghanistan (82%) and Bangladesh (69%) believe religious leaders ought to influence political matters, while 54% of Pakistani Muslims agree. Afghan Muslims are the most likely among the populations surveyed to say religious leaders should have a large influence on politics (53%), while roughly a quarter of Muslims in Pakistan (27%) and Bangladesh (25%) express this view.

In the Middle East-North Africa region, a majority of Muslims in most countries surveyed say religious leaders should play a role in politics. Support is highest among Muslims in Jordan (80%), Egypt (75%) and the Palestinian territories (72%). Roughly six-in-ten in Tunisia (58%) and Iraq (57%) agree. Lebanese Muslims are significantly less supportive; 37% think religious leaders should have at least some role in political matters, while 62% disagree. In each country in the region except Lebanon, about a quarter or more say religious leaders should have a large influence on politics, including 37% in Jordan.

Muslims in Southern and Eastern Europe and Central Asia tend to be less supportive of a role for religious leaders in political matters. Only in Russia does a majority (58%) believe religious leaders should have at least some influence. Meanwhile, Muslims in Kyrgyzstan are divided over the issue (46% say religious leaders should have an influence on political matters, 51% disagree). In the other countries surveyed in these two regions, fewer than four-in-ten Muslims believe religious leaders should have a role in politics.

In some countries, Muslims who pray several times a day are more likely than those who pray less often to say religious leaders should influence political matters. The gap is particularly large in Lebanon, where 51% of Muslims who pray several times a day believe religious leaders should have at least some political influence, compared with 13% of those who pray less often.

Islamic Political Parties

In most countries where the question was asked at least half of Muslims rate Islamic parties as better than, or about the same, as other political parties.

The percentage of Muslims who say Islamic parties are better than other political parties is highest in Egypt (55%), Tunisia (55%) and Afghanistan (54%), although at least four-in-ten share this view in Jordan (46%), Malaysia (43%) and Bangladesh (41%). By contrast, fewer than a quarter of Muslims view Islamic parties more favorably than other parties in the Palestinian territories (21%), Kosovo (16%), Bosnia-Herzegovina (12%), Azerbaijan (11%) and Kazakhstan (9%).

In all countries where the question was asked, substantial percentages of Muslims rate Islamic parties as the same as other political parties, including at least half in Indonesia (57%) and Lebanon (51%). Elsewhere, at least one-in-five rate Islamic and other political parties the same.

Relatively few Muslims consider Islamic parties to be worse than other political parties. Only in the Palestinian territories (29%), Azerbaijan (27%) and Turkey (26%) do more than a quarter subscribe to this view.

In many countries, favorable assessments of Islamic political parties track with support for religious leaders having an influence on politics. In Lebanon, for example, Muslims who say religious leaders should have at least some political influence are 53 percentage points more likely than those who disagree to say Islamic parties are better (63% vs. 10%). In 15 of the other countries surveyed, similar double-digit gaps emerge over the question of Islamic parties, with those who support a role for religious leaders in politics consistently more favorable toward Islamic political parties.

Views on the role of religion in politics may not be the only factor affecting attitudes toward Islamic parties. Local political circumstances may also influence opinions on this question. Both Tunisia and Egypt, for example, experienced major political upheavals in 2011, with Islamic parties emerging as the dominant political blocs. At the time of the surveys in Tunisia and Egypt, Muslims who said they were satisfied with the direction of the country were significantly more likely than those who were dissatisfied to say Islamic political parties are better than other political parties (+24 percentage points in Tunisia and +11 in Egypt).

Concern About Religious Extremism

At least half of Muslims in 22 of the 36 countries where the question was asked say they are at least somewhat concerned about religious extremist groups in their country. In most countries, Muslims are much more worried about Islamic extremists than Christian extremists. Substantial proportions in some countries, including countries surveyed in the Middle East and North Africa, express concern about both Muslim and Christian extremist groups.

The survey finds widespread concern about religious extremism in Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Middle East-North Africa region. In nearly every country surveyed in these regions, at least half of Muslims say they are very concerned or somewhat concerned about extremist groups. In Indonesia, nearly eight-in-ten Muslims say they are worried about religious extremism (78%), including more than half (53%) who are worried about Islamic extremists. In Malaysia, too, a majority of Muslims (63%) are worried about extremist groups; however, more Malaysian Muslims express concerns about Christian than Muslim groups (31% vs. 8%). In the Middle East-North Africa region, on balance, Muslims are more concerned about Islamic than Christian extremist groups, but more than one-in-five in most countries surveyed in the region are worried about both Islamic and Christian groups.

At least half in nine of the 16 countries surveyed in sub-Saharan Africa also say they are concerned about religious extremism. And in most countries, Islamic extremism rather than Christian extremism is the principal worry. For example, in Guinea Bissau, more than half of Muslims (54%) say they are at least somewhat concerned about Islamic extremist groups; in Ghana 45% say the same, as do roughly a third of Muslims in Djibouti (36%), Chad (33%), Kenya (33%) and Niger (32%).

In Southern and Eastern Europe, worries about religious extremism are most widespread in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where more than six-in-ten (63%) are at least somewhat concerned about religious extremist groups, including 27% who are specifically concerned about Islamic extremists. A similar proportion of Muslims (30%) in Bosnia-Herzegovina are worried about both Muslim and Christian groups in the country. Fewer than half say they are very or somewhat concerned about religious extremist groups in Russia (46%), Kosovo (45%) and Albania (21%).

In Central Asia, the percentage of Muslims concerned about religious extremism ranges from roughly six-in-ten in Kazakhstan (63%) and Kyrgyzstan (62%) to fewer than one-in-ten in Azerbaijan (6%). In most of the countries surveyed in the region, worries about Islamic extremists are more common than are concerns about Christian extremists, although one-in-five in Kyrgyzstan are concerned about extremists of both faiths.

Suicide Bombing

In most of the 21 countries where the question was asked few Muslims endorse suicide bombing and other forms of violence against civilian targets as a means of defending Islam against its enemies. But in a few countries, substantial minorities believe suicide bombing can be often justified or sometimes justified.

Muslims in some countries surveyed in South Asia and the Middle East-North Africa region are more likely than Muslims elsewhere to consider suicide bombing justified. Four-in-ten Palestinian Muslims see suicide bombing as often or sometimes justified, while roughly half (49%) take the opposite view. In Egypt, about three-in-ten (29%) consider suicide bombing justified at least sometimes. Elsewhere in the region, fewer Muslims believe such violence is often or sometimes justified, including fewer than one-in-five in Jordan (15%) and about one-in-ten in Tunisia (12%), Morocco (9%) and Iraq (7%).

In Afghanistan, a substantial minority of Muslims (39%) say that this form of violence against civilian targets is often or sometimes justifiable in defense of Islam. In Bangladesh, more than a quarter of Muslims (26%) take this view. Support for suicide bombing is lower in Pakistan (13%).

In the countries surveyed in Central Asia and Southern and Eastern Europe, fewer than one-in-six Muslims consider suicide bombing justified in Turkey (15%), Kosovo (11%) and Kyrgyzstan (10%). Elsewhere in these two regions, even fewer say this tactic can be justified.

In Southeast Asia, Malaysian Muslims are more likely than Indonesian Muslims to consider suicide bombing justifiable (18% vs. 7%).
Footnotes:
20 The survey in Egypt was conducted Nov. 14-Dec. 18, 2011. Parliamentary elections were held in November 2011 through January 2012, and the Islamist Freedom and Justice Party was declared the winner of a plurality of seats in January 2012. The survey in Tunisia was conducted Nov. 10-Dec. 7, 2011. The Islamist party Ennahda won a plurality of seats in the Constituent Assembly elections in October 2011, and the Constituent Assembly met for the first time in November 2011. (return to text)

Photo Credit: © Scott E Barbour

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Muslims around the world express broad support for democracy and for people of other faiths being able to practice their religion freely. At the same time, many Muslims say religious leaders should influence political matters and see Islamic political parties as just as good or better than other political parties.

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Hajj

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Praying

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The estimates vary, but as of January 21, 2017, the Pew Research Institute estimates that there are about 1.8 billion Muslims in the world; nearly one-fourth of the world's population today. This makes it the world's second largest religion, after Christianity. However, within the second half of this century, Muslims are expected to become the world's largest religious group. The Pew Research Institute estimates that by 2070, Islam will overtake Christianity, due to faster birth rate (2.7 children per family vs. 2.2 for Christian families).

Islam is today the fastest growing religion in the world.

The Muslim population is a diverse community of believers spanning the globe. Over fifty countries have Muslim-majority populations, while other groups of believers are clustered in minority communities in nations on nearly every continent.

Although Islam is often associated with the Arab world and the Middle East, fewer than 15% of Muslims are Arab. By far, the largest populations of Muslims live in Southeast Asia (more than 60% of the world's total), while the countries of the Middle East and North Africa make up only 20% of the total. One-fifth of the world's Muslims live as minorities in non-Muslim countries, with the largest of these populations in India and China. While Indonesia currently has the largest population of Muslims, projections suggest that by 2050, India will contain the world's largest population of Muslims, expected to be at least 300 million.

Regional Distribution of Muslims (2017)

Latin America/ Caribbean: 840,000

North America: 3,480,000

Europe: 43,470,000

Subsaharan Africa: 248,420,000

Middle East/ North Africa: 370,070,000

Asia Pacific: 986,420,000

Top 12 Countries With the Largest Muslim Populations (2017)

Indonesia: 209.1 million

Pakistan 176.2 million

India: 167.4 million

Bangladesh 134.4 million

Nigeria: 77.3 million

Egypt: 77 million

Iran: 73.6 million

Turkey: 71.3 million

Sudan: 39 million

Algeria 34.7 million

Morocco: 31.9 million

Iraq: 31.2 million

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How Many Muslims Are There in the World?

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The estimates vary, but as of January 21, 2017, the Pew Research Institute estimates that there are about 1.8 billion Muslims in the world; nearly one-fourth of the world's population today. This makes it the world's second largest religion, after Christianity. However, within the second half of this century, Muslims are expected to become the world's largest religious group.

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Watch The Crusades Clip - Mankind The Story of All of Us | HISTORY

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Watch the The Crusades video clip of HISTORY's series Mankind The Story of All of Us'. Find this and many more videos only on HISTORY.

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*http://www.wildolive.co.uk/islam_denominations.htm
*http://personalpages.lvc.edu/robbins/IslamBranches.htm

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*http://www.uri.org/kids/world_isla_basi.htm
*http://www.islamicbulletin.org/newsletters/issue_24/beliefs.aspx

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The basic doctrines of Islam are collectively known as the Five Doctrines of Islamic Faith. They include a belief in the absolute unity of God, belief in angels, belief in prophets, belief in scriptures, and belief in the Final Judgment. In addition, some texts include a sixth pillar, that of God's divine decree and predestination.

The first of the doctrines is faith in the absolute unity of God .
Tawhid, meaning "making God one," refers to the strict belief of monotheism and the refusal to compromise this position. In fact, another name for Muslims is muwahhidun, translated as "unitarians" or "upholders of divine unity" (Denny 107). He is the only creator and disposer of the Universe, has no partner and no comparable being, none but Allah is worthy of worship (Morgan 91). Tawhid is so essential and central to the faith that shirk, or the associating anything with God, is the one fundamental error for Muslims. As described in the following Quranic verse, shirk is the only sin that God cannot forgive:

God forgives not that aught should be with Him associated; less than that He
forgives to whomsoever he will. Whoso associates with God anything has
gone stray into far error. (4:116)

The association of anything with God denies God in His true nature. In order for followers to allow belief into one's heart they must first surrender to God in his completeness. In fact, the Arabic word, islam, is translated as "to surrender" or "to submit." Associating anything with God is considered to be opposite to surrendering to Him, and therefore, no belief would be possible (Glasse 370).

The second doctrine of the faith asserts the belief in Angels as part of God's creation (Esposito 27).
In Arabic angels are known as malak, from la'aka meaning "to send on a mission" (Glasse 42). These angels have no sex and are made of light, whereas humans are made of clay (Denny 108). All of them are considered good, except Iblis/Satan, who was sent out of heaven after he refused God's command to bow down to Adam (Denny 108). The angels have various functions that are concerned with the spirits and souls of human that include carrying revelations, orders, and messages to the prophets, preaching the true and the good and encouraging believers by God's good tidings and His Eternal Paradise, and registering all human deeds (Morgan 99).

Although the angels work as messengers and helpers of God, none are considered to be superior to humans. The angels do not have free will and are completely obedient to God's commands. They have no central state, and therefore do not have the capacity, as humans do, to truly know God (Glasse 42).

Muslims also recognize another kind of supernatural creature, the Jinn. They can be differentiated from angels in several ways. Jinn, created from fire, are much lower than angels, are either male or female, have limited life spans, and can be either virtuous or wicked. Like humans, they too receive revelations through God's prophets.

The third doctrine is the belief in the prophets.
Muhammad was the last in a long line of prophets who were entrusted with bringing Scriptures to their peoples (Denny 108). The prophets are divided into two classes, rasuls and nabis. A rasul, or "messenger," was given a major new revelation and was called to communicate what God had sent to them (Denny 69). A nabi, or "prophet," is also one whom God has spoken to, but their mission lies within the framework of an existing religion (Glasse 318).

Regardless of the classification of the prophet, all are believed to "possess all natural perfections, excellent character, truthfulness and honesty in speech and deed before his appointment to office, because it is by virtue of these that he has deserved Prophetic mission and has come into contact with Angels, and received revelation" (qtd. in Glasse 318).

The fourth doctrine involves belief in the scriptures .
The Quran, meaning "recitation", is held to be the eternal, literal word of God. Therefore, to accept and believe in the messages of Allah is a mere consequence of belief in Angels and the prophets, the mediums by which God's word is revealed. All Scriptures are God's work, but the people before the dawn of Islam had corrupted the original messages to suit their own inclinations. The Quran is the purest extant scripture on Earth, as it is all the pure word of God's and has not been subject to tampering (Denny 108). It was revealed to Muhammad and preserved in the Arabic language and was placed in an order that was commanded by divine revelation (Esposito 9).

The fifth doctrine, belief in the Final Judgment , is of extreme significance and is very often emphasized in Islam. With the promise of reward for a life of faith and one of punishment for the unfaithful, final judgment emphasizes ultimate moral responsibility and accountability for each believer (Esposito 28). Salvation on the "Last Day" is assured for believers who displayed both faith and works. God will save the repentant sinner, but will not accept repentance on the verge of death. One must have established a pattern of repentance and good works, even if it was preceded by a life filled with evil-doing.

The time of the "Day of Distinguishing" is unknown to all but Allah. The angel Isafril will sound the trumpet and at that moment the order of the natural world will be inverted. The Quran describes the Garden of Paradise as a heaven filled with peace and dotted with flowing rivers, gorgeous gardens, and shining streams. It is life-affirming and emphasizes the beauty of creation and enjoyment of pleasures within the limits set by God (Esposito 28). Contrastingly, hell is a place of endless pain, suffering, and torment. It is filled with flames, boiling water, and blistering wind. This punishment is a just one for a life filled with unfaithfulness.

Finally, some texts include a sixth doctrine, a belief in God's divine decree and predestination . There is great tension between a belief in
God's foreordaining and human choice, and by and large all sects of Muslims do not agree (Farah 118).

The sayings of Muhammad, recorded in the Hadith, tend to favor a more predestinarian viewpoint than the Quran. For example, he was quoted to say, "...And God said: 'Write down the fate of every individual thing to be created,' and accordingly the pen wrote all that was, and that will be, to eternity" (Farah 120).

However, neither the Quran nor any other source unequivocally supports the doctrine of predestination. The position of free will is also embraced and implied (Denny 112). Some Muslims assert that omnipotence of God does not prevent free will. One can have a sense that nothing can be done to oppose the will of God, but man nonetheless has gift of free will in that he still makes choices.

Anyone who denies these basic tenets of Islam cannot be treated as a Muslim nor subjected to Muslim rules. Muslims believe that these doctrines are the basis of every divine religion and every human is called by Allah to adopt these beliefs. A mu'min, or one who has faith or "right belief", and also follows "right practice" is one who will enjoy eternal Paradise.

Denny, Frederick Matthewson. An Introduction to Islam. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1994.

---. Islam and the Muslim Community. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1987.

Esposito, John L. What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Farah, Caeser E. Islam: Beliefs and Practices. Woodbury, NY: Barron's Educational Series, Inc., 1970.

Glasse, Cyril. The Concise Encyclopedia of Islam. San Francisco, CA: Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc., 1989.

Morgan, Kenneth W., ed. Islam-The Straight Path: Islam Interpreted by Muslims. New York: The Ronald Press Company, 1958.

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The basic doctrines of Islam are collectively known as the Five Doctrines of Islamic Faith. They include a belief in the absolute unity of God, belief in angels, belief in prophets, belief in scriptures, and belief in the Final Judgment. In addition, some texts include a sixth pillar, that of God's divine decree and predestination.