World Religions - Islam

Islam is probably the most misunderstood religion in America. It has virtually become a synonym for terrorism. I wonder how many people have actually taken the time to find out what it means to be Muslim? The Dalai Lama, a Buddhist and Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, recognized this and had the following comment:

Muslims are being unfairly stigmatized as a result of violence by “some mischievous people,” said the Dalai Lama, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his work to bring democracy and freedom to his people. All religions have extremists and “it is wrong to generalize (about Muslims),” the 71-year-old spiritual leader said.

See the full text here:

Terrorism is as much a part of Islam as the KKK is a part of the Christian Church. They both do not represent religious organizations. Both Muslims and Christians believe in one God and have many similar practices.

Both religions have many factions or sects. We often hear about the Sunnis and Shiites in Islam. The Sunnis are the largest sect and represent the majority of all Muslims. The Shiites are a minority everywhere except in Iran. Below is a list of the major Muslim sects. For more information on each one a link is provided.

• Sunnis Shiites Sufis Kahrajites Wahhabis Ismailis


• Zaidis Fatimids Nizaris Alawis Druze Bahais
  

A good analysis of Judaism Christianity and Islam can be found here where the practices and relationships of each religion is explained in detail.

A detailed look at the history and development of Islam can be found here

Here is a short clip on Muslims for Peace and a documentary on the difficulties of being a Muslim in the UK

Listen to this beautiful song below and I am sure you will feel the love flowing!!
[youtube="http://youtube.com/watch?v=gtbjx0RRV_4"]