|
|
 Islam is the world's second most followed religion .....and growing
|
Islam - Introduction
Islam is the world's second most followed religion.
It began in its present form 1400 years ago in Arabia, but swiftly become a world faith, and now has around 1,200 million adherents.
There are between 1.2 and 2.6 million Muslims in the UK, about 600,000 of whom are active in the faith. Those who are not active still regard being a Muslim as an important part of their identity.
"Islam" is an Arabic word which means surrendering oneself to the will of God, and achieving peace and security by doing so.
A person surrenders to the will of Allah by living and thinking in the way Allah has instructed.
Islam is more than a system of belief. The faith provides a social and legal system and governs things like family life, law and order, ethics, dress, and cleanliness, as well as religious ritual and observance.
Islam - Introduction
Geography
Basic Islam
The beginning of Islam
The five pillars of Islam
God and the Islamic Scripture
The life of Muhammad
The 4 Caliphs
Islam Today
Useful Links
Geography
The countries with the largest Islamic populations are in Asia rather than the Middle-East.
These are Indonesia (170 million), Pakistan (136 million), Bangladesh (105 million), and India (103 million).
However, Islam's three holiest places, the cities of Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem are all in the Middle East. There are between 1.2 and 2.6 million Muslims in the UK, and about 600,000 follow the faith actively.
Most British Muslims came to the UK from India or Pakistan, or are the descendants of immigrants.
http://www.bbc.co.uk
|
|
 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Re: Islam is the world's second most followed religion .....and growing (Re: Frankly)
|
ISLAM The second largest world religion...and growing. Click below to visit our sponsors. Quotations: "The messenger of Allah said: "Islam is to testify that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, to perform the prayers, to pay the zakat, to fast in Ramadhan, and to make the pilgrimage to the House if you are able to do so." He said: " You have spoken rightly", Jebreel (Gabriel) from Number 2 of "Al-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths." 1 "If anyone harms (others), God will harm him, and if anyone shows hostility to others, God will show hostility to him." Sunan of Abu-Dawood, Hadith 1625. "Jim Jones, David Koresh and Meir Kahane do not typify Christianity and Judaism in the eyes of the civilized West, but those same eyes are prone to see Osama bin Laden and Mullah Muhammad Omar as typifying Islam," Richard Bulliet 2  About Islam: Estimates of the total number of Muslims range from 0.7 to 1.2 billion worldwide and 1.1 to 7 million in the U.S. 3 About 21% of all people on earth follow Islam. The religion is currently in a period of rapid growth. Christianity is currently the largest religion in the world. It is followed by about 33% of all people -- a percentage that has remained stable for decades. If current trends continue, Islam will become the most popular world religion sometime in the mid-21st century. http://www.religioustolerance.org/islam.htm
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Islam is the world's second most followed religion .....and growing (Re: hassan bashir)
|
أخي الكريم حسن بشير
ما تطرقت إليه نقطتين جديرتين بالنقاش
الإعلام والكنيسة والسياسيون بطرحرون صورة غير صحيحة وغير واقعية عن الإسلام وعادة ما يتم طرحه كمشكلة او منبع للشر
هذه الجموع الغفيرة الذين يتحولون للإسلام بعيداً عن الكنيسة إنما يأتي ذلك جراء الإختلاف الكبير بين ما تشيعه الآلة العلامية وبين الواقع المعاش والتجارب مع المسلمين الذين لم يعدو مجرد مهاجرين بل كثير من السكان الأصليين
إن هؤلاء الذين يتحولون للإسلام هم في الأصل مؤمنون مسيحيون يفتقدون للكثير من الإجابات لعدد من القضايا التي تشغل بال المؤمن وعندما يقارنون توجهات الإسلام وعقيدته يتضح لهم أن الكنيسة والإعلام قد كذب عليهم في تعمد تعتيم تلك الصورة عن الإسلام فيتعاطفون مع الإسلام والمسلمين ومن ثم يطلعون أكثر على الإسلام وحياتهم اليومية فيجدون فيه عكس ما تطرحه على الكنيسة ويقدمه الإعلام لهؤلاء "المؤمنين"
تحياتي كمال
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Islam is the world's second most followed religion .....and growing (Re: Frankly)
|
Islam growing fast in America
In the US, where Muslims number over six million, the Islamic faith has in many estimates surpassed Judaism and is believed to be the second largest religion in America. Anayat Durrani profiles some new US converts to Islam
March 10, 2000
Islam, a religion that was for centuries believed to have been ‘spread by the sword’ is currently the fastest growing religion in the United States and in the world. Adherents to the Islamic faith number 1.2 billion worldwide. And growing… In the United States, where Muslims number over six million, the Islamic faith has in many estimates surpassed Judaism and is believed to be the second largest religion in America after Christianity. While part of the rise in the population of Muslims in the United States is due to immigration, the phenomenal growth of Islam in the past 10 years has come from an increasing number of Americans converting to Islam from other religions.
Muslim leaders estimate that half the number of American converts to Islam come from the African-American community. Twenty-two-year-old Leslie Jordan is a recent convert to Islam. "I decided that I wanted to convert to a religion whose beliefs were like mine and whose practices would compliment the life I wanted to lead and help to exemplify my beliefs." Jordan, who changed her name to Thanaa ("thankfulness"), studied Islam for seven months, often cross-referencing with the Talmud and Bible. She was convinced that Islam was the truth. "Conversion for me has not been too difficult as I have truth in the verses of the Holy Qur'an and in the Hadith."
Islam continues to draw followers at an estimated rate of 135,000 converts per year. During the Gulf War alone, it was reported that approximately 3,000 Americans converted to Islam.
American women make up the second largest group of converts to Islam. Dani Black converted to Islam in March of 1997. Originally a Catholic, Black studied one religion after another, from Buddhist to Pentecostal. She remained unsatisfied until her search led her on the path to Islam. "Finally, Allah (SWT) made a way for me to find the truth." Black, who now goes by the name of Khadijah, said her husband converted to Islam shortly after she did. "We both are very happy."
At the rate that Islam is spreading, demographers predict that by the year 2025 one out of four people in the world will be Muslim.
Forty-eight-year-old Everett Ferguson, now Luqman Abdullah-Wajid, was introduced to Islam at the age of 20. In his youth, Abdullah-Wajid did not follow any religion nor did he believe in God. "As I studied Islamic beliefs, I was struck by how they were in harmony with reason," he says. "Islam’s clarity, logic, and authenticity leave me feeling very grateful."
The increase in the number of American Muslims may be a result of the presence of more mosques and Islamic centers that are sprouting up in several cities across the United States. There are approximately 2,000 mosques, Islamic centers and schools in the country. Non-Muslims are often invited to mosques and Islamic centers where they are provided with information about Islam.
James was raised a Baptist and during his childhood attended Baptist, Lutheran and Methodist churches. While in law school, he accompanied a classmate and attended Catholic church. It wasn’t until his 30s that James says he began to study religion seriously. "I studied briefly with the Original Hebrew Israelites, before getting a copy of the Holy Qur’an," he says. "After reading it, I was touched in my soul and many of the questions that I had throughout my life were answered. I knew that I had to make a decision." At the age of 33, a Muslim co-worker took James for a visit to a local mosque. "I was so moved that I took my shahada right then and there."
Converting to a new faith is not always a smooth transition. The difficulties new Muslims face after conversion often arise from family and friends. For Thanaa, her conversion was not easily accepted. "The most difficult part for me has been trying to explain my choice to change to family and friends who are not familiar with what Islam is really about." Thanaa says that only her mother, sister and boyfriend have accepted her conversion. James also experienced similar difficulties when he became a Muslim. He says that his wife is the only one in his family with misgivings about his decision. "My wife, who is still Christian, still does not understand why I converted, and was upset. Inshallah, Allah will soften her heart."
Islam’s increasing numbers in recent years could be a sign that attempts at educating the American public about Islam by several American-based Muslim organizations have been working. For many years, Islam was not as well represented in the Judeo-Christian society of the United States. However, in recent years several organizations such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), and the American Muslim Council (AMC), among several others, have been successful in reaching the media and educating Americans about the real Islam.
The continued growth in the number of converts to Islam should finally put to rest the myth that Islam was ever ‘spread by the sword’. The great number of adherents to the Islamic faith is evidence enough of Islam’s powerful message.
"Becoming a Muslim is the best thing that has happened in my life," James says.
Anayat Durrani is a freelance journalist based in Los Angeles, Calif.
http://www.islamfortoday.com/america01.htm[/B]
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Islam is the world's second most followed religion .....and growing (Re: Frankly)
|
Quote: "The messenger of Allah said: "Islam is to testify that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, to perform the prayers, to pay the zakat, to fast in Ramadhan, and to make the pilgrimage to the House if you are able to do so." He said: " You have spoken rightly", Jebreel (Gabriel) from Number 2 of "Al-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths." 1
"If anyone harms (others), God will harm him, and if anyone shows hostility to others, God will show hostility to him." Sunan of Abu-Dawood, Hadith 1625.
"Jim Jones, David Koresh and Meir Kahane do not typify Christianity and Judaism in the eyes of the civilized West, but those same eyes are prone to see Osama bin Laden and Mullah Muhammad Omar as typifying Islam," Richard Bulliet 2 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Re: Islam is the world's second most followed religion .....and growing (Re: Frankly)
|
رحاب الاسلامJul 26 2006, 04:19 PM
لماذا يدخلن في الإسلام .. قصص وعبر ؟؟
أجرت الباحثة الهولندية (( كارن فان نيوكيرك )) من جامعة (( نايميخن )) دراسة عن ظاهرة اعتناق الشباب الهولندي وخاصة النساء للإسلام وأسباب ذلك ، والأثر الذي يحدثه الإسلام في نفوسهم حيث ركزت الدراسة على إجراء مقابلات مع عدد كبير من النساء الهولنديات اللاتي أسلمن ، حيث خرجت الباحثة ببعض النتائج والانطباعات عن دراستها وقالت:
الحجاب والالتزام ، وعدم الاختلاط بين الجنسين ، والصلاة خمس مرات في اليوم ، والامتناع عن أكل لحم الخنزير ، وشرب الخمر قد يكون بالنسبة لبعض المسلمين الأصليين صعباً ولكن هؤلاء يطبقون ذلك دائماً .
إنهم مجموعة من الهولنديين الذين اعتنقوا الإسلام يتجاوز عددهم ألـ ( 6000) شاب ، ثلثاهم من النساء ، تتراوح أعمارهم بين ( 20) إلى ( 25) عاماً.
إسلامهم ليس نصف إسلامهم ، فالكثير منهن يرتدين الحجاب الذي يغطي الرأس ، ويربط من تحت الذقن عن اقتناع ، والبعض منهن يرتدين النقاب الذي يغطي الوجه والكثير منهن يؤدين الصلاة خمس مرات في اليوم حتى في أوقات العمل .
كيف دخلن في الإسلام ؟؟
طبقاً لدراسة الباحثة ( فن نيوكيرك ) فإن بعض النساء تعرفن على الإسلام عن طريق زواجهن من شباب مسلم ، وبعضهن نتيجة السفر للخارج والتعرف على الإسلام ، وبعضهن عن طريق وجود ارتباط أو علاقة مع المسلمين في هولندا والبعض الآخر نتيجة وجود الرغبة في البحث والاستطلاع دعته للتعرف على حياة بعض الأجانب من الأصدقاء أو زملاء العمل .
مواقف مؤثرة :
وقد لاحظت الباحثة أن معظم هؤلاء المسلمات الجدد قد اتجهن إلى الدين نتيجة أحداث ومواقف وتجارب مررن بها كمرض قوي ، أو تجربة سيئة ، وكنّ يبحثن عن الاستقرار النفسي ، والحياة الطبيعية والصحية . فقد وجدن أن الكثير من العادات والأوامر الإسلامية هي في واقع التمر أفضل للصحة العامة ولسلامة الجسم مثل حرمة أكل لحم الخنزير والدم ، وشرب الخمر ، واستخدام المخدرات والتدخين ، بالإضافة إلى فوائد الصيام وكانت الإباحية الجنسية (ة لدى الغرب ) سبباً من أسباب دخولهن الإسلام .
منقول
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Frankly
hassan bashir
حيدر حسن ميرغني
jini
فيس بوك
تويتر
انستقرام
يوتيوب
بنتيريست