Well, the short answer is that Islam is a religion who's followers are called Muslims. The long answer is a bit more complicated.
A 2011 survey estimated that there are over 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide making Islam the 2nd largest religion in the world.
1.6 billion is roughly 22% of the world’s population which means that for every 10 people in the world, 2 of them are probably Muslim. That’s massive.
A religion this large is difficult to put in a box and understand succinctly. If you don’t believe me, ask two different people to explain the religion of Islam and you’ll quickly see that they either don’t know, or don’t agree.
The American media has done very little to help us understand the complexities that naturally arise within a group of 1.6 billion people from different countries, cultures, and backgrounds. Politics has muddied the waters even further which has led to misunderstandings and radical views based on false information.
Racism plays a huge role and replaces a lack of understanding with a fear of the unknown which has led to violence and hatred and even more racism. American politics has drawn lines between peaceful Muslims and Radical Islamist Terrorists which has caused division even among Americans but it’s baffling to think that as much as Muslims are in the American news and as often as they are talked about, most Americans know very little about Muslim beliefs, practice, or history.
It is important to remember that Islam is a large religion and the 1.6 billion followers are multi-faceted and complicated human beings. If we want to understand, we should probably QUIT watching the news and START doing some research.
But where do we start.
Thankfully, Brian Reed has put together a fantastic eBook called "A Christian response to Islam", packed with information including:
You can download the eBook by clicking Here.
A 2011 survey estimated that there are over 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide making Islam the 2nd largest religion in the world.
1.6 billion is roughly 22% of the world’s population which means that for every 10 people in the world, 2 of them are probably Muslim. That’s massive.
A religion this large is difficult to put in a box and understand succinctly. If you don’t believe me, ask two different people to explain the religion of Islam and you’ll quickly see that they either don’t know, or don’t agree.
The American media has done very little to help us understand the complexities that naturally arise within a group of 1.6 billion people from different countries, cultures, and backgrounds. Politics has muddied the waters even further which has led to misunderstandings and radical views based on false information.
Racism plays a huge role and replaces a lack of understanding with a fear of the unknown which has led to violence and hatred and even more racism. American politics has drawn lines between peaceful Muslims and Radical Islamist Terrorists which has caused division even among Americans but it’s baffling to think that as much as Muslims are in the American news and as often as they are talked about, most Americans know very little about Muslim beliefs, practice, or history.
It is important to remember that Islam is a large religion and the 1.6 billion followers are multi-faceted and complicated human beings. If we want to understand, we should probably QUIT watching the news and START doing some research.
But where do we start.
Thankfully, Brian Reed has put together a fantastic eBook called "A Christian response to Islam", packed with information including:
- The Story of Muhammad
- Evaluation of Muhammad’s prophetic claims
- Muslim History after Muhammad
- Muslim Communities and Sects
- Muslim Beliefs and Practices
- The 5 core Beliefs and 5 Pillars of Islam
- The Muslim State
- The Meaning of Jihad
- A list of resources for further study
- And much more
You can download the eBook by clicking Here.
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