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Islam FAQ (Part 1/15): Welcome & Index

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Asim Mughal

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May 21, 2006, 12:22:14 AM5/21/06

Archive-name: islam-faq/part1
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: 1995/3/27
Version: 3.3
Organization: Alumni Association, Caltech, Pasadena, California

Redistribution for profit, or in altered content/format
prohibited without explicit written permission of the author.
Any other redistribution must include this copyright notice and
attribution.

Frequently Asked Questions: Part 1
__________________________________

This message is automatically posted to 'Islam'
every month and when updated. This lists answers to most
commonly asked questions on the forum. Contributions & changes
are requested and should be directed to: mug...@caltech.edu

OVERVIEW: The Frequently Asked Questions document for
Islam has been divided in parts. Below is the index.

Part 1 - Welcome & Index
Part 2 - Info on Islamic News Groups
Part 3 - Introduction to Islam
Part 4 - God & Worship
Part 5 - Islam, Quran & Muhammad (PBUH)
Part 6 - Marriage Laws in Islam
Part 7 - Women In Islam
Part 8 - Life after Death, Moral System & Human rights in Islam
Part 9 - Islam: Prophethood, Jesus & Trinity
Part 10 - Islam: Farrakhism & Malcom X
Part 11 - Islamic Internet Guide: Islamic Resources on Internet
Part 12 - Other Islamic Resource Guides on Internet
Part 13 - Islamic Literature: Books & Video
Part 14 - Islamic Calendar & Prayer Time Table for 1994
Part 15 - Misc: List of Halal Foods

________________________________________________________

PART 1: Welcome & Index

Contents

--Articles--
1. Welcome ...................................................................
2. 1-800-662-ISLAM ...........................................................
3. Islam on Phone ............................................................
4. Archive Info ..............................................................
5. Credits ...................................................................
6. History of FAQ ............................................................

Articles .....................................................................

1. Welcome ...................................................................

This series of FAQ provides basic introductory information on Islam.
This information has been collected in response to the questions asked
on the USENET forum, Islam.

It is hoped, by providing this basic information, a lot of common
misconceptions are answered. In addition, those who wish to read beyond
the basic introduction, information is provided on how to find Islamic
literature on internet and in bookstores.

In this part of the series, the information specific to this FAQ is
provided. This includes the credits to the sources & the information on
where this FAQ is archived.

2. 1-800-662-ISLAM ...........................................................

Non-Muslims interested to learn about Islam can now dial toll-free

1-800-662-ISLAM

The phone number has been set up by the Islamic Circle of North America
(ICNA) exclusively for non-Muslims. The number became operational on
August 30, 1994.

Note: The last letter 'M' in the telephone number is optional.

3. Islam on Phone ...........................................................

(312) 777-0767

Ask for a list of questions and codes. Provided by III&E.

4. Archive Info ..............................................................

This FAQ is archived at several sites and is available for public
retrieval thru anonymous FTP, E-MAIL, Gopher & World Wide Web.

-- Anonymous FTP --

Site: rtfm.mit.edu
Dir: /pub/usenet/news.answers/islam-faq/

Site: ftp.uu.net
Dir: /pub/usenet/news.answers/islam-faq/

Site: ftp.cco.caltech.edu
Dir: /pub/calmsa/islam-faq/

-- E-MAIL --

Send E-mail to: mail-...@rtfm.mit.edu

Text of E-mail Message:

send usenet/news.answers/islam-faq/part1
quit

-- GOPHER --

Site: gopher.caltech.edu 70
Path: Computing Information/
CCO anonymous ftp archive/
pub/
calmsa/
islam-faq/

Site: latif.com 70
Path: Resources relating to Islam/
Soc.Religion.Islam

-- World-Wide-Web (WWW) --

One recommended interface is 'mosaic,' below are mosaic 'home pages.'

URL at USENET Archive site:
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/islam-faq/faq.html

URL at Caltech MSA site:
http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~calmsa/links.html

5. Credits ...................................................................

The author wishes to thank all those who contributed in any capacity for
the original one part FAQ or this multi-part FAQ.

-- SOURCES --

The basic introduction and literature presented in the FAQ is from
brochures on Islam distributed by Institute of Islamic Information &
Education (III&E). These brochures were typed in electronic form by
Ms.M.Ahmed.

What is III&E?

III&E is an acronym for the Institute of Islamic Information & Education
which was established in Chicago, Illinois in 1985. The III&E is
registered in the State of Illinois and recognized by the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) as a not-for-profit religious organization.

More information can be obtained by contacting Dr. M. Amir, III&E, P.O.
Box 41129, Chicago, IL 60641-0129, U.S.A.; Fax: (312) 777-7199; or
contact Sr. Margaret Ahmed.

-- FORMAT --

The format of the FAQ series has been done by utilizing resources of
Islamic Information & News Network (IINN). A custom program, Nebula,
written by editors of IINN for generating newsletters has been used.

What is IINN?

Islamic Information & News Network is a forum dedicated to educate the
network community on issues relating to Islam and Muslims in an academic
& non-political environment. Weekly digest is available on internet by
subscribing to MUS...@ASUACAD.BITnet (A Bitnet listserv list) and on
USENET: bit.listserv.muslims.

-- Multi-part FAQ V3.1 --

Contributions by: Margaret Ahmed, Zafar Hasan, Altaf Bhimji, Sharaaz
Khan & Masood Cajee.

-- Original FAQ --

The following people contributed towards the original one part FAQ.

Ishaq Zahid, Suhail Farooqi, Masud Khan, Salman Shaikh, Basalat Ali
Raja, Iraj Mughal, Kent Landfield, Ahmad Hashem & Asadullah K.
Japanwala, ,Daniel Faigin, Abdullah Haydar, Ahmed Abd-Allah, Nabil
Rehman.

-- Permissions --

Permission to post this multi-part FAQ has been obtained by the
following:

o Institute of Islamic Information & Education (III&E)
o Islamic Information & News Network (Mus...@PSUVM.bitnet)
o Moderator(s) of News.Answers (Thomas Khoenig & P.Huang)

6. History of FAQ ............................................................

The following is history of this FAQ in ascending order:

V 3.3 Released Mar 27, 1995 Cosmetic changes in header/footer.
V 3.2 Released Feb 01, 1995 Changed to 'Islam FAQ'
V 3.1 Released Jan 10, 1995 Split into 15 parts, internet guides & III&E
articles added.
V 3.0 Released Aug 14-28,1994, FAQ Split into 10 parts, III&E articles
included
V 2.9 Released July 04,1994, updated #2 #5 #9 #12
V 2.8 Released May 01, 1994, New item # 20
V 2.7 Released Apr 04, 1994, New Item # 3, update #8, #9.
V 2.6 Released Feb 26, 1994, New items # 11, # 17, # 18. Updated: #4,#7,#8
V 2.5 Released Jan 31, 1994, New item # 15. Item # 5 updated.
V 2.4 Released Jan 25, 1994, New item # 14
V 2.3 Released Jan 20, 1994, SRI mods updated.
V 2.2 Released Jan 19, 1994, Item 4 expanded, Trimmed Item 5
V 2.1 Released Jan 07, 1994, Minor touchup
V 2.0 Released Jan 05, 1994, Items 8-14 added
V 1.5 Released Jan 02, 1994. Item 1 expanded
V 1.0 Released Dec 25, 1993. 7 Items.

HISTORY & CREDITS FOR MERGED 'alt-newsgroup' FAQ:

HISTORY:

V 1.0 April 25, 1994 Total Items # 13
V 1.2 June 08, 1994 Items #3, #13,#14 are new. #15 Edited
V 1.3 June 26, 1994 New Item #15
V 1.4 Sept 05, 1994 New Item # 16, #1,#13,# 15 updated

CREDITS: Ahmed Helmy, Muhammad Ridha, Hussain Helmy, Salahuddin Ahmad,
Abdulrahman Al-Ali, Blake Ross, Pat St Jean, I Hussain

# End of Islam FAQ Part 1 #

Asim Mughal

unread,

May 21, 2006, 12:22:14 AM5/21/06

Archive-name: islam-faq/part2

Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: 1995/3/27
Version: 3.3
Organization: Alumni Association, Caltech, Pasadena, California

Redistribution for profit, or in altered content/format
prohibited without explicit written permission of the author.
Any other redistribution must include this copyright notice and
attribution.

Frequently Asked Questions: Part 2
__________________________________

This message is automatically posted to Islamic News Groups

every month and when updated. This lists answers to most
commonly asked questions on the forum. Contributions & changes
are requested and should be directed to: mug...@caltech.edu

OVERVIEW: The Frequently Asked Questions document for
Islam has been divided in parts. Below is the index.

________________________________________________________

PART 2: Info on Islamic News Groups

This part lists the detailed info on Islamic News Groups
on USENET.

PART A: Info on bit.listserv.muslims
- Will be added in the next revision -

PART B: Info on alt.religion.islam
- Will be added in the next revision -

PART C: Info on soc.religion.islam

Contents

--Articles--
1. Guidelines for Posting ....................................................
2. Email Addresses for S.R.I. ................................................
3. List of Moderators & History ..............................................
4. Moderator Selection Procedure .............................................
5. Guidelines & Rules for Moderators .........................................
6. Direct Submissions, Resubmissions & Format ................................
7. Acknowledgment Process ....................................................
8. Grievance Process .........................................................
9. E-mail Submissions ........................................................
10. Proper USENET format ......................................................
11. Test Messages .............................................................
12. Anonymous Submissions .....................................................
--Announcements--
13. Archive Info ..............................................................
14. Credits ...................................................................

Articles .....................................................................

1. Guidelines for Posting ....................................................

This forum is for discussions on Islam as a religion. The submissions to
this forum must:

1. Discuss Islam: directly related.

Includes theology, comparative studies with other religions,
announcements of Islamic conferences & sources of information for
muslims, Ramadan,Eid etc.

2. Academic language must be used.

No verbal abuse, personal attacks, flames, profanity or insults.

Rejected items will be returned back to the sender with a note from the
reviewing moderator.

2. Email Addresses for S.R.I. ................................................

Although one may post to Soc.Religion.Islam Forum using News Software,
it is possible to send submissions as an email message. Please use any
of the following email addresses:

1. s...@gnu.ai.mit.edu
2. religio...@ncar.ucar.edu
3. soc.religio...@newsbase.cs.yale.edu
4. soc-relig...@cs.utexas.edu

3. List of Moderators & History ..............................................

ACTIVE MODERATORS:

myso...@gnu.ai.mit.edu Nauman Mysorewala

csul...@gnu.ai.mit.edu Cynthia Sulaiman

HISTORY:

1989 : Soc.Religion.Islam established.

FOUNDER:
gwy...@gnu.ai.mit.edu Basalat Ali Raja

Moderators voted in Fall 1989:
------------------------------
b...@cco.caltech.edu Behnam Sadeghi Fall '89 - 11.15.91
na...@eecs.nwu.edu Naim Abdullah Fall '89 - 11.15.91
sh...@wpi.WPI.EDU Shari Deiana VanderSpeck
Fall '89 - 11.15.91

Moderators Selected in 1991:
---------------------------
mug...@iago.caltech.edu Asim Mughal 11.15.91 -
csul...@copper.Denver.Colorado.EDU Cynthia Sulaiman 11.15.91 - 4.02.92
ha...@mcs213k.cs.umr.edu Hanan Lutfiyya 11.15.91 - 11.19.92
az...@duke.cs.duke.edu Salman Azhar 11.15.91 - 9.15.93
jodar%girtab....@usc.edu Nick Jodar 11.15.91 - 2.12.92

Moderators Selected in 1992:
---------------------------
gwy...@gnu.ai.mit.edu Basalat Ali Raja 4.02.92 - 2.20.94
maj...@math.utexas.edu Zartaj Majeed 4.02.92 - 6.05.92

sad...@binkley.cs.mcgill.ca Sadeka Hedaraly 12.04.92 - 2.14.93
zee...@occs.cs.oberlin.edu Zeeshan Hasan 12.04.92 - 9.08.93

Moderators Selected in 1993:
---------------------------
di...@mentor.cc.purdue.edu Dina Wooten 5.04.93 - 6.08.93
ah...@cs.umb.edu Ahmad Hashem 5.04.93 - 2.05.94

ir...@gnu.ai.mit.edu Iraj Mughal 12.25.93 -
csul...@student.umass.edu Cynthia Sulaiman 12.25.93 - 1.20.94

Moderators Selected in 1994:
---------------------------
myso...@ucunix.san.uc.edu Nauman Mysorewala 3.01.94 - Current
cyn...@gnu.ai.mit.edu Cynthia Sulaiman 3.01.94 - Current

Coordinator Selected on MAY 22, 1992:
------------------------------------
mug...@alumni.caltech.edu Asim Mughal

4. Moderator Selection Procedure .............................................

The current moderators post an announcement for new moderators on S.R.I.
All interested applicants are sent a copy of guidelines and a list of
questions. References from others are appreciated. Each new moderator
has unanimous vote of current moderators. The new moderators must:

1. Have some understanding of Islam (not necessarily a Muslim).
2. Agree with guidelines of Soc.Religion.Islam.
3. Be able to recognize flames/insults.
4. Have experience with USENET, preferrably a reader of SRI and have
taken
some participation in discussions.
5. Be willing to volunteer at least 2-4 hrs of time for S.R.I. per week.
6. Secure unanimous vote from all current moderators.

As an additional step, the incoming moderators will be requested to sign
an affidavit, declaring their intent to abide by the guidelines of
Soc.Religion.Islam, Guidelines & Rules for the SRI moderators &
acceptance to a unanimous no-confidence motion.

5. Guidelines & Rules for Moderators .........................................

IMPORTANT NOTE:

The following guidelines are the lastest ones available.

At the time of selection,the current moderators pledged to uphold &
consider the following guidelines binding on them. Appended is also the
'affidavit-b' which the current moderators signed.

Any changes in the guidelines will be done at the request of the
moderators.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

By: Asim Mughal
Dated: 1/11/94

SRI MODERATOR RULES:

This does not cover all the established rules for moderators of SRI but
gives a clear picture of need for such rules. These rules have developed
over time & voted by the moderators.

A. CONFIDENTIALITY: 1. Internal discussion among the moderators must not
be revealed to a third party. All votings will be confidential as well.

B. BEHAVIOR: Professional language & behavior is expected when
addressing the readers & moderator colleagues.

C. SUBMISSIONS:

i. To: religion-Islam-request:
Any articles sent to religion-is...@ncar.ucar.edu reaches all
moderators. Such articles will be reviewed by the coordinator only, to
avoid duplications.
ii. Directly Sent to a Moderator:
It will not be regarded as an official submission to SRI.

D. COORDINATOR:

One of the moderators will be fully dedicated for for this positions.
The responsibilities include:
i. Take care of duplications
ii. Review cases of 'lost articles'
iii. Handle grievances from readers
iv. Write, update & maintain FAQ.
v. Represent SRI moderator panel
vi. Log activities of SRI, moderators, violations etc
vii. Communicate with third parties, e.g USENET, NCAR
viii. Call for votes on the issues at request of moderators.
ix. Conduct survey/poll of readers
x. Conduct interviews for new moderators.

E. SUBMISSIONS:

i. Review of submissions be held within 48 hrs (weekdays) and 72 hrs for
holidays or weekends.
ii. Acknowledgment must be made at the time of receipt and at the time
of posting of an article.
iii. Not sure: If not sure on making a decision, get a vote/opinion from
other colleagues.
iv. Common Questions: can be resolved consulting 'reference guide.'
v. Rejection Notices: All rejection notices will be Bcc' or CC'd to the
rest of the moderators, along with a rational of rejection.
vi. Approval Notices: All approved articles when posted will be sent to
the author with a cc the coordinator.

F. GUIDELINES:
i. Submitted articles must be:
- Directly or indirectly related to Islam
- No flames/personal attacks or insults
ii. Assumptions:
- Proper USENET format (79 column in width,less quoted text)
- Not a 'test message' or a blank message

G.PROBLEMS:
i. Lost Articles: or 'Second Attempts' will be forwarded to the
coordinator.
ii. Administrative: queries on SRI, asking for status on the article
submitted will be forwarded to the coordinator.
iii. Rejections: If a reader differs with a moderator. The moderator
must give it a second review. If the differences persist,forward
the case to the coordinator to a peer review.

H.VOTING:
i. Issues:For status of an article and for SRI related issues, a
majority voting decides the outcome.
ii. Change of Status: of a moderator. For a no-confidence vote, or for
new moderators, unanimous vote is a must.
iii.Voting will be initiated by the coordinator. All votes will be send
to him within 48 hrs (72 hrs weekends/holidays) or 'Abstain' will
be recorded. Votes will be tallied and results will be announced
by the coordinator.
iv. Binding: All majority voting decisions are binding on the
moderators strictly.

I.NEW MODERATORS:
i. Initiate: Coordinator may initiate the selection procedure by making
a solicitation on SRI or as a result of a request for a reader.
ii. Criteria: Some knowledge of Islam, fairness, honest, willing to work
with a team, spare time, working knowledge of USENET,willing to work
in accordance to the parameters of the forum.
iii.Questionnaire:A questionnaire is sent to all the applicants with some
basic questions based upon above criteria
iv. Affidavit: An affidavit is obtained to ensure in writing the
intentions to abide by the guidelines and agree to be accept a
unanimous vote against him/her.
v. Final voting: is conducted among the moderators. Unanimous voting is
required in favor of the applicant.
vi.There will be probationary period of upto 3 months, during which a
majority voting can remove the new moderator.

J:EMERGENCIES:
i. If coordinator can not be on-line for more than 48 hrs due to an
emergency situation. One of the predesignated moderator,will temporarily
assume the role of the coordinator. If predesignated moderator is also
not available, any other moderator may take up the role of a
coordinator.

K:LEAVE RULES:
i. After a leave of 3 months, a moderator must be reconfirmed for the
position.
ii. One may take upto three weeks (cumulative) of leave every six
months.
iii. Other moderators must be notified in advance.

* AFFIDAVIT *

AFFIDAVIT which all moderators of SRI agree to sign.

___ Affidavit -B _________________________________________________________

I agree that I will abide by the guidelines of the SRI newsgroup
while I am a moderator for the newsgroup. These guidelines can be
voted upon further by the moderators and after they have passed
these will also be obeyed by all current moderators.

Repeated violations of the guidelines may result is removal from the
moderator position if voted so uanimously by the moderators of SRI.

If a no-confidence vote is passed against me, at any time, it shall
be final, acceptable & binding for me. I agree to step down from the
position of moderator SRI if requested after such a no-confidence
vote.

I hereby, give up the right to contest such a decision in front of
any third party, in public or private.

Signed,

Dated:
===========================================================

6. Direct Submissions, Resubmissions & Format ................................

Please be reminded, in order to make this group efficient and to fairly
distribute the load on the moderators your cooperation is needed. We
would like to request the following.

1. Please do NOT send direct submissions to the moderators' accounts.
[Routing software distributes more or less equal number of articles to
each of the moderator.Sending direct upsets this balance unfairly]

2. Please do not re-submit articles again and again. Just ONCE is
sufficient. [This leads to duplication and waste of time & energy]

3. Please keep your column length less than 80.

4. Please 'Spell-check' your articles. [Moderators are for reviewing the
contents of the submission, NOT to format it or spell check it]

5. Please Keep them within the guidelines 1) Relevance to Islam 2)
Academic/prof. language

7. Acknowledgment Process ....................................................

It has always been our best effort to make this newsgroup run smoothly &
efficiently. In spite of it, there have been cases where readers feel
their articles were lost or never posted.

Effective *immediately* we have decided to send acknowledgment to each &
every message we receive in our mailboxes.

We ask for your cooperation in implementing the logistics.

Once your message is received by the moderator of SRI, you will be sent
a copy of your message back with the statement.

"Your posting for Soc.Religion.Islam appended below has been received in
the mailbox of moderator ____ ______"

o This will let you know 1. Your posting has been received. 2. Which
moderator is reviewing it.

o If you don't get an acknowledgment back within 48 hrs. Please send it
again with a header "Second Attempt." Acknowledgment of "Second Attempt"
will be circulated to co-moderators as well.

o In an unfortunate case of "Third Attempt." It should be sent directly
to the email address of Coordinator SRI*

o Your article will be posted on Soc.Religion.Islam from anywhere
between 1 hrs to 48 hrs.

o If you don't see your posting on Soc.Religion.Islam within 72 hrs of
receiving a return receipt - send a copy of your article with time
stamped headers to the Coordinator SRI.

WE REQUEST YOU TO COOPERATE BY:

o Not posting to Soc.Religion.Islam's email address unless you have
absolutely no way of posting thru USENET.

o Not posting your same article again & again. Just ONCE is enough.

o Not inquiring every day about your articles or your friends'.

Lets try to make this new system a success.

P.S. The present guidelines do not require the moderators of SRI to send
acknowledgments or handle the cases of lost articles.

8. Grievance Process .........................................................

This is an effort to establish a procedure for handling grievances. The
purpose is to make sure due attention is paid to concerns, objections &
criticism from the readers while at the same time it prevents unncessary
hassling of moderator(s). The final decision rests on majority voting
among the moderators.

SUMMARY

o If your article is rejected, you may ask the same moderator for a
review.

o If still unsatisfied, request a peer review.

o The moderator in question must decide whether to hold a peer review.

o Majority voting among moderators decides the outcome.

9. E-mail Submissions ........................................................

Please post your articles to USENET group soc.religion.islam.

The address : religion-is...@ncar.ucar.edu is only to be used in
extreme case. Any email sent to this address goes to ALL moderators.
This may lead to:

1. No moderator posting the article (thinking others may be doing so)

2. All moderators posting the article.

The usual case is (2) which causes duplication and waste of time
translating into one less article from other readers posted on S.R.I.
Hence, we discourge sending articles to this address.

10. Proper USENET format ......................................................

C O L U M N W I D T H:

The submissions must be trimmed to 79 characters in width. Without it,
the posting software does NOT post the article.

<------------- This makes 79 characters in width ----------------------------->
1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789

Additional time it takes to format postings translates into unfair
advantage against other readers, whose article face delays.

Q U O T E D T E X T:

The current NetNews software will not post an article if the quoted text
is more than the response. Please trim the quoted text from your
submissions for Soc.Religion.Islam.

Again, please submit your articles in proper USENET format. Thanks.

11. Test Messages .............................................................

o "Test Message" will be acknowledged but not posted.

This will ensure the sender knows his/her article made it to the
moderators. It is assumed their article or submission will follow.

o Repeated Test Messages: Will be acknowledged only once.

- Please don't abuse the system -

12. Anonymous Submissions .....................................................

o Submission from anonymous servers and personal requests from readers
to remain anonymous are acceptable.

o The guidelines apply to anonymous submissions, with regards, to
submission & contents.

o Anonymous postings may not be acknowledged.

Announcements ................................................................

13. Archive Info ..............................................................

This FAQ is archived at several sites and is available for public
retrieval thru anonymous FTP, E-MAIL, Gopher & World Wide Web.

-- Anonymous FTP --

Site: rtfm.mit.edu
Dir: /pub/usenet/news.answers/islam-faq/

Site: ftp.uu.net
Dir: /pub/usenet/news.answers/islam-faq/

Site: ftp.cco.caltech.edu
Dir: /pub/calmsa/islam-faq/

-- E-MAIL --

Send E-mail to: mail-...@rtfm.mit.edu

Text of E-mail Message:

send usenet/news.answers/islam-faq/part2
quit

-- GOPHER --

Site: gopher.caltech.edu 70
Path: Computing Information/
CCO anonymous ftp archive/
pub/
calmsa/
islam-faq/

Site: latif.com 70
Path: Resources relating to Islam/
Soc.Religion.Islam

-- World-Wide-Web (WWW) --

One recommended interface is 'mosaic,' below are mosaic 'home pages.'

URL at USENET Archive site:
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/islam-faq/faq.html

URL at Caltech MSA site:
http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~calmsa/links.html

14. Credits ...................................................................

The author wishes to thank all those who contributed in any capacity for
the original one part FAQ or this multi-part FAQ.

-- SOURCES --

The information on soc.religion.islam forum (in Part 2) has been
compiled from USENET archives and administrative logs of
Soc.Religion.Islam moderator panel.

What is III&E?

More information can be obtained by contacting Dr. M. Amir, III&E, P.O.
Box 41129, Chicago, IL 60641-0129, U.S.A.; Fax: (312) 777-7199; or

Tel: (312) 777-7443.

-- FORMAT --

What is IINN?

-- Permissions --

Permission to post this multi-part FAQ has been obtained by the
following:

o Institute of Islamic Information & Education (III&E)
o Islamic Information & News Network (Mus...@PSUVM.bitnet)

o Moderator(s) of Soc.Religion.Islam (Br.Nauman Mysorewala)

o Moderator(s) of News.Answers (Thomas Khoenig & P.Huang)

o Moderator(s) of Soc.Answers (Thomas Khoenig & P.Huang)

# End of Islam FAQ Part 2 #

Asim Mughal

unread,

May 21, 2006, 12:22:15 AM5/21/06

Archive-name: islam-faq/part3

Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: 1995/3/27
Version: 3.3
Organization: Alumni Association, Caltech, Pasadena, California

Redistribution for profit, or in altered content/format
prohibited without explicit written permission of the author.
Any other redistribution must include this copyright notice and
attribution.

Frequently Asked Questions: Part 3
__________________________________

This message is automatically posted to 'soc.religion.islam'

every month and when updated. This lists answers to most
commonly asked questions on the forum. Contributions & changes
are requested and should be directed to: mug...@caltech.edu

OVERVIEW: The Frequently Asked Questions document for
Islam has been divided in parts. Below is the index.

________________________________________________________

PART 3: Introduction to Islam

III&E Brochure Series; No. 1 (published by The Institute of
Islamic Information and Education (III&E) and reproduced with
permission)

Contents

--Articles--
1. Islam & Muslims ................................................ from III&E
2. Muslims & Arabs ................................................ from III&E
3. Allah The One & The Only God ................................... from III&E
4. Muhammad (PBUH) ................................................ from III&E
5. Source of Islam ................................................ from III&E
6. Some Islamic Principles ........................................ from III&E
7. Practices of Islam ............................................. from III&E
8. Other Related Aspects .......................................... from III&E
9. Non-Muslims .................................................... from III&E
--Announcements--
10. Archive Info ..............................................................
11. Credits ...................................................................

Articles .....................................................................

1. Islam & Muslims ................................................ from III&E

The name of this religion is Islam, the root of which is Silm and Salam
which means peace. Salam may also mean greeting one another with peace.
One of the beautiful names of God is that He is the Peace. It means more
than that: submission to the One God, and to live in peace with the
Creator, within one's self, with other people and with the environment.
Thus, Islam is a total system of living. A Muslim is supposed to live in
peace and harmony with all these segments; hence, a Muslim is any person
anywhere in the world whose obedience, allegiance, and loyalty are to
God, the Lord of the Universe.

2. Muslims & Arabs ................................................ from III&E

The followers of Islam are called Muslims. Muslims are not to be
confused with Arabs. Muslims may be Arabs, Turks, Persians, Indians,
Pakistanis, Malaysians, Indonesians, Europeans, Africans, Americans,
Chinese, or other nationalities.

An Arab could be a Muslim, a Christian, a Jew or an atheist. Any person
who adopts the Arabic language is called an Arab. However, the language
of the Qur'an (the Holy Book of Islam) is Arabic. Muslims all over the
world try to learn Arabic so that they may be able to read the Qur'an
and understand its meaning. They pray in the language of the Qur'an,
namely Arabic. Supplications to God could be in any language.

While there are one billion Muslims in the world there are about 200
million Arabs. Among them, approximately ten percent are not Muslims.
Thus Arab Muslims constitute only about twenty percent of the Muslim
population of the world.

3. Allah The One & The Only God ................................... from III&E

Allah is the name of the One and Only God. Allah has ninety-nine
beautiful names, such as: The Gracious, The Merciful, The Beneficent,
The Creator, The All-Knowing, The All-Wise, The Lord of the Universe,
The First, The Last, and others.

He is the Creator of all human beings. He is the God for the Christians,
the Jews, the Muslims, the Buddhists, the Hindus, the atheists, and
others. Muslims worship God whose name is Allah. They put their trust in
Him and they seek His help and His guidance.

4. Muhammad (PBUH) ................................................ from III&E

Muhammad was chosen by God to deliver His Message of Peace, namely
Islam. He was born in 570 C.E. (Common Era) in Makkah, Arabia. He was
entrusted with the Message of Islam when he was at the age of forty
years. The revelation that he received is called the Qur'an, while the
message is called Islam.

Muhammad is the very last Prophet of God to mankind. He is the final
Messenger of God. His message was and is still to the Christians, the
Jews and the rest of mankind. He was sent to those religious people to
inform them about the true mission of Jesus, Moses, Jacob, Isaac, and
Abraham.

Muhammad is considered to be the summation and the culmination of all
the prophets and messengers that came before him. He purified the
previous messages from adulteration and completed the Message of God for
all humanity. He was entrusted with the power of explaining,
interpreting and living the teaching of the Qur'an.

5. Source of Islam ................................................ from III&E

The legal sources of Islam are the Qur'an and the Hadith. The Qur'an is
the exact word of God; its authenticity, originality and totality are
intact. The Hadith is the report of the sayings, deeds and approvals of
the Prophet Muhammad. The Prophet's sayings and deeds are called Sunnah.
The Seerah is the writings of followers of Muhammad about the life of
the Prophet. Hence, it is the life history of the Prophet Muhammad which
provides examples of daily living for Muslims.

6. Some Islamic Principles ........................................ from III&E

A. Oneness of God:

He is One and the Only One. He is not two in one or three in one. This
means that Islam rejects the idea of trinity or such a unity of God
which implies more than one God in one.

B. Oneness of mankind:

People are created equal in front of the Law of God. There is no
superiority for one race over another. God made us of different colors,
nationalities, languages and beliefs so as to test who is going to be
better than others. No one can claim that he is better than others. It
is only God Who knows who is better. It depends on piety and
righteousness.

C. Oneness of Messengers and the Message:

Muslims believe that God sent different messengers throughout the
history of mankind. All came with the same message and the same
teachings. It was the people who misunderstood and misinterpreted them.

Muslims believe in Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Ismail, Jacob, Moses, David,
Jesus, and Muhammad. The Prophets of Christianity and Judaism are indeed
the Prophets of Islam.

D. Angels and the Day of Judgment:

Muslims believe that there are unseen creatures such as angels created
by God in the universe for special missions.

Muslims believe that there is a Day of Judgment when all people of the
world throughout the history of mankind till the last day of life on
earth, are to be brought for accounting, reward and punishment.

E. Innocence of Man at Birth:

Muslim believe that people are born free of sin. It is only after they
reach the age of puberty and it is only after they commit sins that they
are to be charged for their mistakes. No one is responsible for or can
take the responsibility for the sins of others. However, the door of
forgiveness through true repentance is always open.

F. State and Religion:

Muslims believe that Islam is a total and a complete way of life. It
encompasses all aspects of life. As such, the teachings of Islam do not
separate religion from politics. As a matter of fact, state and religion
are under the obedience of Allah through the teachings of Islam. Hence,
economic and social transactions, as well as educational and political
systems are also part of the teachings of Islam.

7. Practices of Islam ............................................. from III&E

God instructed the Muslims to practice what they believe in. In Islam
there are five pillars, namely:

A. Creed (Shahada):

The verbal commitment and pledge that there is only One God and that
Muhammad is the Messenger of God, is considered to be the Creed of
Islam.

B. Prayers (Salat):

The performance of the five daily prayers is required of Muslims.

C. Fasting (Saum):

Fasting is total abstinence from food, liquids and intimate intercourse
(between married couples) from dawn to sunset during the entire month of
Ramadan.

D. Purifying Tax (Zakat):

This is an annual payment of a certain percentage of a Muslim's property
which is distributed among the poor or other rightful beneficiaries.

E. Pilgrimage (Hajj):

The performance of pilgrimage to Makkah is required once in a life time
if means are available. Hajj is in part in memory of the trials and
tribulations of Prophet Abraham, his wife Hagar and his eldest son
Prophet Ishmael.

8. Other Related Aspects .......................................... from III&E

A. Calendar:

Islamic practices are based on the lunar calendar. However, Muslims also
use the Gregorian calendar in their daily religious lives. Hence, the
Islamic calendar includes both the common era and the migration (Higra)
year of the Prophet of Islam from Makkah to Madinah in the year of 623
C.E.

B. Celebrations (Eid):

Muslims have two celebrations (Eid); namely, Eid of Sacrifice and Eid of
=46ast-Breaking. The Eid of Sacrifice is in remembrance of the sacrifice
to be by Prophet Abraham of his son. The Eid of Fast-Breaking comes at
the end of the month of fasting, Ramadan.

C. Diets:

Islam allows Muslims to eat everything which is good for the health. It
restricts certain items such as pork and its by-products, alcohol and
any narcotic or addictive drugs.

D. Place of Worship:

The place of worship is called Mosque or Masjid. There are three holy
places of worship for the Muslims in the world. These are: Mosque of
Kaaba in Makkah, Mosque of the Prophet Muhammad in Madinah, and Masjid
Aqsa, adjacent to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.

A Muslim may pray any where in the world whether in a Mosque, a house,
an office, or outside. The whole world is a place of worship. It is
preferable that Muslims pray in a congregation, however, he/she may pray
individually anywhere.

E. Holidays:

The holy day of the Muslims is Friday. It is considered to be sacred and
the Day of Judgment will take place on Friday. Muslims join together
shortly after noon on Friday for the Friday congregational prayer in a
Mosque. A leader (Imam) gives a sermon (Khutba) and leads the
congregational prayer.

F. Distribution of Muslims in North America:

There are approximately five million Muslims in North America and are
distributed in its major cities such as New York, Detroit, Boston,
Toledo, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Cedar Rapids
(Iowa), Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Edmonton, Vancouver, Windsor,
Winnipeg, Calgary, and others.

G. Contributions in North America:

Muslims are not established in North America. Sears Tower and the John
Hancock buildings in Chicago were designed by a Muslim chief architect,
originally from Bangladesh. Muslims have established academic
institutions, community centers and organizations, schools and places of
worship. They live in peace and harmony among themselves and among other
groups of people in the society. The rate of crime among Muslims is very
minimal. Muslims in North America are highly educated and they have
added to the success of American scientific and technological fields.

The Muslims of the early period of the Islamic era were pioneers in
medicine, chemistry, physics, geography, navigation, arts, poetry,
mathematics, algebra, logarithms, calculus, etc. They contributed to the
Renaissance of Europe and world civilization.

9. Non-Muslims .................................................... from III&E

Muslims are required to respect all those who are faithful and God
conscious people, namely those who received messages. Christians and
Jews are called People of the Book. Muslims are asked to call upon the
People of the Book for common terms, namely, to worship One God, and to
work together for the solutions of the many problems in the society.

Christians and Jews lived peacefully with Muslims throughout centuries
in the Middle East and other Asian and African countries. The second
Caliph Umar, did not pray in the church in Jerusalem so as not to give
the Muslims an excuse to take it over. Christians entrusted the Muslims,
and as such the key of the Church in Jerusalem is still in the hands of
the Muslims.

Jews fled from Spain during the Inquisition, and they were welcomed by
the Muslims. They settled in the heart of the Islamic Caliphate. They
enjoyed positions of power and authority.

Throughout the Muslim world, churches, synagogues and missionary schools
were built within the Muslim neighborhoods. These places were protected
by Muslims even during the contemporary crises in the Middle East.

Announcements ................................................................

10. Archive Info ..............................................................

This FAQ is archived at several sites and is available for public
retrieval thru anonymous FTP, E-MAIL, Gopher & World Wide Web.

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-- World-Wide-Web (WWW) --

One recommended interface is 'mosaic,' below are mosaic 'home pages.'

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URL at Caltech MSA site:
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11. Credits ...................................................................

-- SOURCES --

What is III&E?

-- FORMAT --

What is IINN?

-- Permissions --

# End of Islam FAQ Part 3 #

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