Religions of the Middle East
Islam 12/2

-Shari'ah is an Islamic law comparable to the Jewish Talmud.
-Fatwa is a death sentence pronounced by clerics. Salmon Rushdie has one out for him after writing The Satanic Verses.
-Fourth pillar of Islam, Sawn/Ramadan
-Fifth pillar of Islam, Hajj or the pilgrimage to Mecca. Only the head of household is expected to do this and generally if one can not afford it, it ain't no biggie.

-All 5 pillars of Islam can be traced back to preislamic religion.
-Here are some other aspects taken from Paganism:
-Allah was the pagan moon god.
-Praying 5 times a day towards Mecca.
-Zakat or charity tax
-Fasting during Ramadan
-Pilgramage to Mecca

-After Mohammed died he left no method of succession, because of course he didn't think he was going to die. So Islam split in to two sects, along with a smaller mystical sect.

1)The Sunnis make up about 85% of muslums today. Their name comes from the word "sunna" meaning tradition. They followed Mohammed's father-in-law, Abu Bakr. Their beleifs are based on the written tradition, and their traditionalist interpretation to Islam is comparable to that of Catholics interpretation of Christianity.

2)The Shi'ites make up about 10% of today's Muslums and they mostly reside in Iran. Their title means followers of Ali, and Ali was Mohammed's cousin. Their beliefs are based on clerical a clerical interpretation guided by heaven. Shi'ites are comparable to the charismatics or pentecostals.

3)The Sufis get their name from the arabic word meaning wool. They make up only about 5% of Muslims and are an ascetic mystical group.