"The basic duties of Moslems are summed up in the five pillars of Islam. Mohammad's writings are compiled in the Qur'an, which most Moslems agree should be read only in Arabic. He also instituted the idea of the Jihad, or Holy War. Moselms were to convert the entire world, and warfare was an effective means to that end; those who resist conversion could be killed. The incentive to warriors was that, if they died in battle, they went to the highest heaven, a very sensual place. The promise of plunder, combined with the idea of eternal reward, led to many Jihads in the next few centuries, mostly in the Middle East and northern Africa."
What a load of horse crap. As a muslim I find the idea of Jihad as represented here appalling. The guy obviously didn't do his research, and has a pathetic knowledge of Islamic history at best. Sheesh.
The purpose of Jihad has never been, and never will be conversion. Islam is the only religion on the planet that has ever acknowledged that other religions might be valid in their worship of God. Jihad was originally used as a spiritual method to struggle against the temptations of everyday life, and later, as a struggle against oppressive forces in the outside world. My goodness, the above write up makes muslims sound like a bunch of thieves, liars, and fanatics, all of which we reject totally. I will write a more complete node with a DECENT version of islamic history taken from reliable sources later, but for now, shame on you two! Read up on muslims, jihad, and other islamic things else where...!
Here is the promised re-writeup:
Before Mohammad, Arabia was inhabited by Bedouins; Mecca was a religious and commercial center. Arabs were polytheists, and they worshipped a host of idols in the Ka'aba at Mecca. They had a number of unsavoury habits such as continual tribal warfare, and the burying alive of unwanted infant girls.
Mohammad was born in 571 to a middle-class family. He was known as Al-Ameen, "the trustworthy" because of his spotless reputation. He was illiterate. He traveled with many caravans as an administrator whose responsibility was to see that the caravan arrived safely and with all goods intact. In 610, Mohammad was sitting in a cave, and the angel Gabriel gave him a message from Allah. He was commanded to memorize all of his visions, as he was illiterate he could not write them down. He did so, and after reluctantly revealing his experiences to his wife Khadijah, he began to gain followers by the force and quality of the words he recited. By 615, he had developed a large following in Mecca. His basic message was one of tolerance, kindness, belief in one god, respect for morality above and beyond tribal links, and prayer. As the ranks of his followers swelled, he became a threat to the local tribes, especially the Quraysh his own tribe whose responsibility it was to look after the Kaba, which at this time was home to the several thousand idols that people worshipped as gods. As Mohammed preached against this pantheon he became deeply unpopular with the rulers and his followers suffered from repeated attacks to person and property. Eventually there was an assassination attempt. He was forced to flee Mecca on 16 July 622 ; this is known as the Hijrah, and it is the date that marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar.
Mohammad went to Medina, and the time known as Yathrib where he was invited to become ruler of the town by a large group of residents. He declared a welfare state, collected taxes for the needy, organised town defences against numerous raiding parties from Mecca and beyond, and agreed numerous trade agreements. He built mosques, and established a religous culture based on personal respect for other religions (the town also contained Christians and Jews).
After the repeated raid attempts on the town, Mohammad and his followers began to raid the raiders' caravans, in retaliation and he distributed the treasure equally amongst his followers. By 627, Mohammad had united Medina under Islam with protected privileges for the Jews and Christians who lived there. Word of the new religion, with the peace and prosperity it brought spread by trade. The Bedouin became keenly interested in this new religion; they saw its potential to bring peace and plenty to their wandering tribes, and after much negotiation they became allies with Mohammed and after much contact with the town and muslims they gradually converted. At this stage the revelations that had been coming to Mohammed were almost complete, and he was told that he was to return to Mecca and reclaim the Kaba. With negotiation and assent of the elders of the Quraysh he made an unarmed pilgrimage to the Kaba. This continued for a while but then the agreement broke down, and war was declared. But there was no bloodshed.In 630, 20 years after being forced to flee, Mohammad marched with an army of 10,000 followers back to Mecca, and the Meccans surrendered without a fight. He became a religious and political leader of the city. He destroyed all the idols in the Kaba, and gave a general amnesty to all his enemies in the town.
The basic duties of Muslims are summed up in the five pillars of Islam. These are Shahada, Salah, Zakat, Ramadan and Hajj. OR in english: The Creed, Prayer, Alms-Giving, Month of Fasting, and Pilgrimage to Mecca. The Quran, Allah's revelation to humanity was memorized by his followers and written down during his lifetime. It is believed to be the word of God, sacred and unalterable. As such only the original arabic version of it is regarded as the Quran and translations are seen as poor shadows of the original's meaning. He also instituted the idea of the Jihad, or Holy War. The struggle with one's self for mastery of the soul, and the struggle with the world to achieve justice and lasting peace in the face of oppresion and suffering. If a person dies in the middle of Jihad, he is sent to heaven straight away, which is a great incentive to do good no matter what other people say.
When Mohammad died in 622, he did not name a successor and left no sons. His advisors took over, and the next four leaders of Islam are known as the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs. Abu Bakr was the first as he was the oldest and seen as the wisest; he was Mohammad's father-in-law, and he laid foundations for the years ahead uniting the tribes of Arabia under Islam.. Umar was next, and he conquered Persia, Syria, Egypt, and northern Africa. After him came Uthman, who conquered even more territory and developed a navy based in Alexandria. Within three generations the muslims had gone from being a group of wandering camel-herders to being in charge of the largest empire the world has ever known. When Uthman died, Ali became Caliph. Ali was a descendant of Mohammed and there were people who believed that he should have been the first Caliph because of his relation with the prophet. This was rejected by the majority of Muslims who said that the best person for the task of leader should be chosen. Anyway his supporters were known as Shi'a ul Ali, (of Party of Ali) or Shi'a for short. The Shi'a believe that the other three Caliphs were illegitimate because they were unrelated to the prophet. Both sides agreed that this was only a political difference and worhip side by side without difficulty even in present day. .