The Change in Islam
Lauren D. Williamson
DeVry University

Introduction Religion can be a very controversial topic to discuss amongst individuals because each person expresses or feels ethnocentric about one’s own faith. Some people believe that religion plays a very important role in their lives, creating a passageway to how their future will be shaped. In the United States, there is over 300 different religions and denominations (Wallace, 2013). Diversity amongst different religious groups is growing because of the rapid increase in the number of people joining their religious faith. Islam, the third largest religion studied in the world (Ibrahim, 2000), is a highly controversial issue mainly due to negative assumptions and misconceptions about its values and beliefs. The most sensitive topic discussed is usually used in reference in comparing the Islam faith to 9/11; which in turn causes other individuals to base a bias notion about Islam. But in order to establish a general idea or assumption about the Islam faith, one must research the basics about the practice religion. This essay will explore the basic teachings and beliefs of Islam, how the religion has been interpreted differently, and compare and contrast the difference between Islam, Christianity and Judaism. There are many different opinions on how Islam was first originated. The prophet’s opinion believed that Islam was originated from a Prophet name Muhammad (Ibrahim, 2000) in 610 after dead (AD). He was given the gift to become the prophet during an angelic experience with an angel named Gabriel. Prophet Muhammad was believed to be “the last messenger of God.” He was to absorb all teachings from Gabriel in order to learn God’s message and descript the message in “the holy book” for Muslims (Ibrahim, 2000) called The Qur’an. The God’s believers considered that Islam originated years before Muhammad, and that God is superior and the creator of the universe. His view is what started Islam, and his scriptures were to be read and comprehended in order to know how to worship him. Allah is not a name specifically used only by Muslims, but an Arabic name used in reference to the Islam God. Islam worshipers vow their life freely to follow The Commandments and The Will of The One and Only God Allah (Ali, Liu & Humedian, 2004). There are no priests, pastors or holy men with special influences from God. Instead, Islam has advisors that are knowledgeable in the study of Islam and their sole duty is to spread the truth and teach Islam to others. Prophet Muhammad began his journey by first preaching quietly amongst his family members and close friends. He then received another message from Gabriel, to begin announcing his prayers to the public in Mecca and allow people the ability to convert to Islam. Mecca was considered the holy temple of Islam, the birthplace of Muhammad and the creation of Qur’an (Ezzati, 2002). As the number of followers increased, different groups and tribes of Islam were created. Muhammad was a part of the Quraysh tribe (Arnold, 2001), being the most powerful amongst all tribes. Shortly after his journey, Muhammad’s wife and uncle had passed, and the new clan member of the Quraysh tribe withdrew protection of Muhammad, forcing him and his devoted converters to move Islam to Medina. The move caused tension between Mecca and Medina, leading them to war against one another (Ezzati, 2002). During this battle, many soldiers from both sides were already converters to Islam. Depending on where they were stationed, soldiers also began spreading the Islam faith. Between Muhammad spreading the word, building tribes and soldiers during the war spreading the Islam faith, all these circumstances allowed the beliefs of Islam to spread to other countries. When peace was made between Mecca and Medina, Muhammad decided to convert all Arabic members to Islam. After Muhammad’s death Muslims devoted many days