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It is estimated that 94
-96% of the population of Egypt is Muslim.
There are some three to four million
Coptic Christians living in Egypt.
The word "Islam" means
"having peace with God" or "submission to
God". A Muslim is a follower of Islam.
"Allah" is the Arabic word for God and the
"Quran" is the holy book of Islam,
representing the literal word of God as
revealed to the Prophet Mohammed through
the Archangel Gabriel. The Prophets
"sayings" or "hadith" supplement the
Qur'an as a guide to the correct conduct
and behavior of Muslims. The Hadith
includes reported sayings, deeds and
approvals of the Prophet Mohammed. This
code is called the "Sunna".
Five basic duties are
required of the believer in Islam. These
duties are typically called the "Five
Pillars", because they form the foundation
of the house of Islam.
1. The
confession of faith or affirmation of the
creed (Shahada): "There is no God but God
and Mohammed is the Messenger of God".
2. Prayers
(Salah): Muslims are required to pray five
times daily, facing in the direction of
Mecca, the holiest city in Islam. The
times for prayers are dawn, noon,
mid-afternoon, dusk and after dark.
3. Fasting (Sayam):
Ramadan, the month of the Prophets first
revelations, is the month of fasting for
Muslims. All sane adults are obligated to
fast between dawn and dusk during this
month.
4.
Almsgiving, a tax or gift (Zakah): It is
the responsibility of all Muslims to give
not less than 2,5 % of their earnings and
savings to the community each year to help
the poor.
5. Pilgrimage (Hajj): Each
Muslim is required to perform a pilgrimage
to Mekka at least once in a lifetime if
means are available.
The Islamic calendar began
in the "year of Hejira" or A.H. 1, which
was the year the Prophet Mohammed moved
from Mecca to Medina to escape religious
persecution. A.H. 1 corresponds with the
year AD 622 of the Gregorian calendar. The
Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar and
based on 354 days.
This is the reason that
Islamic new year, feasts and the month of
Ramadan are shifts. Ramadan 2005 will take
place from 15th of October to 15th of
November. Ramadan 2006 will start approx.
4th of October and in 2007 at the 24th of
October. Friday is the holy day for
Muslims, so Egypt's weekend is Friday and
Saturday.
The basic principals of
Islam
- Muslims are not allowed
to eat pork and its by-products, they
should avoid alcohol.
- Most importantly "There is no God but
God". God is the one and only. Jews,
Christians and Muslims are called the
"People from the Book", the book referred
to being the Old Testament.
- Muslims believe God has sent several
Messengers or Prophets through the ages.
The Prophets of Judaism and Christianity,
such as Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and
Jesus are also Prophets of Islam. Mohammed
is believed to be the final Prophet of
God.
- Muslims believe God created unseen
creatures such as angels for special
missions.
-They also believe that there is a day of
judgement when all people throughout
history are brought before God for
accounting, punishment and reward.
- In Islam prayer is to God and only God
and is made by the individual with no
intermediaries.
- There is nor "Original Sin" in Islam.
Humans are born free from sin and it is
only after they reach puberty and after
they commit a sin that they are charged
for their mistakes. The door of
forgiveness by God is always open through
repentance.
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