A Muslim is a person who follows the path of Islam. The holy book of Islam is the Qur’an. Like any other religion it also has its holy book. Islam is a religion that is growing at an accelerating rate. Muslims have to pray 5 times a day. Each prayer has its own name. It goes in order the prayers are Fajir, Duhr, Asr, Maghrib, and Isha.

Islam is my religion that is why it is very important to me. My entire on my mothers side have been Muslims since as long as we have known. My mom is a Muslim and I am too. I also need to learn about it as much as I can. I want to be faithful to my god that is why I am a Muslim. I believe that this religion is the right path (I am saying this as my own opinion).

Islam fascinates me that is why I chose it. Being Muslim is kind of fun. The cool thing about it is that you can have some privileges that some other kids who are Muslim can’t. This only applies to boys and girls who are Muslim. Since I am a guy I get more privileges than Muslim women. Which is kind of cool but is kind of bad at the same time? For example when you go to a funeral only the boy are allowed to the graves. The women have to stay behind. I chose it above all so that I could hit two birds with one stone. I would get my I-Search done and learn more about Islam.

What I Knew

I knew a lot about my topic when I started out. My entire family on my mother’s side is Muslim. I knew that Jesus was a prophet and Muslims believe that Jesus is not the son of god. The signs of our hands in Arabic it says “Allah” which means “God” but it only says that when you put your hands together. The Qur’an is Muslims Holy book which we learn a lot from. Young Muslim kids have to memorize the entire Qur’an from cover to cover which 300 pages or more I am no very sure.

I wasn’t really sure about the Muslim version of Jesus went. I always thought of the Christian way happened I didn’t even know about the Muslim version of how the story went. I also didn’t know that there were Muslim wars. I always thought that Muslims were peaceful all the time but sometimes we have to fight for our god.

These are the question I had about my topic before I started my search. How one religion became into many religions? Why some people detest Muslims? How one man or prophet could change the minds and control thousands? How he can convert thousands of people’s minds to become Muslims? Why did God just not tell us himself? (I am sure nobody would forget that)

The rock in Mecca when it is full of sins and can’t hold any more then what will happen? Because the more sins it takes the darker it becomes it is dark black now. It used to be white when it came down from heaven. When will judgment day come? That is the last day of every thing. What will happen to us all?

Islam: Islam and Muslims

Muslims now form the largest religious minority in Britain. They have also migrated too many countries in Europe, particularly France, Germany, and Holland. History books dealing with thirteenth and fourteenth centuries even up to nineteenth century reveal that their was a huge Muslim Empire occupying nearly the whole what is now known as Eastern Europe, including Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, and even portions of the USSR (Ashraf 1). Muslims were practically ruling on that side of the world.

Since the crusaders there has often been a misunderstanding and wrong presentation of Islam. Now that Muslims are living in Britain, non-Muslims need to get an accurate picture of these people and their religion. As their religion provides Muslims with a complete way of life, it is necessary for everyone to understand what Islam means and how its followers live, what they believe in and how they work according to their beliefs of themselves and the country as a whole (2). Muslims want everyone to know our religion. So that they can fully understand us.

At the rate at which people are becoming Muslim then soon Muslims will rule the entire world. Most of the world population will be Muslims. Islam is one of the biggest religions in the world. Muslims want people to understand our religion and how we live. We want them to know how we abide to our laws. So that when they understand stand us they might become Muslims also.

The followers of the prophet Jesus, who lived 570 years before Muhammad (pbuh), came to be known as Christian. People began to worship Jesus. Many different sects emerged, and his message became distorted. Muslims therefore believe that it was necessary as preached be Abraham, Moses, and Jesus could again be followed by believers. Muhammad (pbuh) was that person. At that time the saying of Jesus changed so then new religions arisen like Christianity (3). Muslims believe Jesus was a Prophet not the son of God.

Muslims believe that Muhammad (pbuh) is the last prophet and that the message revealed to him is God’s final word to humanity. In the nineteenth century Mirza Golom Ahmad of Quadin in India (now part of Pakistan) claimed to be a prophet (3). Orthodox Islam cannot accept this view on recognize his followers to be Muslims, even though they use the Qur’an as their holy book.

This is why today there is more than one religion. Islam was supposed to be the only religion. What Jesus said is different from they say today. His sayings changed over the years. There have also been fake prophets to. They want to be fake prophets so that people will worship them or make people change their religion. That is why their followers are wrong and so are they.

The Qur’an invites all human beings to accept Islam. To whose do not accept it, the Qur’an tells Muslims to say “To you your religion, and me to my religion!” (Qur’an, 109:6). In other words, the Qur’an instructs Muslims to tolerate and give freedom to each individual to have his or her own faith” (4). It means to not make fun of other religions and tolerate it. It invites everyone to follow the path of Islam though you don’t need to follow the patch of Islam.

The history of Muslim rule in the world also tells us that Jews, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and followers of all our religions were allowed to practice their faiths. They were allowed to have their own schools and publish their own literature. There was no imposition of nationally determined curricula and textbooks. The main reason for this was that there was no concept of nationalism. People belonged to their respective religious groups and to tribes and races. The situation is more complicated today we are suppose to belong first to a particular nation and then to a religious or other religious groups (4). Muslim communities and cities allowed other religion to practice their faith. They had the same freedoms as Muslims.

Muslims do no make fun of other religions or do anything to upset them. Muslims tolerate all religions. Muslims are people who respect other people and their religion. We treat them the same way we want them to treat us. We give them respect. Even Muslim cities make laws so that it benefits all. Muslims treat other people the same way we treat people in our religion.

Hijrah and the Islamic State

In 620CE, six leading members if the Khazraz tribe of Medina became Muslim. The next year, five of these and seven other leading members came from Hajj (pilgrimage) and entered into on agreement with Muhammad (pbuh). They agreed to obey none but Allah, not to steal, commit adultery, kill children or disobey him. This agreement came to be known as the first covenant of Al-’Aqaba. The Prophet sent one of his companions, Musa Bin “Umair, to teach them the Qur”an and give the religious instruction. It helped the leaders become Muslim. It helped them become Muslim (Ashraf 21). They followed Qur’an teachings.

The Prophet then prepared to go to Medina; he discussed this with his uncle Abass who joined him the following year at “Aqaba where they held a secret meeting with members of the Khazraz tribe and some of the Aws tribe. They pledged to take Muhammad (pbuh) and protect him. Then they asked, “Tell us O Prophet of Allah, what will be our reward if we remain true to our oath?’ The Prophet said, “Paradise”. Then one by one they took a hold of his outstretched hand and promised to protect him. The Prophet had already promised to never leave them. Muhammad (pbuh) is saying that when you die you will go to heaven or paradise (21). So the people promise to follow Allah’s laws.

When the leaders become a particular religion so everyone under them also become the same religion. When the King is Muslims then so are the peasants that are how it usually goes. If you do good deeds then you will be rewarded when you die. When you die then the reward you get will be that you will be able to go to heaven.

The other thing the Prophet did was to establish the nucleus of the Muslim state in the city of Medina. Along with the Muslim tribes. The Jewish tribes and others worshipped many gods also accepted him as head of state. The Prophet dictated the charter which became the first constitution of the state. It is generally known as the Charter (or Pact or Covenant) of Medina. All religions accepted the Muslim Prophet. Because they knew that Muslims were equal to all (23). Even though it was a Muslim state everyone accepted it.
The Jews were very powerful in Medina. They were traders, merchants, and usurers, and the controlled the economic life of the pagan tribes. The Pact amounted to an agreement for peaceful coexistence, an alliance for cooperation against aggression and freedom for each community to practice its own religion. Even though Jews were powerful they made a Pact to tolerate other religions (23). They lived peacefully. Because of the pact.

The Prophet was accepting. Which means Allah accepted all religions to even though they didn’t accept the religion Allah made for us. It caused a thriving Muslim city today. Each community could practice their own religion.

Makkah now occupied a more important place in the heart of all new Muslims, not only immigrants. The city was to be treated from now on not just as the birth place of the prophet, or a place having a house of God, but as a place of convergence for all Muslims. It became the central place for Islam, the holiest place of holy places, the holy sanctuary for all Muslims of all ages. Makkah is like the main Mosque (24). It is where Muslims go to be forgiven.

One night a companion of Prophet met someone in a dream. Who taught him the call for prayer which Muslims know today? He reported his dream to the Prophet who said, “It is a genuine vision,” and told the companion to teach the call to Bilal, the black slave who suffered torcher for the acceptance of Islam before he was freed by Abu Bakr. The first call to prayer was given by Bilal. The person who gives this call known as muadhin and the call is known as adhan (26). He is one of the first to pray and he taught other people how to pray.

Muslims still to Makkah even today but now it is called a pilgrimage. We have to go there at least once in our lifetime. But after we go we are not allowed to cut our hair or shave our hair. Without Bilal we wouldn’t know how to pray today.

Is it a religion of violence or of peace?

The President of the United States, George W. Bush, has emphasized that “Islam is Peace” on a number of occasions. A sizeable percentage of North Americans view Islam in a positive light. The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press conducted a public opinion poll among 1,500 adults on 2001-NOV-13 to 19. Americans, particularly “conservative Republicans” repudiated an unfavorable view of Islam. The survey found that: The percentage of Americans with a favorable view of Muslims rose from 45% in May to 59% in November. The percentage of conservative Republicans with a favorable view of Muslims rose from 35% to 64% (Internet source 2-3)! People who like Islam rose in percentage and people who didn’t like it rose also. They both rose because there were people who had a neutral look on Islam.

John L. Esposito, one of America’s foremost authorities and interpreters of Islam, rejects as far too simplistic the concept that Islam is a militant, expansionist, and rabidly anti-American religion. In his book: “The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality,” he demonstrates the diversity of the Islamic resurgence–and the mistakes our analysts make in assuming a hostile, monolithic Islam (4). He is saying the Islam is not militant or cruel just because of some Muslims are making all Muslims look bad. There concept of Islam is too simple they just think that Muslims are cruel and bad.

People think that Muslims are cruel and will do anything to anyone who gets into there way. Because of what some Muslims did in the 9/11 incident. But not all Muslims are like that. Islam is like other religions it also has a lot of thing in common with Christianity but some differences. People don’t think things through they don’t notice the real Muslims. Some people might know Muslims and might not even know that they are Muslims.

Jerry Falwell said that “…Muhammad was a terrorist. I’ve read enough of the history of his life written by both Muslims and non-Muslims, that he was a violent man, a man of war (6-7).” That particular comment triggered a riot in India which killed at least 14 people. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) singled out Evangelical Christian “Franklin Graham who has claimed that terrorism is part of “mainstream” Islam and that the Qur’an, Islam’s revealed text, “preaches violence.” Graham also called Islam an “evil and wicked religion.” “CAIR listed two additional leading conservative Christian pastors — Pat Robertson and Chuck Colson — who, they say, “have echoed Graham’s Islam phobic smears (5).” These people are saying that Islam is a violent religion. They say that it is a religion of war. They even said our prophets were violent.

The CAIR listed a number of socially conservative commentators such as William Lind, who suggests that American Muslims “…should be encouraged to leave [the U.S.]. They are a fifth column in this country.” Also listed were Ann Coulter, Jerry Vines, and Paul Weyrich. Conservative Christian author and radio pastor Dave Hunt claims: “…there are more than 100 verses in the Qur’an advocating the use of violence to spread Islam. In the Qur’an, Allah commands Muslims, “Take not the Jews and Christians as friends….Slay the idolaters [non-Muslims] wherever ye find them…. Fight against such…as believe not in Allah…” (Surah 5:51; 9:5, 29, 41, etc…). Though most Muslims would shrink from obeying such commands, this is official Islam and it cannot change without admitting that Muhammad was a false prophet and murderer (5).” They say that Islam is a false religion. That it is a trick to fool people to hurt each other. People who follow this religion are murderers. That’s what they are trying to say.

Because of the 9/11 incident people think that Muslims are murdering killers. What they are saying is a lie. Muslims are not like that. It is not a false religion. People should really open there eyes instead of listening to what other people say. That is what I think.

Which point of view is right?

They both are. Islam is not a homogenous religion. It is divided into many

Subgroups, including Sunni, Shi’ite, and Sufi. A very small, radical, hate-filled, extremist, Fundamentalist, terrorist wing does exist. So too does a much larger peaceful, moderate wing. Unfortunately, the former seem to capture all the media’s attention, while the latter is rarely heard from (2). Islam is not a one religion it divides into may subgroups that make it up. There is a small group of bad Muslims but a larger peaceful group of Muslims exist.

It obvious that no one individual speaks for all Muslims. Islam has no single central human authority, comparable to the pope and Vatican for the Roman Catholic Church, or to various General Assemblies and the Lambeth Conferences for the Anglican Communion. Rather, it is divided into many traditions and schools. This phenomenon is true of most religions. Consider the over 1,000 Christian groups in North America. They include some hate-filled groups as well:

The Christian Identity movement

Various white supremacist organizations which usually consider themselves to be Christians.

The terrorists who blew up the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City (2). Even Christians have bad people in their religion. Also Christians and Catholic’s has a person who is the central unlike Islam it has no central person who represents all Muslims.

There is no one person who represents all Muslims and yet sine the 9/11 incident people make it that the terrorists represents all Muslims. There are a couple bad eggs in every religion. It is like Hitler when the Jewish doctor could save his mother from an illness and she died. Then he marked all Jews as and Enemy as evil people. But we all know that most Jews are not bad people.

What Islam did for Europe

The conflict between Islam and the west can be traced back to a myth that inaccurately painted Muslims as the killers of a Christian hero. Now, scholars are beginning to reassess the fundamental role that Muslims played in shaping western civilization. By Jason Webster What Islam did for Europe God’s Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe (570-1215), David Levering Lewis, W Norton, 384pp, £17.99. Until very recently, suggestions that western civilization owed much to Islam were rejected out of hand. “Europe”, according to the orthodox model, was born out of a marriage of classical and Judea-Christian cultures. The missing element in this formula- the Islamic component – was ignored. During the first half of the 2Oth century a number of Arabic’s challenged this view, but their opinions made little popular headway. Today, however, thanks largely to the current friction between Islam and the west, new efforts are being made to understand and interpret the influence oriental culture has had, mostly via Spain, on its occidental cousin (Webster 1). It says that Muslims killed the Christian hero. Islam helped build Europe but then Europe rejected Islam.

Following the important groundwork done by Salma Khadra Jayyusi’s Legacy of Muslim Spain, the edifice of ignorance and prejudice is slowly beginning to crumble. “More than ever before, light needs to be shone on the long Andalusia aftermath that is pressingly with us now,” David Levering Lewis concludes in God’s Crucible. He is absolutely right. Historians dealing with the impact of Islamic Spain have to address two important questions with deep contemporary resonance: the extent of Moorish influence over medieval Europe, and the nature of the society from which this sprang. Just how tolerant was it? Were Christians, Muslims and Jews in al-Andalus really able to live harmoniously together, in connivance, as some claim? Or were the distinct communities continuously at war, with any cultural interchange between them being secondary or accidental (1)? People started to live in harmony there was rarely any prejudice or ignorance. But we don’t know for sure.

Without Islam Europe would not be here today. Even though later on it was rejected by Europe. Islam is one of the biggest religions in the world so it traveled through Europe. People lives in harmony or so it says. But thanks to that there was no ignorance there.

Opinion is divided on this second point. Hardliners point not only to the endless battles of the Recon quest campaign to win Iberia back for Christendom, but also to the many pogroms and massacres of the time, and laws designed to separate and strictly limit any contact between the communities. Those more favorable to the idea of connivance cite the numerous instances of cultural crossover and working together for the common good despite the obvious tensions. In l0th-century Umayyad Cordoba, for example, Jews and Christians were able to serve in high government office; they were officially viewed as ahl al-kitab, or “people of the book”: those whose faith was based on a written document, such as the Bible or the Torah, and hence protected under Islamic law. No one denies the underlying violence of the times: the question is whether the three faith groups ever worked consciously towards a more accepting society. Tolerance over the Moorish period was neither constant nor can it be viewed as having never existed at all. The first Moors arrived as warriors in 711, quickly finding wives among the native population as they settled down in their newly conquered territories. The last of them – the Moriscos, great-grandsons of this ethnically mixed people – were summarily expelled in 1609 from a Spain obsessed with racial purity and the threat from the Ottomans, farm workers and artisans given just three days to leave after a presence in the country that had lasted nine centuries. During this period the whole spectrum of human interaction, from intimate contact and interchange to violent persecution, were in evidence. The mechanics of this shift are perhaps the most interesting question of all, and most relevant to today: the how and whys of the ebb and flow of connivance (1). The contacts between communities were limited. But the worked for a common good. Jew and Christians were protectected under Muslims law. The three religions worked together.

On the first question -Moorish Spain’s impact on medieval Europe – the new-generation popular studies display a growing consensus. Finally the debt the west owes to the Muslim world is being recognized. Al-Andalus was in many ways the United States of its day: an ethnically diverse, political and cultural powerhouse that the rest of the western world looked to for new ideas and the latest trends, even while it sometimes resented, and even rejected, this influence. Everything from technology (the abacus, paper) to the latest fashions (dark clothes in winter, light ones in summer), foods (artichokes, sugar), pastimes (chess) and new ideas (higher mathematics, Averroës’s innovative “rational” thinking) first reached Europe through Moorish Spain. The most celebrated point of entry for intellectual traffic was the school of translators based in Christian-controlled Toledo in the 12th and 13th centuries, from where Greek and Arabic learning rendered into Latin was able to penetrate Europe and lay the cornerstone of the Renaissance. The picture is complex, as Europe was shaped through its acceptance and its rejection of what Moorish Spain had to offer. Although learning from al-Andalus eventually helped to fill “the occidental void”, as Levering Lewis points out, paradoxically the “Europeans” first began to define themselves as a coherent group of peoples in direct opposition to the Muslim forces pushing over the Pyrenees during the course of the 8th century (1). The west owes money to the Muslims world and they are finally realizing it.

This was a great time for Muslims, Jews, and Christian. They were working together for the common goal. The Muslims world gained money from the west. The U.S. got it good to.

Government in Islam

“Turkey sets a fantastic example for nations around the world to see where it’s possible to have democracy coexist with great religion like Islam.” Those were George Bush’s words of welcome, this week, to Turkeys President Abdullah Gul. He is saying that it is possible for a religion and the government to work together (The Economist).

“In decades past, a Turkish leader might have been received at the White House with cordial remarks about his country’s growing prosperity or its contributions to NATO. But it would have been strange perhaps, not to mention religion when hosting a head of state that had just set precedent that was watched with fascination by politically active Muslims in many parts of the world.” (The Economist).This person is saying that it’s strange that he wasn’t aware that he was being watched by active Muslims of many parts of the world

It’s strange for a democracy and a religion to work together so easily it is what I think. Because usually there is some problem like persecution. I also would like to know why the head of state was not aware he was being watched by all those Muslims. Because there are a lot of active Muslims in the world.

For those who insist (whether their arguments are theological, or empirical, or both) that Islam and liberal democracy are quite compatible, Mr. Gul’s election (and Mr. Bush’s exuberant reaction to it) was badly needed nugget of hope in a year when that cause has seen quite a lot of setbacks (The Economist). He is saying that Islam and liberal democracy are not compatible.

Among American officialdom, confidence in the prospects for democracy in Muslim (and in particular Arab) lands has fluctuated under the Bush administration. It reached a high point, arguably, in mid-2005, when Condoleezza Rica, the secretary of state, declared in Cairo that the bad old days of favoring stability over democracy were over-and then it plunged again the following January when the Islamist Hamas movement swept to victory in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (The Economist). Democracy in Muslim world is going well.

I think that the Islamic government was doing well at this time. But Islam is not compatible with democracy. The Islamic democracy has problems with governmental and religious problems. I think that it was a good time for most Muslims in countries though.

Islam in the USA

In the United States, in particular, an “essential” mistrust of Islam in all its forms has been gaining ground. One recent sign of this mood: when Keith Ellison from Minnesota became the first Muslim congressmen, he was challenged, during his first television interview, to prove the he was no “working for our enemies” (The Economist). This is the time when Americans thought that all Muslims were the enemy.

But in America’s free-ranging debates, where the spectrum of views on Islam is probably wider than in any Muslim land or even in Europe, there are also many voices on the other side. Mr. Fadl makes his case for the compatibility of democracy and Islam from the University of California at Los Angeles, probably a more secure setting than his native Cairo (The Economist). When people thought of Islam at this time they thought of a bunch of terrorists.

I didn’t like this time it was a bad time for all Muslims living in the US. People thought of Muslims as terrorists. Or allies of the terrorists. But not all Muslims were terrorists. I guess this is a type of persecution. That’s why some Muslims tried to persuade the US that Muslims are not terrorists.

Muslim nations condemn terrorism

World Muslim leaders on Friday condemned extremism and terrorism as incompatible with Islam and proposed a high-level international meeting to promote a “dialogue of civilizations” with Christians. Leaders of the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference, which represents 1.5 billion Muslims across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, made the “Dakar Declaration” after a two-day summit in Senegal.” We continue to strongly condemn all forms of extremism and dogmatism which are incompatible with Islam, a religion of moderation and peaceful coexistence,” the declaration said. The Muslim body condemned acts of terrorism committed in the name of Islam. But, in an apparent reference to the terror against Israel, it said terrorism should be differentiated from “legitimate resistance against foreign occupation (L.A. Times 1).” Muslims nations made terrorism illegal and made it so Christians and Muslims are friendly. 57 leaders of each Muslims nation gathered. It represented 1.5 billion Muslims across the Middle East.

Some nations also said they were considering legal action against those that slight their religion or its symbols. Though the measures being considered have not been spelled out, the idea would be in contrast to the principles of freedom of speech enshrined in the constitutions of numerous Western governments. “I don’t think freedom of expression should mean freedom from blasphemy,” said Senegal’s president, Abdoulaye Wade. “There can be no freedom without limits.” The report urges the creation of a “legal instrument” to crack down on defamation of Islam. But some delegates said such an approach would be over the top. “My general view would be that the confrontational approach is one my country would avoid,” said Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Iftekhar Chowdhury (1). Some nations tried to make it legal to punish those who mock Islam. But they failed.

This is a great law. They have condemned terrorism and extremism. Now people can’t say anything about Muslims. Because if a Muslim does a terrorist’s action then people cant blame Muslims because it was an individual not everyone that is Muslim.

Minority in Muslim Homeland

Pakistan, he says, is a place of extremes. Muslims represent the vast majority of this Islamic homeland’s 162 million residents. They control the legislature and the economy, often leaving minorities to endure second-rate status. For years, Salik has waged an unorthodox human rights campaign of public protests he says is neglectful government (Glionna 1). He is saying that’s Muslims rule Islamic countries and leaves the minorities in worse conditions and is neglectful to them.

He has gone on hunger strikes, cut himself, burned his clothes and furniture and even lived in a cage-all in an effort to improve the lives of Ahmadis, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and especially Christians like himself. In 1996, then-Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto nominated him for a Nobel Peace Prize. But now Bhutto has been assassinated. And Salik says Christians here are in more trouble than ever (1). He is doing all this for the are religions in the country that is controlled by Islam.

I don’t really know the details of what is really happening but cutting himself wont help. He may become suicidal. Instead of doing all that he should broadcast his opinions to the entire country. So that the countries citizens can understand and see what is happening that they don’t have time or say they don’t to see what happening around them.
Intimidated by rising Islamic extremism, many are afraid to wear any outward symbols of their faith. Dozens are in jail on the basis of draconian blasphemy laws that forbid anyone to defame Islam. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom wants the State Department to name Pakistan a “country of particular concern” (2). No one is allowed to say anything bad about Islam and the U.S. thinks of Pakistan as partially dangerous.

The Prayer

On a sunny March 18, 2008 I stayed at home. It was around was 1:00 exactly. My mom was praying. But before the pray a sound called the azan went off. Then my mom went to the bathroom and she washed her arms 3 times, face 3 times, mouth 3 times, legs, and etc. Then my mom went to pray. The first thing I noticed was that she set a mat and then she prayed on the mat. She did various movements while she was praying. She was praying in Arabic which is the holy language for Muslims. She was doing the pray in a room with a lot of light coming in. The walls were white. The mat she was praying on was red with the picture of the Kasbah on it. The window was open with a green tree outside. It was a sunny day. The walls were white. People outside were talking. She prayed in Arabic. She stood up straight then bent half way down. Then she stoop up straight and sat on the ground on her knees. She did that 4 times. The room was warm. The wind was blowing in through the window. The sun was shining. The wind was blowing through the tree and the leaves were ruffling. You could see another house on the other side through the window. The room had 2 beds. It also had 2 closets. 1 bed had a window and the drawers had a window on top of it. The closet had clothes and a small T.V. inside it. The closet was open. My mom was wearing a veil for the prayer.

The Carpenter

A highly skilled carpenter who had grown old was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire (1)

The employer was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter agreed to this proposal but made sure that this will be his last project. Being in a mood to retire, the carpenter was not paying much attention to building this house. His heart was not in his work. He resorted to poor workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career (1).

When the job was done, the carpenter called his employer and showed him the house. The employer handed over some papers and the front door key to the carpenter and said “This is your house, my gift to you (1).”

The carpenter was in a shock! What a shame! If he had only known that he was building his own house, he would have made it better than any other house that he ever built (1)!

Our situation can be compared to this carpenter. Allah Ta’la has sent us to this world to build our homes in paradise by obeying His commands. Now, we have to decide how well we wish to build the homes where we will live forever (1).

The Kabah

The photo of the Kabah is in the cover page. It is a big black box as big as a house. The little white things are people. There are more than a thousand people around the Kabah to get inside. Inside is a big rock that was brought down from the heavens by the first man that was created by Allah. It was pure white when it was brought down. They say when you pray and kiss the rock then your sins will be forgiven. The rock had forgiven so many sins that it has turned pure black and is hollow. Once it has a hole Muslims believe that the world will end like an apocalypse. It is a very big area where thousands of Muslims try to go at least once in their life time.

What I learned

One of the biggest things that I learned is that once the stone in the Kabah has a hole in it the world will come to an end. That is one thing that I will remember even if time will pass and it will. I will also remember all the bad things people have said about Islam because of the 9/11 incident. Muslims are just like everyone else. Except their religion is different than others. I will also remember the pray because I also saw it with my own eyes and have done it myself.

I have learned how to use parenthetical documentation. I will use this in college so that I won’t plagiarize any work that is not mine. Source by source format will also come in very handy. I have also learned how to write a letter which will help me in and after college. Work cited form will also help in college and in my job maybe. It will be a great deal of help. Because I have done the I-Search.

It has helped me as and I-Searcher in many things. For one in my procrastinating. If you procrastinate in the I-Search then you will have no chance of getting an A. My work habits have improved much. I try to do my work earlier on when I get it. I have become more motivated to do my work. My weaknesses have become my strengths and my strengths have become stronger.

I will keep the I-Search to see if I can use it in the future. I won’t keep in contact with anyone because I don’t really need to. I will read some probably unrelated to Islam. I will turn this in tomorrow. I will probably still follow this religion but I don’t think I will do a profession in this field. I will still need to keep this for my oral report. So it will stay on my computer.