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The World of Islam
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By Don Belt Photographs by
Steve McCurry
| Earth’s fastest
growing religion, with six million followers in the U.S.
alone, reveals striking diversity.
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Get a taste of
what awaits you in print from this compelling
excerpt.
Borne aloft five times a day, from
Shanghai to Chicago, Jakarta to Timbuktu, the music of
Islam’s call to prayer stirs the soul of devout Muslims
everywhere. Whether cast from metal loudspeakers over
teeming city streets or lifted as the murmured song of
camel drivers kneeling in the sand, it begins with the
same Arabic phrase Muslims have used for nearly 1,400
years, Islam’s melodic paean to the
Creator.
“Allah . . . u akbar,” the
faithful sing out.
“Allahhhhh . . . u
akbar!—God is great!”
Some 1.3 billion human
beings—one person in five—heed Islam’s call in the
modern world, embracing the religion at a rate that
makes it the fastest growing on Earth, with 80 percent
of believers now outside the Arab world. For these
people Islam is an intimate personal connection to the
same God worshiped by Jews and Christians, a source of
strength and hope in a troubled world.
The term
itself, Islam, is an Arabic word meaning “submission to
God,” with its etymological roots firmly planted in
salam, or peace. That may come as a surprise to
many non-Muslims, whose perceptions of the faith have
been skewed by terrorists, many from the Middle East,
whose unspeakable acts in the name of Islam have been
condemned by leaders everywhere.
“Peace is the
essence of Islam,” says Prince El Hassan bin Talal of
Jordan, brother of the late King Hussein and a
descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. Prince El Hassan
helps lead the World Conference on Religion and Peace
and spends much of his energy building bridges of
understanding between the Muslim world and the West.
“Respecting the sanctity of life is the cornerstone of
our faith,” he says, “and of all great faiths.”
Get the whole story in the pages of National Geographic magazine.
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VIDEO Author Don Belt
sheds light on Islam and those devoted to it. Click
Here.
AUDIO (recommended for
low-speed connections)
RealPlayer
WinMedia
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| Learn about Muslims
in America and the challenges they face in the
aftermath of September 11. | |
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How can Muslims and non-Muslims
work together to separate Islam from the terrorist
attacks of September 11? Voice
your opinion.
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| In More to Explore the
National Geographic magazine team shares some of its
best sources and other information. Special thanks to the
Research Division. |
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The
word mosque derives from the Arabic masjid, which
means a place to prostrate oneself. There are no formal
requirements to build a mosque, and the Koran gives no
details about a special ceremony for consecration. After
the Prophet Muhammad’s death, his place of prayer in
Medina (a spacious courtyard surrounded by clay walls)
served as a model for the structure of mosques. Mosques
must be oriented so the direction of prayer is facing
Mecca. The minaret became a defining feature early in
Islam’s history, and it was from this tower that the
call to prayer was offered. Today many such calls are
made over loudspeakers. As the world of Islam grew, much
of the time simple structures were built. The distinct
look of a domed mosque wasn’t developed until the 14th
century, during the Ottoman Empire. While Islamic law
forbids the taking over of churches or temples to be
transformed into mosques, this did happen—perhaps most
famously with the Byzantine church Hagia Sophia in
Istanbul.
—Michelle R. Harris |
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Islam
& the Global Muslim eCommunity
http://www.islamicity.org/
Want to stay in
touch with the Islamic world? Islamicity has everything from
current events and information on social outreach programs, to
Islamic commentaries and activities for kids. There are even
links to sites where you can hear the Koran recited.
beliefnet
http://www.beliefnet.com/
This site gives
you access to online interfaith dialogue groups as well as
general information about Islam, how it is practiced in the
U.S., and reactions to the September 11 attacks.
The Council on American Islamic Relations
http://www.cair-net.org/
The home page of
the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a nonprofit group
that seeks to increase awareness and understanding of Islam
and Muslim Americans, is a good place to check out current
news and media coverage concerning Islam.
The Holy Quran
info.uah.edu/msa/quran.html
On this site
you can search different translations of the Koran by passage.
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Armstrong,
Karen. Islam: A Short History. Modern Library,
2000.
Esposito, John L. Islam: The Straight
Path, 3rd ed. Oxford University Press,
1998.
Esposito, John L., ed. Oxford History of
Islam. Oxford University Press, 2000.
Jenkins,
Everett, Jr. The Muslim Diaspora: A Comprehensive Reference
to the Spread of Islam in Asia, Africa, Europe and the
Americas. McFarland and Company, Inc., 1999.
Lewis,
Bernard. The Middle East: A Brief History of the Last 2,000
Years. Scribner, 1995.
Lippman, Thomas W.
Understanding Islam: An Introduction to the Muslim
World (2nd revised edition).Penguin,
1995.
Robinson, Francis, ed. The Cambridge
Illustrated History of the Islamic World. Cambridge
University Press, 1996.
Swisher, Clarice, ed. The
Spread of Islam. Greenhaven Press, 1999.
Weiss,
Walter M. Islam: An Illustrated Historical Overview.
Barron’s 2000.
Wolfe, Michael. One Thousand Roads to
Mecca. Grove Press, 2000.
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Belt,
Don. The World of Islam, National Geographic Books,
2001.
Dahlby, Tracy. “Indonesia: Living Dangerously,”
National Geographic (March 2001),
74-103.
Cockburn, Andrew. “Libya: An End to
Isolation?,” National Geographic (November 2000),
2-31.
Edwards, Mike W. “Eyewitness Iraq,” National
Geographic (November 1999), 2-27.
Montaigne, Fen.
“Iran: Testing the Waters of Reform,” National
Geographic (July 1999), 2-33.
McCarry, John. “The
Promise of Pakistan,” National Geographic (October
1997), 48-73.
Mairson, Alan. “The Three Faces of
Jerusalem,” National Geographic (April 1996),
2-31.
Abercrombie, Thomas J. “When the Moors Ruled
Spain,” National Geographic (July 1988), 86-119.
Alireza, Marianne. “Women of Saudi Arabia,”
National Geographic (October 1987),
422-453.
Severy, Merle. “The World of Süleyman the
Magnificent” National Geographic (November 1987),
552-601.
Judge, Joseph. “This Year in Jerusalem,”
National Geographic (April 1983),
478-515.
Ellis, William S. “Pakistan Under Pressure,”
National Geographic (May 1981),
668-701.
Abercrombie, Thomas J. “Islam’s Heartland, Up
in Arms,” National Geographic (September 1980),
334-345.
Azzi, Robert. “Saudi Arabia: The Kingdom and
Its Power,” National Geographic (September 1980),
286-333.
Abdul-Rauf, Muhammad. “Pilgrimage to Mecca,”
National Geographic (November 1978),
578-607.
Putman, John J. “The Arab World, Inc.: Who Are
Those Oil-Rich Arabs, and What Are They Doing With All That
Money?,” National Geographic (October 1975),
494-533.
Abercrombie, Thomas J. “The Sword and the
Sermon,” National Geographic (July 1972), 2-45.
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