Islam project

Hello! My name is Millie! Sorry to bother you, but I noticed that you were wearing an Al-Amira. Is that a cultural or religious choice?

Hi! My name is Aleena! To answer your question, I wear this hijab because of both religious and cultural reasons. You see, I am a Muslim, and I was born into a Muslim family, making this both a religious and cultural choice. Why do you ask?

Of course! Christians believe that a wide range of secularly accepted things are morally wrong such as sex before marriage, homosexuality, and abortion, but everything else pretty much just lines up with the law. As far as responsibilities go, they are self chosen, but most Christians feel a responsibilityto attend church every Sunday, read our Holy book, the Bible, tithe 10% of our income every Sunday, and pray whenever possible. What about you?

As far as morals go, I just follow everything outlined in Shariah law, a legal code derived from our Holy books, the Quran and the Sunnah. For responsibilities, there are some Islamists who practice jihad, war against nonbelievers, but as a cultural Muslim, I just make sure to follow the five pillars: the recitationof the creed, praying five times a day towards Mecca, donating 2.5% percent of my annual income to the poor, fasting during the month of Ramadan, and making sure to make a pilgrimage to Mecca at some point during my lifetime.

Actually yes. To even be considered a Christian you have to believe and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. We Christians believe that Jesus was God on earth, and that He sacrificed His life, even though He did nothing wrong, on the cross to pay for all of all people's sins forever, if only they believe in Him and his divinity. It is because of this forgiveness, that we believe that we will be granted access to heaven, God's perfect kingdom, and we will get to live forever there with Him after we die. I know that Jesus is incorporatedin Muslim beliefs, but I don't know how. Do you know?

I was just wondering because I am a Christian and while some of the choices I make are cultural, most of them are religious, and I was wondering if it was the same in your situation too.

That's so cool! Honestly, I don't know that much about Christian morals or responsibilities. Is there any chance you have some time to tell me about some of them?

That is so interesting! I've heard of the five pillars before, and it seems like a pretty common theme throughout Muslim and Islamic belief. Is there any specific reason why that is, or do I just manage to talk to only Muslims and Islamists that follow that?

Well, I can explain why every Muslim and Islamist you've talked to has followed that: It's because it is mandatory. To be part of the Islamist community and to be considered Muslims or Islamist, you have to at least attempt to uphold and believe the five pillars. Does Christianity have any mandatory beliefs?

Yes, there are. We call them denominations and they denote different minor beliefs within the church such as what role the Holy Spirit plays in our relationship with God, the divinity of the saints, the necessity of worship, and so on and so forth. I happen to be a nondenominational Christian, so I believe in bits and pieces from each denomination in an attempt to come to the most biblically based beliefs. What about in Islam?

In Islam we have mainly two different branches, Sunni and Shiite, although there is a third less common Suffi one. For our branches, the difference is mainly based off of an old disagreement on who should have been Muhammed's successor. I am a Sunni Muslim, like a majority of Muslims, and I believe that Muhammed's successor should have been chosen by a consensus of the Muslim people. There are also a few cultural differences, but the successor disagreement is the main difference. In Christianity, was there a successor to Jesus?

Yes. In our belief, Jesus was just a prophet in a line of prophets that existed to tell of Allah and his will for our lives. The greatest and last of our prophets was Muhammad, who wrote our Holy Quran, inspired our Sunnah, and established the five pillars. So, we know of Jesus, but we reject the idea of His divinity. I know this is a little off the topic, but are their different branches or sects of Christianity?