Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed); in the Sacred Books (including the Torah,the Gospels, the Psalms, and the Koran); and in the Day of Judgment.Islam does not believe in “original sin. ” Islam teaches that people areborn innocent and remain so until each makes himself or herself guilty by asinful deed.Islam is neither an ethnocentric (belief that one’s own ethnic group issuperior to other ethnic groups) nor a sacramental religion—they observe nosacraments. Anyone may become a Muslim by a personal decision alone.Initiation into Islam entails no sacramental ceremony, no participation byany clergy, and no confirmation by any organized body.The chief teachings of Islam which are to be accepted by all Moslems are:Doctrine of God. Islam is a strict monotheistic religion. There is noother God than God (Allah).Doctrine of Angels. Angels surround the throne of God and serve asHis messenger to people. Gabriel is the chief of angels. Iblis, who is Satan orthe Devil, is a fallen angel. He controls the jinn who are male and femaledemons.Doctrine of Inspired Books. Moslems believe in the Sacred Books—including the Torah, the Gospel of Jesus, the Psalms, and the Koran(Qur’an). They believe the Koran is the only book which is completelywithout error. If contradictions exist between the Koran and other inspiredbooks, the Koran stands as correct. Parts of the Koran resemble the Bible,the Apocrypha, and the Jewish Talmud. The Koran contains many of thesame stories about the prophets that appear in the Old Testament. It also hasstories from the New Testament about Jesus, called the Spirit of God. TheKoran, which is somewhat shorter in length than the New Testament,contains 114 suras or chapters. Moslems are expected to memorize as muchof the Koran as they can. Those who memorize it all are greatly honored.Doctrine of Prophets. There are many persons who are consideredto be prophets according to Islamic teachings. Among these areAbraham, Ishmael, Moses, Noah, John the Baptist, Jesus, and Mohammed.Mohammed is considered to be the final prophet and his proclamationscomplete the message of God to people.Doctrine of Last Judgment. Moslems believe there will be a finaljudgment for all people. At that time, unbelievers will be sentenced to theburning fires of hell; believers will enter heaven. The pleasures of heaven willbe given to believers according to the degree of their faith and the moralitythey displayed in life.Respect for moral and legal codes. Moslems believe that the Islamicmoral and legal codes permeate all areas of human life. Another doctrine,called Kismet (fate) is taught, but is not required of a Moslem. Kismet is thebelief that all things are foreordained by Allah.2-70
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