Literally, Islam means “devotion to God,” more specifically to Allah, the One God. Those who practice such devotion and submit themselves to the will of Allah, are Muslims.
The profession of belief in the One God and in Muhammad as his Prophet, to whom God has revealed his message for mankind — as it is described in the’ Koran, the holy book of Islam — unites Muslims throughout the world. Obedience to the five main duties, or “pillars” of Islam, and the use of classical - Arabic for all religious purposes, form the religious bond of the Muslim community. Islam means being aware of the omnipresence of God, in whose hands human beings place themselves and in whose mercy they trust, knowing God to be just and compassionate. Mankind is capable of acting for itself only if God wills oc allows such action. Islam is the youngest world religion (although it actually regards itself as a revival of an ancient monotheistic religion that had existed from very ancient times). Its early success and the speed with which it spread even ‘to non-Arab cultures immediately after the death of Muhammad, make it unique in religious history. Within the bond of a common religion, many distinctive local, cultural and ethnic features developed quite early, since Islam constantly absorbed ele- nts of the cultures it had conquered or converted. There were also recurrent episodes of religious schism, the most important and far-reaching being the split between Shiites and Sunnis. To that extent, Islam may be described as “diversity wrihin unity.” Between the Maghreb in the west, parts of China and Southeast Asia in the east, the entire Arab and Persian area, and parts of northern Africa • the south, as well as an increasingly strong presence in Europe, Islamic culture is a combination of unity and variety, which keeps it dynamic and alive, ping it a prominent position among the religions and cultures of the world
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