Beliefs associated with being a Muslim

"Muslim" means "anyone or anything that surrenders itself to the true will of God." By this definition, every living being (trees, animals, planets, etc.) is considered "Muslim" because they are in a state of surrender to God's will. In other words, they are fulfilling the purpose for which God created them. Muslims believe in all the true prophets who preceded Muhammad SAW, from Adam to Jesus.

Muslims believe that these prophets brought the same message of voluntarily surrendering to God's will (Islam, in a generic sense) to different peoples at different times. Muslims also believe that they were "Muslims" (again, in a generic sense) since they followed God's true guidance and surrendered their will to Him. Muslims neither worship Muhammad nor pray through him. They solely worship the Unseen and Omniscient Creator, Allah.

Muslims accept the original, unaltered Torah (as revealed to Moses) and the original, unaltered Bible (as revealed to Jesus) since they were revealed by God. However, none of these scriptures exist today in their original form or in their entirety. Therefore, Muslims follow the subsequent, final, and preserved revelation of God, the Qur'an.

Status of Women in Islam 

Women are not oppressed in Islam. Any Muslim man who oppresses a woman is not following Islam. Among the many teachings of Muhammad that protected the rights and dignity of women is his saying, "...the best among you are those who treat their wives well."

Islam grants women many rights in the home and in society. Among them is the right to earn money, receive financial support and inheritance, own property, access to education, voting rights, dowry (bridal gift), the option to keep their maiden name, the freedom to worship in a mosque, the right to divorce, and so on.

Diversity of Muslims 

It's important to note that all Muslims are not Arab, Middle-Eastern, or of African descent. Islam is a universal religion and way of life that includes followers from all races. There are Muslims in and from virtually every country in the world. Arabs only constitute about 20% of Muslims worldwide. The countries with the largest Muslim populations are not located in the Middle East. They are Indonesia (with over 200 million Muslims) and Pakistan and India (with over 350 million Muslims combined).