Islam is a religion that practices peace. One of the more populated religious tradition of the world. In fact, there are over 7.1 billion Muslims in the world.
Brief history and info about Islam
Islam is one of the older religions in the world, founded around the 7th century C.E by the teachings of Prophet Muhammad. Many Muslims believed he was the “Seal of all Prophets” or the last prophet to be sent down to earth by God. Prophet Muhammad was born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia in 570 C.E. It wasn’t until the age of 40 did Prophet Muhammad received his first revelation from god delivered by the angel Gabriel. After receiving the revelations, Muhammad started preaching and eventually gained followers who are known as Muslims meaning to surrender …show more content…
Chinese Muslims are believed to have important connections with communities in central Vietnam, and Southern Philippines which helped bring and spread. Sufism is a branch of Islam, which is often credited by some scholars as kick starting the spread of Islam throughout Indonesia, Malaysia, and Southeast Asia. Sufi’s religious ascetics are known for their mysticism, scriptural interpretations, and wearing their coarse wool clothing. During every movement, a spiritual leader known as a sheik, was present that often acted as a spirited leader.
What also helped the spread of Islam (and in fact, Christianity) in Southeast Asia is the fact they the religions had written holy books. Whereas many of the previous oral religious traditions change over time, the holy books stay the same. Islam also promised an eternal and satisfying afterlife for the faithful adherents, something that religious traditions in Southeastern Asia sacredly emphasize and valued. …show more content…
Indonesia has approximately 202.9 million Muslims which accounts for 87% of their total population. (Miller 2009)