JoanneW

The Islam has two different sects. Sunni Islam is the branch that is practiced by ninety percent of Muslims. Another name for the Sunni people is Sunnah, and the meaning of the name is "well-trodden path" or "tradition". Islam was founded by Muhammad in the seventh century. At the end of seventeenth century, the great Sunni Empires, the Ottoman Empire and the Mughal Empire stopped growing and expanding. Sunni Islam has a very long and complex history that has been a struggle. The five pillars of Islam are daily prayer, fasting during Ramadan, alms giving, a pilgrimage to Mecca, and belef in on god. These pillars are the core of the Islam faith. The sects of Islam split after the death of Muhammad. The Sunni branch believes that the first four caliphs, Muhammad's successors, rightfully took his place as their leader. The first four caliphs were Abu Bakr, Omar, Uthman, and Ali. After Muhammed death the Sunni sect were the ones who believed that any strong and worthy man could lead their faith. They practiced the faith in a different way then the Shia sect. Some holy cities of the Sunni people are Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem. They believe these cities are holy because those were places were Muhammad lived during his life. Another person that they believe in is a person called Al Mahdi. The name literally means "the rightly guided one". They believe that this person will come and bring peace to the world. Holidays that are important and special to the Sunni people are [|Eid al-Adha], and Eid al-Fitr. The Sunni sect has many beliefs that are different from the Shia sect but there are some that are the same. The Quran is the sacred writings of Islam. The Sunni religion does use he Quran in their faith and they believe that it was revealed to Muhammad by God during his life in Mecca and Medina. There is also a second set of religious scripture in the Islam religion. The Hadith is not important as the Quran but the Sunni people do believe in the teachings found with in it. The Hadith is a collection of six books. Inside the books there are reports about the sayings of Muhammad. Not only do the books tell about his sayings, there are reports of his actions and those of his followers during his life. These scriptures are very important to the Sunni people because they are their basis of religious knowledge. The Sunni people do not believe that Muhammad chose someone to lead the faith after his death. This was one reason behind why the sects of Islam split. The current leader of the Sunni people is Imams. The Sunni sect of Islam have no type of church and no liturgy takes place. They are against practices that were later acquired into other branches Islam. The reason for this is because they don't recognize the need for a church or priesthood to be able to practice their faith alone or with a group of believers. Many people agree with this principle of the Sunni peoople. The Shia sect of Islam believe Ali was the true successor of Muhammad. The Sunni sect notice Ali as a great man but not as their Successor. This is because they believe that there were other nobel people who could lead the faith and he should not receive the responsibility just because he was the closest living relative of Muhammad. He was the son-in-law of Muhammad, so the Shia sect believe him to be the best person to lead the religion. This was how the branching of Islam began. Sunni Muslim women's position in the religion and society depends on many factors. One factor is the nation that they live in. Women in the countries Yemen and Afghanistan have a very hard time to be able to pursue activities outside of the home. Other women in the countries Jordan, Syria, and Pakistan are able to be active in the public sphere and had the chance to fight for changes in the political and legal aspect of society. Another factor is the type and amount of formal education they received. One aspect that reduces these advancements are the rise of Islamic groups. The Sunni religion has many characteristics that create and form the faith. The people of the religion have a broad concept of religion. Most Muslim countries have Sunni people as their majority. [|Islam] is the fastest growing religion in the United States. The Sunni sect is very accomplished in the aspect of forming a different religion and following through with it.

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