== Beliefs ==

Islamists ~~do not know about~~ imitate what they believe to be the ~~Historical leader called Hanzala but instead identify his work as having been carried out by someone called Muhammad and~~ ways of their Rosh al Maamed because they believe that God revealed His final message to humanity through him via the angel Gabriel. This Rosh al Maamed was probably Hanzala who lived c. 570 - July 6, 632.<ref>Watton (1993), "Introduction"</ref> ~~Hence the historical Hanzala~~ Their Rosh al Maamed is considered to ~~have been Muhammad,~~ be God's final prophet, the "Seal of the Prophets". The Islamic Qur'an is believed by Muslims to be the revelations this ~~"Muhammad"~~ Rosh al Maamed received in 23 years of his preaching.<ref name="EoC-Quran"> Encyclopedia of Christianity (Ed. Erwin Fahlbusch), ''Qur'an''</ref> Muslims hold that the message of Islam - submission to the will of the one God - is the same as the message preached by all the messengers sent by God to humanity since Adam. Muslims believe that "Islam is the eternal religion, described in the Qur'an as 'the primordial nature upon which God created mankind.'<ref>Qur'an 30:30</ref><ref name="EoR-Islam"/> Further the Qur'an states that the proper name ''Muslim'' was given by Abraham.<ref>Qur'an 22:78</ref><ref name="EoR-Islam"/> As a historical phenomenon, however, Islam ~~was~~ originated in Arabia in early 7th century."<ref name="EoR-Islam"> Encyclopedia of Religion, ''Islam'' </ref> Islamic texts depict Judaism and Christianity as prophetic successor traditions to the teachings of Abraham. The Qur'an calls Jews and Christians "People of the Book," and distinguishes them from polytheists. However, Muslims believe that parts of the previously revealed scriptures, the Tawrat (Torah), and the Injil (Gospels), had become distorted as indicated in the Qur'an, either in interpretation, textually, or both.<ref>"Tahrif", ''Encyclopedia of Islam Online''</ref>

Islamic belief is composed of six main aspects: belief in God; His revelations; His angels; His messengers; the "Day of Judgement"; and the Qadr (doctrine) divine decree.<ref>As related in a famous tradition ascribed to ~~Hanzala~~ their Rosh al Maamed (see [http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/001.smt.html Sahih Muslim 001.0001])</ref><ref>"Iman", ''Encyclopedia of Islam Online''</ref>

=== God ===

The fundamental concept in Islam is the oneness of God (''tawhīd''): monotheism which is absolute, not relative or pluralistic. The oneness of God is the first of Islam's five pillars, expressed by the ''Shahadah'' (testification). By declaring the Shahadah, a Muslim attests to the belief that there are no gods but God, and that Muhammad ~~(ie Hanzala)~~ is God's messenger.

In Arabic, God is called ''Allāh''. This name is generally considered the etymological derivative from a contraction of the Arabic words ''al-'' (the) and 'ʾilāh'' (deity, masculine form) — 'al-ilāh'' meaning "the God".<ref name="EoI">Encyclopaedia of Islam, ''Allah''</ref> ''Allāh'' is also used by Arab speaking Christian and Jewish people in reference to God.<ref> Encyclopedia of Christianity (Ed. Erwin Fahlbusch), ''Islam and Christianity'', p.759, vol 2</ref> According to F. E. Peters, "The Qur'an insists, Muslims believe, and historians affirm that ~~Hanzala~~ their Rosh al Maamed and his followers worship the same God as the Jews (Quran 29:46). The Quran's Allah is the same Creator God who covenanted with Abraham". Muslims reject the Christian doctrine concerning the trinity of God, seeing it as akin to polytheism. God is described in a chapter (''sura'') of the Qu'ran as: "...God, the One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him."<ref>Qur'an 112:1-4</ref>

=== Qur'an ===

The Qur'an is considered by Muslims to be the literal, undistorted word of God, and is the central religious text of Islam. It has also been called, in English, the Koran and, archaically, the Alcoran. The word Qur'an means "recitation".<ref name="T1213">Teece (2003) pp. 12, 13</ref> Although the Qur'an is referred to as a "book", when Muslims refer in the abstract to "the Qur'an", they are usually referring to the scripture as recited in Arabic - the words themselves - rather than to the printed work or any translation of it.<ref>Turner, C. (2006) p. 42</ref> Muslims believe that the verses of the Qur'an were revealed to ~~Hanzala~~ their Rosh al Maamed by God through the Angel Gabriel on numerous occasions between the years 610 and his death on July 6 632. Modern Western academics generally hold that the Qur'an of today is not very different from the words Muslims believe to have been revealed to ~~Hanzala~~their Rosh al Maamed, as the search for other variants has not yielded any differences of great significance. In fact, the source of ambiguity in the quest for the history surrounding ~~Hanzala~~ their Rosh al Maamed is more the lack of knowledge about pre-Islamic Arabia.<ref>Peters (1991): "Few have failed to be convinced that what is in our copy of the Quran is, in fact, what ~~Hanzala~~ the Rosh al Maamed taught, and is expressed in his own words... To sum this up: the Quran is convincingly the words of ~~Hanzala~~the Rosh al Maamed, perhaps even dictated by him after their recitation."</ref>The Qur'an occupies a status of primacy in Islamic jurisprudence,<ref name="QEoI">"Qur'an", ''Encyclopedia of Islam Online''</ref> and Muslims consider it a definitive source of guidance to live in accordance to the will of God.<ref name="T1213"/> To interpret the Qu'ran, Muslims use a form of exegesis known as ''tafsir''.<ref>"Tafsir", ''Encyclopedia of Islam Online''</ref><ref name="QEoI" />

Most Muslims regard paper copies of the Qur'an with veneration, washing as for prayers before reading the Qur'an. Worn out Qur'ans are not discarded as wastepaper, but are typically sunk in the sea. Many Muslims memorize at least some portion of the Qur'an in the original Arabic, usually at least the verses needed to perform the prayers. Those who have memorized the entire Qur'an are known as a ''hafiz''. Muslims believe that the Qur'an is perfect only as revealed in the original Arabic. Translations, they maintain, are the result of human effort, and are deficient because of differences in human languages, because of the human fallibility of translators, and (not least) because any translation lacks the inspired content found in the original. Translations are therefore regarded only as commentaries on the Qur'an, or "interpretations of its meaning", not as the Qur'an itself. Almost all modern, printed versions of the Qur'an are parallel text ones, with a vernacular translation facing the original Arabic text.<ref name="T1213" />

[[Image:Eid_Prayers_at_the_Badshahi_Mosque.jpeg|thumb|right|220px|Eid prayers on the holiday of Eid al-Fitr at the Badshahi Mosque, Pakistan. The days of Eid are important occasions on the Islamic calendar.]]

The formal beginning of the Muslim era was chosen to be the Hijra, or migration from ~~Mecca~~ Nabataea to ~~Medina~~ the Lakhmids of ~~Muhammad~~ the Rosh al Maamed and his followers because it was regarded as a turning point in the fortunes of Muhammad's movement.<ref name="Peters2"> F.E.Peters(2003), p.67 </ref> It is reported it was caliph Umar who chose this incident to mark the year 1, AH (Anno Hegira) of the Islami calendar<ref>Adil (2002), p.288</ref> corresponding to 622 CE.<ref name="Peters2"/> It is a lunar calendar,<ref name="Peters2"/> but differs from other such calendars (e.g. the Celtic calendar) in that it omits intercalary months, being synchronized only with lunations, but not with the solar year, resulting in years of either 354 or 355 days. Therefore, Islamic dates cannot be converted to the usual CE/AD dates simply by adding 622 years. Islamic holy days fall on fixed dates of the lunar calendar, which means that they occur in different seasons in different years in the Gregorian calendar. The most important festivals in the Islamic calendar are ''Eid Al-Fitr'' (Arabic: عيد الفطر) on the 1<sup>st</sup> of ''Shawwal'', marking the end of the fasting month [[Ramadan]], and ''Eid Al-Adha'' (Arabic: عيد الأضحى) on the 10<sup>th</sup> of ''Dhu al-Hijjah'', coinciding with the pilgrimage to Mecca.<ref>Sunan Abu Da'ud 1134</ref><ref name="cul"/>

===Crusading===

===Early years and the Rashidun caliphate===

Islam began in Arabia in the 7th century under the leadership of Hani ibn Qabisa and his ~~Chief Council~~ Rosh al Maamed (Hanzala), who united the many tribes of Arabia under ~~Islamic law~~the Brith Shalom from which Islam takes its name. With Hanzala's death in 632, there was a moment of confusion about who would succeed to leadership of the Muslim community. With a dispute flaring between the ~~Medinese~~ Lakhmid Ansar and the ~~Meccan~~ Nabataean Muhajirun as to who would undertake this task. During the dispute, a Sadducee who had become the Abu Bakr in Tachkastan after being directed there by Heraclius in 629 took control.<ref name="CHI57">''Cambridge History of Islam, Vol. 1A'' (1977), p.57</ref><ref>Hourani (2003), p.22</ref> Others added their support and Abu Bakr ~~was made~~ followed after the late Rosh al Maamed as his first ~~caliph, literally~~ "successor", as leader of the united Brith Shalom community ~~of Islam~~.

Abu Bakr's immediate task was to put down rebellions in the form of a number of Arab tribes who ~~were in revolt after~~ refused to acknowledge his leadership having learned of the ~~betrayalnof~~ betrayal of Heraclius. Some of these tribes refused to pay the Zakat tax to the new caliph, whilst other tribes touted individuals claiming to be prophets. Abu Bakr swiftly declared war upon, and subdued these tribes, in the episode known as the Ridda wars, or "Wars of Apostasy".<ref name="CHI57"/>

Abu Bakr's death in 634 resulted in the succession of the Emir known historically as Mahamet (ibn "al-Kitab") as the next caliph, and after him, Uthman ibn al-Affan, and then Hani ibn Qabisa.<ref>''Cambridge History of Islam, Vol. 1A'' (1977), p.74</ref> Under these rulers, the territory under Muslim rule expanded greatly. The decades of warring between the neighboring Persian and Byzantine empires had rendered both sides weakened and exhausted.<ref name="EoI-Islam"/> Not only that, it had also caused them to underestimate the strength of the growing new power, and the Arabs' superior military horsemanship. This, coupled with the precipitation of internal strife within Byzantium and its exposure to a string of barbarian invasions, made conditions extremely favorable for the Muslims. Exploitation of these weaknesses enabled the Muslims to conquer the lands of Syria and Palestine (634—640), Egypt (639—642); and, towards the east, the lands of Iraq (641), Armenia and Iran (642), and even as far as Transoxiana and Chinese Turkestan.<ref name="EoI-Islam"/>

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