Islam 101

Authored by Gregory M. Davis, this short course — Islam 101 — is meant to help people become better educated about the fundamentals of Islam and to help the more knowledgeable better convey the facts to others.

To even begin to have a discussion about Islamic terrorism, we should have at least a basic understanding of Islam itself.

1) The Basics

a) The Five Pillars of Islam
b) The Quran — the Book of Allah
c) The Sunnah — the "Way" of the Prophet Muhammad

i. Battle of Badr
ii. Battle of Uhud
iii. Battle of Medina
iv. Conquest of Mecca

d) Sharia Law

2) Jihad and Dhimmitude

a) What does "jihad" mean?
b) Muslim Scholar Hasan Al-Banna on jihad
c) Dar al-Islam and dar al-harb: the House of Islam and the House of War

i) Taqiyya — Religious Deception

d) Jihad Through History

i) The First Major Wave of Jihad: the Arabs,
622-750 AD

ii) The Second Major Wave of Jihad: the Turks,
1071-1683 AD

e) The Dhimma
f) Jihad in the Modern Era

3) Conclusion

4) Frequently Asked Questions

a) What about the Crusades?

b) If Islam is violent, why are so many Muslims peaceful?

c) What about the violent passages in the Bible?

d) Could an Islamic "Reformation" pacify Islam?

e) What about the history of Western colonialism in the Islamic world?

f) How can a violent political ideology be the second-largest and fastest-growing religion on earth?

g) Is it fair to paint all Islamic schools of thought as violent?

h) What about the great achievements of Islamic civilization?

5) Glossary of Terms

Islam 101 was written by Gregory M. Davis, author of Religion of Peace?: Islam's War Against the World, and the producer/director of Islam: What the West Needs to Know.