Muhammad and the Course of Islam by H.M. Balyuzi

Islam means submission, in this case submission to Allah, the creator-ruler God of Muslim faith.

'There is but one God and Muhammed is His Apostle' is the great standard under which Islam has become the religion of one-seventh of the world's population. It remains to be seen how successful they will be. While continuing to have to face critics, with the assistance of government officials, the Interfaith community, and the news media, the American Muslim community has used the unique moment to communicate their desire to participate as Americans in the social, cultural, political and religious life of the nation. However, the minority and less known Muslim community had a more difficult task. American Muslims quickly moved to disassociate themselves from the actions of their fellow Muslims, much as Christian group had earlier distanced themselves from the Branch Davidian and the Peoples Temple. The terrorists were quickly identified as Muslims and adherents of an Islamic group called Al Qaeda, based in Afghanistan. Islam's upward trajectory in the United States suffered a severe setback on September 11, 2001, when terrorists crashed airplanes into the Pentagon building in Washington, DC, and the World Trade Center in New York City.

While not yet as well organized as the Jewish community, the Muslim community is rapidly gaining a high level of political sophistication. Its growth has also propelled it from being the faith of a few ethnic enclaves to a powerful presence in national political debates and in every segment of urban society, due in no small measure to its association with oil and the turmoil of the Middle East. With only a few hundred thousand adherents in 1965 when the emigration barriers from predominantly Islamic countries were liberalized, Islam has grown to the point that it is challenging Judaism's position as the second largest religious community (Christianity being the largest) in America. Middle Eastern Family Part II: Islam, Zoroastrianism, Baha'iĬonsult the 'Contents' pages to locate the entries in Part III, the Directory Listings Sections, that comprise this family.

Muhammad and the Course of Islam by H.M. Balyuzi