Prayer charity pilgrimage ramadan jihad and so on

Instead of just letting prejudice run wild, we might as well try to find out a little bit more about the history of religions, philosophies & ideologies.

Among the moslema, the hours of prayer are announced by à crier (MU'ADHDHIN/MUAZZIN) from the tower of the mosque. Muhammad was under the impression that the Jews used the blowing of the horn (SHOFAR) for summoning the Jewish people to worship in the Temple. For the Moslems, however, he ordained that a man sound the call for prayers. This Moslem practice may be traced to an ancient custom followed in the Temple in Jerusalem ("City of Peace"/"Al Quds"/"The Holy One". According to a Talmudic passage an appointed crier used to announce: "Arise, ye priests tom your service, ye Levites to your platforms, & ye Israelites to your stands!" The crier's voice was heard at a distance of three miles.

Muhammad chose Friday to take the place of the Jewish Sabbath and the Christian Sunday. Now we know that the practice of the Jews in Arabia was to begin the observance of the sabbath early on Friday. It is quite possible that Muhammad took this pattern as a model for his day of rest, although the notion of a complete day of rest was alien to him. Though he considered the day of rest as a burden imposed upon the Jews and the Christians, nevertheless he followed the Jewish practice of making friday a day of special congregational services, including a sermon ...

The giving of alms is still another fundamental pillar of Islam. The Koran is studded with verses and aphorisms extolling the importance of and the reward for the giving of SADAQAH (alms) to the poor, the widow, and the orphan. This doctrine is also of jewish origin. The bible and the Talmud regard the giving of charity (ZEDAKAH) as an act of righteousness and not merely as an act ofbgenerosity or philanthropy. All wealth is the Crea-tor's and man is merely the custodian who must share it with the less fortunate of G d's children. In the same way it is incumbent upon every Moslem to make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime unless he is physically and financially unable to do so. The idea of pilgrimage is well known in the bible, which prescribes that the Israelites make a pilgrimage to Yerushalayim three times a year. After the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE when the Jews were no longer able to travel to Jerusalem, the synagogue was instituted, out of which the church and the mosque developed. Like the synagogue, the mosque is a house of worship without any images or figures. The purpose of prayer in the case of the Moslem is comparable to that in the case of the Jew, i.e. self-examination, training to be humble, exalting the Almighty, offering thanks-giving and receiving G d's mercy and guidance.