Islam which means submission to God or Allah in Arabic. Islam world religion founded by Prophet Muhammad. Islam was found in the 7th cent. Islam is the youngest of the three monotheistic world religions.

In Arabic, Islam derives from the triconsonantal root sīn-lām-mīm, while this verb literally means 'to make peace' the word 'Islam' is derived from a form of this word 'istislam' which itself derives from 'silm' meaning 'submission'.

Islam is an abstract nominal derived from this root, and literally means "submission to The God”. The legislative meaning is to submit to God by singling Him out in all acts of worship, to yield obediently to Him and to free and disassociate oneself from Polytheism and its people.

Islam began in Arabia when the Prophet Muhammad heard the word of God. Muhammad was born in Mecca in 570AD. When he was 40 he was called to become God's messenger. At a time when the Arabs had many beliefs and gods, Muhammad taught that there was only one god – Allah.

The Angel Gabriel appeared to Muhammad and taught him the verses of Holy Quran (Koran), the Holy Book of Islam

The most important message of the Holy Quran is that God is the creator of the world and controls everything in it. Muslims are called upon to surrender to the will of God. They must live according to the rules of the Holy Quran and perform the five main duties of Islam - called the Five Pillars of Faith.

Followers of Islam, known as Muslims, believe Muhammad to have been God's final prophet; most of them see the historic record of the actions and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad related in the Sunnah and Hadith as indispensable tools for interpreting the Qur'an.

The word Muslim (Moslem) means "one who gives himself to God" in Arabic. Islam means "submission or obedience to God".

Symbols of Islam

Muslims do not accept any icon or color as sacred to Islam as they believe that worshipping symbolic or material things is against the spirit of monotheism. Many people assume that the star and crescent symbolize Islam, but these were actually the insignia of the Ottoman Empire, not of Islam as a whole. The color green is often associated with Islam as well; this is custom and not prescribed by religious scholars. However, Muslims will often use elaborately calligraphed verses from the Qur'an and pictures of the Ka'bah as decorations in mosques, homes, and public places. The Qur’anic verses are believed to be sacred.