By Wes Tracy & Stan Ingersol ¹

Focus
Stern ayatollahs, camel drivers kneeling on prayer mats in the desert, royal princes discussing international oil investments, fiery students proclaiming revolution and denouncing the West as the "great Satan" - such are a few of the common Western images of the Islamic religion. Yet, these are not the only images of Arab civilization, and they are not the majority ones of Islam.

About 1 billion people on our planet claim an allegiance to the Islamic faith. The most populous Islamic nation is Indonesia, where 100 million believers declare that "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger." Turkey, Russia, and large sections of Africa also support large numbers of Muslim devotees.

Islam is the Arabic term for "submission." A Muslim is "one who submits." The Muslims submit to the will of Allah as revealed by Muhammad. Today we will look at Islam, the fastest-growing religion in the world, in order to examine its impact on our own communities.

Biblical Foundations

Genesis 16; 21:1-21; Deuteronomy 3:1-7; 7:1-2; Philippians 4:1-13; 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18

Commentary

Use the Commentary as background information and discussion material as you prepare and as you facilitate this lesson.