The Birth

In 610 AD.

In a city on the Arabian Peninsula called Mecca...

God sent down His revelation to a just man.

His name was Mohammed, and he would be God's final messenger to all of mankind.

He started to preach divine revelation to the corrupt pagan society of Mecca...

The pagan leaders of the city tried to oppress, threaten and, in the end, even kill him.

But he never bowed down to their idols.

He called on them to abandon their false gods and serve the one and only God: Allah, theCreator and Lord of the heavens and the Earth.

God's revelation to prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him, was the Qur'an.

In one of its verses, God commanded the prophet to call on all people to take the true path and have their conscience choose the way:

"Say: 'Mankind! The truth has come to you from your Lord. Whoever is guided is only guided for his own good. Whoever is misguided is only misguided to his detriment. I have not been set over you as a guardian.'"
(Qur'an, 10: 108)

The Light of Islam

Islam would bring civilization and humane values to the barbaric peoples of pagan Arabia.

The Prophet Mohammed preached a religion based on mercy, justice and peace.

When he made war, he did so only to defend the Muslim community from a brutal campaign of pagan aggression.

When he finally conquered Mecca, which was then the pagan citadel, he punished not even one of his sworn enemies.

Instead, he forgave them all and bid them enter into the compassion of God.

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Islam also brought emancipation and honor to Arabia's women.

Before Islam, they were degraded, exploited and even buried alive.

Islam gave them rights, dignity and freedom, as equals with men. .

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During his lifetime, the Prophet Mohammed put an end to all the bloody tribal wars, oppression, injustice and corruption which had plagued Arabia.
He taught Muslims how to think and live according to the Holy Qur'an.
A book that is mankind's ultimate guide until the Day of Judgment.

Islam and the People of the Book

Islam is a religion which strongly respects the freedom to believe or not to believe.

In the Holy Qur'an, God strictly forbids any forced conversion or forced worship.

"There is no compulsion in religion." (Qur'an, 2: 256)

Thus, since the birth of Islam, true Muslims have always tolerated other religious communities. Especially Jews and Christians.

In the Holy Qur'an, they are referred to as the "People of the Book"- the adherents of God's previous revelations, the Torah and the Gospels.

When Islam started to spread beyond Arabia, many Jews and Christians came to live under Muslim rule.

Muslims respected their faiths. They protected their rights, freedoms and sanctuaries.
In the words of a Western historian:

"The old myth that the Arabs burst forth with the sword in one hand and the Koran in the other, offering the Mediterranean peoples either conversion or death, has long been discredited. In fact, the Arabs tolerated the religious practices of the Christians and Jews they conquered" Norman F. Cantor, The Civilization of the Middle Ages, 1994, New York, p. 133

When Jerusalem was conquered by the Caliph Omar, he visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and kindly promised the Patriarch that his shrine would be spared.

Today, this church, along with many others, stands peacefully around the Islamic shrine the Mosque of Omar.

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In Jerusalem under Islamic rule, Muslims, Jews and Christians were all free to worship in mutual respect.

This civilized way of life would only be destroyed later, by the Crusaders. They captured Jerusalem in 1099 and ruthlessly slaughtered all its Muslim and Jewish inhabitants.

But Islamic peace would prevail again. In 1178, the Muslim commander Saladin defeated the Crusader army and recaptured Jerusalem. In stark contrast to the Crusader barbarism, he harmed not even a single inhabitant of the city.

During the whole of the Middle Ages, when Christendom was unashamedly anti-Semitic, xenophobic and dark, Islamic-ruled lands were havens for Jews and Christians of all denominations.

When the Jews of Spain were expelled by the intolerant Catholic monarchy, they found refuge in the Muslim Ottoman Empire.

Throughout history, Islam has been tolerant, civilized and merciful. Because this is what God has commanded to Muslims.

Science and Civilization

Among other aspects of civilization, Islam taught humanity one very important faculty: Science.
Before Islam, pagan Arabs and other Middle Eastern peoples had little interest in the natural world.

It was through the Qur'an that they were first taught to observe and ponder the universe, the Earth, and its plants and animals.

This is why a great scientific leap took place under Islamic civilization.

Muslim scientists laid the foundations of astronomy, medicine, algebra, geometry and other important branches of science.

Muslim manuscripts of the era are full of diligent and careful works of scholarship.

In fact, this Islamic legacy of science would be the basis of the European Renaissance.

When Europe was still in the Dark Ages, Muslims were pioneers of science.

And not only science, but also philosophy, art, architecture, urban welfare and even standards of hygiene

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If something went wrong in the Islamic world, this was because Muslims turned away from the sincerity, wisdom and open-mindedness God teaches in the Qur'an....

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Today, although there are people who dramatically misrepresent it, Islam is the ultimate path to peace, civilization and salvation.

This path begins with the most fundamental truths:

To have a firm belief in God and to lead a life based on the noble morality He shows.

"Who could say anything better than someone who summons to God and acts rightly and says, 'I am one of the Muslims'?" (The Qur'an, 41: 33)