This page is where I've placed some random information on Islam. There are many more complete sites with more information. Some are:
- The religion of Islam at ReligiousTolerance.org
- Islam at Wikipedia
- Islam.com

Islam is the second largest religion in the world following Christianity.

Islam was founded by the profet Muhammad See below.

Their holy book is the Quran also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān. Muslims believe the Quran to be verbally revealed through angel Gabriel from God to Muhammad.

Indonesia, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh have the largest number of Muslims.
Sunnis outnumber Shī'ahs by 6 to 1. See distribution of sects.

Many do not look upon Islam as a new religion. They feel that it is in reality the faith taught by the ancient Prophets, Abraham, David, Moses and Jesus (Peace be upon them).
Muslims say that Muhammad's (pbuh) role as the last of the Prophets was to formalize and clarify the faith and to purify it by removing ideas that had been included because of inaccurate documentation of oral traditions.

Practices:

• Prayer - Ritual prayers, called Ṣalāh or Ṣalāt , must be performed five times a day.
• Fasting from dawn to dusk during the month of Ramadhan.
• A Pilgrimage to Mecca once during your lifetime.

According to Shia Islam, there are five pillars for accepting Islam:

1. Monotheism, God is one and unique.
2. Justice, the concept of moral rightness based on ethics, fairness, and equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics.
3. Prophethood, the institution by which God sends emissaries, or prophets, to guide mankind.
4. Leadership, A divine institution which succeeded the institution of Prophethood. Its appointees (Imams) are divinely appointed.
5. Last Judgment, God's final assessment of humanity.

Who's God

For example The Qur'an, 2:62 which says,
"Those who believe (in the Qur'an), and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians...and (all) who believe in God and the last day and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve."

During the ninth and tenth centuries Muslim Falsafh's (philosophers) who wanted to rationalize Islam and turned to Greek metaphysics, so the concept of God evolved after Muhammad (570-632).

So, currently there are differences in the concept of God and many claim this means they are different Gods.

As far as I am concerned the Jews, Christians and Muslims all believe in one God so he must be the same whether you call him Elohim (Hebrew), ehyeh (Ancient Hebrew), Yahweh (YHWH) (Modern Hebrew), Elaha (Aramaic), Jehovah (anglicized version of YHWH), Allah (Al-Lah) (Arabic) or God.

See Names for God

The Quran, Infidels and Jihad

In western societies the term jihad is often translated by non-muslims as "holy war". Scholars of Islamic studies often stress that these words are not synonymous. Jihad which means struggle often refers to the struggle to maintain faith.
See Jihad at Wikipedia

Many people will say that the Quran instructs Muslims to kill all Infidels using the following verses:
- The infidels are your sworn enemies. Sura 4:101
  (a Surah is a collection of verses)
- Fight and slay the pagans (or infidels or unbelievers) wherever you find them. (9:5)
- Prophet, make war on the infidels. Sura 66: 9

At IslamForPeace.org they say:
"The exact Arabic expression in these verses - indeed, in every verse that talks of the non-believer - is "Al-Kaferrin" or "Al-la-dhina Kafaru." The use of "Al-" or "Al-la-dhina" limits the verse (and thus commandment) to 1) a specific time and place in history and 2) a specific group of people who were obstacles to the establishment of Islam in its nascent phase. It is these two factors that caused these verses to be revealed. Had the intentions of the Quran been to extend the application of these verses in perpetuity, it would have used the expression "Man Kafar," rather than "Al-Kafereen" or "Al-La-dhina Kafaru". The former, "Man Kafar," literally means any one who does not believe in God; while the latter, "Al-Kafereen," - the infidels - denotes a specific group of people: they who fought Prophet Mohamed in the early stages of Islam."

The Quran also says,
"and those who restrain their anger and pardon men; and God loves the doers of good to others." Verse (3:134)

Historical evidence:
A considerable parts of India was for several centuries controlled by the Muslim Mughal Empire, yet Hindu's were not killed in mass.

When Saladin took back Jerusalem in 1291 it is said that he allowed all christian inhabitants to leave before his people entered.
King Richard and Saladin agree on a truce, The Peace of Ramla, the terms of which permitted Christians to visit Jerusalem without paying tribute and have free access to the holy places.
Contrast this with the Christian crusades which killed everyone.

History shows that Muhammed generously forgave his opponents and won many new followers among his former enemies.

Muhammad:

As a camel driver on the trade routes between Syria and Arabia. Muhammad (pbuh) he met people of different religious beliefs and was able to observe and learn about Judaism, Christianity and the indigenous Pagan religions.

Discontented with life in Mecca, in 610 AD he retreated to a cave in the surrounding mountains for meditation and reflection. According to Islamic beliefs it was here, at age 40, in the month of Ramadan, where he received his first revelation from God. Three years after this event Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly.

He moved to Medina after persecution in Mecca and united conflicting tripes. After 8 years of fighting he conquered Mecca and moved back.

In Michael H. Hart. "The 100: A Ranking Of The Most Influential Persons In History", he is listed as number 1.
See About Muhammad at ReligiousTolerance

Criticism of Islam in the west:

The Arab-Israeli war has been a major problem in the middle east since the partitioning of Palestine in 1948. See Arab-Israeli wars

The treatment of women is another issue.

Criticism of the West by Muslims

• Iraq war, Presence in Afghanistan, raids and drone strikes in Pakistan.
• In 1988 Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie an Indian-British novelist and essayist's published a novel, "The Satanic Verses", resulting in a fatwā (juristic ruling) issued against him by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader of Iran. The media made this out to be a death sentence.
• In 2005 The Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published 12 editorial cartoons, most of which depicted the Islamic prophet Muhammad . This led to protests across the Muslim world and the bombing of the Danish embassy in Pakistan.
• In 2010 Pastor Terry Jones of Dove World Outreach Center in Florida planned to set ablaze thousands of copies of the Muslim holy book, the Quran, on Sept. 11, a day he dubbed International Burn a Koran Day. See ABC News

I have heard a Christian apologist say they have read the Qur'an and it is apparent from it that the Muslim people will never amount to anything.
However, in the ninth and tenth centuries more scientific discoveries had been by the Abbasid empire (Muslim) than in any previous period of history, (Arabic numerals, algebra, medicine, astronomy, ...)

See Criticism of Islam at Wikipedia

Terms:

Apostasy (Irtidad) - A general (not islamic) term for rejecting ones religion.
  Islamic scholarship differs on its punishment, ranging from execution to none.
Ayatollah - Leaders who are experts in Islamic studies such as jurisprudence, ethics, and philosophy.
   The most well known is Grand Ayatollah Khomeini who led the 1979 Iranian Revolution,
   which overthrew the Shah of Iran.
Fatwā - Juristic ruling. Not necessarily a death sentance.
Hadith - A saying or act ascribed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
Hajj - Pilgrimage to Mecca. It occurs on the eighth day of Dhul-Hijjah (Zul-Hijjah)
    the 12th month of the Muslim lunar calendar.
    It falls on a date about 11 days earlier each year.
   Future dates 2012 - Oct 24; 2013 Oct 13 See Islamic Dates
Imam - A leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. 
Jihad - In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle".
   Muslims use the word in a religious context to refer to three types of struggles:
   An internal struggle to maintain faith,
   The struggle to improve the Muslim society,
   The struggle to defend Islam.
Kaaba - A cuboid-shaped building in Mecca, The most sacred site in Islam.
Mecca - A city in Saudia Arabia. As the birthplace of prophet Muhammad
  and a site of the composition of the Quran, Mecca is regarded as 
  the holiest city in Islam and a pilgrimage to it at least once during their lifetime
  is obligatory upon all able Muslims.
Mosque (Masjid)-  A place of worship for Muslims. 
   It is also important to the Muslim community as a place to meet and study.
Mullah - A Muslim man, educated in Islamic theology and sacred law.
PBUH - Peace be upon him is a phrase that practising Muslims 
    often say after saying (or hearing) the name of a prophet including Christ.
Quran (Koran, Qur'an, ...) - The central religious text of Islam. Compiled by Muhammad over
  23 years and compiled into a single volume shortly after his death.
Ramadan - The holiest period in the Islamic year.
   It commemorates the ninth lunar month in the year 610 CE when revelation began from God,
   via the angel Gabriel, to the Prophet Muhammad.
   Dates: 2012 - July 20 - August 18; 2013 - July 9 - August 8
   It involves fasting from dawn to dusk.
   
 Salah - The practice of formal prayer in Islam.
 Shari'ah - Islamic law.  See ReligiousTolerance.org

Links:
Islam at the Religious Tolerance page
Islam Cracks The Code - Islam and Christian beliefs

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