Islam

Islam arose in the 7th century CE in Arabia. Muslims believe the Prophet Muhammad received revelations from God (Allah) that are recorded in the Qur’an, considered the final and complete revelation. Islam is strictly monotheistic: “There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God.” It reveres many of the same figures as Judaism and Christianity (Abraham, Moses, Mary, Jesus) but sees Jesus as a prophet, not divine, and rejects the Trinity and the crucifixion as understood in Catholicism.

Islam does not have sacraments or a priesthood in the Catholic sense; instead it emphasizes the Five Pillars (profession of faith, prayer, fasting in Ramadan, almsgiving, and pilgrimage to Mecca) and, in many communities, religious law (sharia) as a guide for personal and social life. Compared with Roman Catholicism, authority is more dispersed among scholars and traditions rather than centered on a pope and hierarchy.