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Article: Understanding Islam its birth and ascent. (World History).
- Article from:
- Junior Scholastic
- Article date:
- November 29, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Scholastic, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Last tall, Rehan Muttalib, 14, decided to pray with fellow Muslims at his high school in California. It was the eve of Ramadan, Islam's holy month, and Rehan wanted to help others understand his faith.
"It's important to show people what my religion is all about," said Rehan, whose parents are from India. "We need to clear up stereotypes.
For 1.2 billion people around the world, Islam is a way of life. In the U.S. alone, 6 million people--about 2 percent of the population--are Muslims.
Where did Islam begin? And how did it spread?
The Word of God
In 570 A.D., a man named Muhammad was born in Mecca, a city in the desert land ...