The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley by Malcolm X, Alex Haley, and Attallah Shabazz - Oct 12, 1987

One of the greatest hindrances to attaining peaceful relations in the Middle East comes from the fact that the Islamic religion is often misunderstood . In their book entitled , Islam : A Thousand Years of Faith and Power , authors Jonathan Bloom and Sheila Blair , discuss the origins of Islam by discussing various aspects of the religion and the cultural practices . Literally , Islam means peace or the surrender of one 's self to God . Islam was born 1 ,400 years ago , when the message of the Qur 'an was relayed to the prophet Muhammad by Allah

through the angel Gabriel The fundamental decree of Islam is monotheism , that there is only one Creator , that he alone should be worshipped by mankind and that Muhammad is God 's final prophet

shah ?dat ?n or twin testimonies ' wherein a Muslim declares that there is only one God worthy of devotion and that Muhammad is the messenger of God

The Salah requires praying five times a day at different times while facing towards the Kaaba in Mecca . The Zakat is the alms-giving of capable Muslims to the poor and needy . The Sawm is the requirement of fasting during the month of Ramadan wherein a Muslim desists from eating , drinking and having sexual intercourse from dusk until dawn . The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca a Muslim is required to make at least once in his or her lifetime

Aside from discussing these practices , they also discuss the cultural background of some of the most holy sites...