Islam is a way that over 1.3 billion people in the world* have adopted, to reach a particular destiny: the peace here and a peaceful hereafter.

The term Islam has the word S-L-M at its roots, signifying peace and submission. Thus a Muslim attains peace and serenity physically, psychologically, and spiritually by submitting to the will of God instead of one’s own impulse and worldly compulsions. It is this concept of submission only to the God that frees one from internal and external conflicts and chaos. Islam means submission to the will of One God - the God referred in Arabic as Allah, the word originated by Arabic words – Al (the) & Ilah (God), thus Allah The God. The peace that is supposed to flow from this submission, establishes a calm in one’s self and one’s surroundings.

The word Muslim means the one who submits to the will of Allah.

A Muslim submits to Allah, as the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, the God of Mercy, who sent the prophets such as Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus (p.b.u.t.'), earlier and prophet Muhammad (S) as the last messenger. By acknowledging and professing the Oneness of God and the prophet-hood of prophet Muhammad (S) without any compulsion, one basically becomes a Muslim. Being, faithful however, depends on the individual efforts to improve oneself; it is the matter of spiritual and intellectual advancement.

A Muslim is supposed to fulfill the purpose of his/her creation as a human being by following Islam.

Islam is a comprehensive system that leads Muslims to a completely fulfilled life as human beings, and thus leads them to attain a peaceful destiny. For example, as Islam is concerned with individual as well as collective well being of human societies, therefore, among other things, learning and seeking knowledge is especially emphasized in Islam, because it increases individual and collective awareness, comprehension, and faith. As a process of spiritual advancement, and to stay healthy physically, and mentally, a Muslim abides by some sophisticated dietary, hygienic, and precautionary practices, as well as some moral principles, individually and socially.

It is quite amazing, however, that in spite of ample information available on the true essence of Islam, how media not only avoids mentioning constructive contributions of Muslims, but often chooses certain individuals to present its opinion about Islam and Muslims in such a contradictory manner that is not only alien, but demeaning to Islam and Muslims. This fulfills no other purpose except to further misinform, and mislead the audiences, and to introduce a misunderstanding that already exists, in a highly dramatic way. By widening the gap among the people of world they may actually be doing a disservice to the efforts of a collective human progress of modern societies. It is not a hidden fact that the modern advances in science and technology were to a large degree a contribution of Muslim scholars and scientists.

It would be an unfortunate state of affair, where the scholastic energies of Muslim minds go unutilized in part due to the propagated biases. It would be helpful on the other hand if the open-minded people in the media invite Muslim scholars to establish a constructive dialogue for the sake of positive human progress, and peace. They could join hands with those scholars, who benefit from their search of Islamic sciences and literature, as it continues to astonish and guide contemporary intellectuals, and the researchers of modern times:

The following pages are thus intended to provide a helpful and brief account of a few concepts in Islam. Readers may find the following pages oriented towards exploring a dimension of ‘whys’, rather than ‘hows’ about some of the beliefs and practices in Islam.