Understanding World Religions

Our quote for today is from journalist Bruce Buursma. He said, “Almost every story around the world has a religion sub-plot." In this podcast, we are making our way through Garry R. Morgan's book, "Understanding World Religions in 15 Minutes a Day." Our Understanding World Religions topic for today is, "The Beginning of Islam."  Islam is the world's second largest religion, with about 1.6 billion followers in 2010 (more than 20 percent of the earth's population). Including  biological growth, it is also the globe's fastest-growing, and is the majority religion in forty-nine countries. Contemporary politics and the issue of terrorism have thrust Islam into the worldwide spotlight as never before.  Islam is an Arabic word meaning "submission," and the religion's central theme is submission to the will of God. So a Muslim is one who submits to God's will, which is revealed in the Qur'an, the Islamic holy book. Qur'an, which is an Arabic word meaning "recite," is often transliterated Koran in English texts. Altho