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Though Kuwait’s constitution guarantees
freedom of religion, and churches of several faiths flourish here, this is a devout Muslim nation whose people follow the Islamic principles and way of life.
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The Arabic words “Islam” (literally
“submission”) and “Muslim” (“one who has submitted”) are related to the word “salam”, or “peace”. This is not a contradiction: the belief is that true inner peace can be achieved only by total submission
to the will of the omniscient and omnipotent God, who is called Allah in Arabic. Submission does not compromise the freedom of the believer. Rather, it liberates him from fear, ignorance, and
superstition by filling him with the truth of the universe.
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Islam is a complete, integral system that
encompasses all areas of human life. It places everything where it should be in God’s creation, and teaches that this life is only a preparation for the next eternal one. God, who is both stern and
merciful, will reward those who have followed His way
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and punish those who have not. He requires devotion,
faith, sincerity, modesty, control of passions, respect, moral uprightness, humility, charity, generosity, kindness, and good citizenship from each believer. God’s pleasure is the sole purpose of life, and He does
not suffer gladly the immoral or deceitful.
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At the center of Islam is the concept of
God-consciousness. The true believer goes about everything in his life conscious of God and what He wants, and lets this guide him in all endeavors, whether spiritual, social, political, economic, or legal. Every
person has a moral responsibility to act virtuously and to fight evil, in an ever-widening circle that first encompasses personal habits and beliefs, then extends to include family, community, nation, and ultimately
all mankind.
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One common misconception in the West is
that Islam was “founded” by Muhammad. In the strictest sense, this is not true. Islam is as eternal as God, and the faith holds that every human being is born Muslim. When a person of another religion
embraces Islam, Muslims don’t speak of conversion: they say that he has “reverted” to Islam, to the God-conscious state in which he was born.
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Muslims believe that God has sent a series
of prophets to the human race to instruct humanity in His ways. The Qur’an, the holy book of Islam, states explicitly that at least one prophet has preached in every nation, and some scholars claim that
God has sent more than 240,000. It is impossible to say who all the prophets in other areas of the world may have been, but there is no doubt about the 25 told of in the Qur’an. They include Noah, Isaac,
Jacob, Abraham, Ishmael, Moses, David, Jesus — the same men as in the Jewish and Christian stories — and Muhammad.
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The Qur’an states that Muhammad is the
last prophet God will send, and he is thus known as the “seal of the prophets”. But the idea that
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Muslims worship Muhammad is completely wrong: He is
merely the last in a long line of human beings entrusted by God to be his messengers.
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