Islam The Five Pillars The Five Pillars of Islam (arkan al-Islam) are the foundation of faith and religious practice. They are outlined thoroughly in the Hadith, one of the core doctrinal traditions of Islam. The Five Pillars differentiates Islam from other religions of the Book like Judaism, outlining theological and practical elements of faith that bear witness to the uniqueness of Muhammad as God's prophet, and the uniqueness of Allah as well

This ritual takes place on the eighth day after birth and the ceremony itself involves both religious and surgical elements and may be performed by a surgeon of a specially-trained Mohel who has both surgical and religious knowledge. After the circumcision is performed, a festive meal almost always follows as a symbol of thanks to God and to the prophet Abraham. One of the most complicated religious rituals of Judaism

Faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/sj/sjhist.htm)." Since its humble beginnings, the number of Jesuits in the world has "grown to 24,000 members who work out of 1,825 houses in 112 countries. In the intervening years many Jesuits became renowned for their sanctity (41 Saints and 285 Blesseds), for their scholarship in every conceivable field, for their explorations and discoveries, but especially for their schools (http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/jmac/sj/sjhist.htm)." Today, the General Congregations is the authority which presides over the

A woman can be neither a political leader nor a judge; she must only appear in public modestly dressed, and her natural and sacred task is to keep the household smoothly functioning and to raise and instruct her children to be good Muslims. Men, for their part, must shoulder the burden of providing for the family in material ways. Liberation for a woman does not mean being like a

Laylat al-Qadr is the most important night during Ramadan. Traditionally it falls on the 27th day of Ramadan and means "Night of Power." The Night of Power commemorates Mohammad receiving the first verses of the Qur'an. Thus, the Laylat al-Qadr is the essence of Ramadan itself. Worshippers around the world spend the entire night in prayer because Laylat al-Qadr is believed to contain the spiritual power of a thousand months.

A view of this event captures an incredible sea of worshippers flowing like a human river in the footsteps of the prophet Mohammed, who it is said arrived at this spot some 1400 years ago to pay homage to Abraham. The role of the woman as it is understood through the ritual reenactments are quite different from the unequal stance which is often assumed of Muslim women today, with Hagar