Fact Sheet: Guide to Islam

There is presently an influx of Islamic students coming to Australia as international students. The following is a more comprehensive guide to the Islamic faith to assist hosts.  (More information)

Islamic Beliefs

Muslims have the following beliefs: one incomparable God – Allah. Allah is the Arabic word for God.  Islam rejects characterising Allah in any human form or depicting him as favouring certain individuals or nations on the basis of wealth, power or race.

History of the Islamic faith

Although Islam began in the Middle East, not all Arabs are Muslims. Only 15 per cent of the world’s Muslims are Arabs. There are Arabs who are Christian, Jews and Atheist.

Islam is the religion followed by Muslims throughout the world.  Islam is not only a religion but a complete way of life.  Its origin is the same as that of Christianity and Judaism.  The prophets of all three religions are direct descendants from the prophet and patriarch Abraham. When Muslims speak of Allah, they refer to the God of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Mohammed.
Muslim, Christians and Jews share a common religious heritage that includes the stories of Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David.  All three faiths believe in prophets and angels and worship the same God.

Islamic Dress Code (Awrah)

In every society there is a dress code to suit each gender, place etc.  The Islamic dress code for males and females is prescribed to be modest.  Muslims can wear any national or chosen dress code if it covers certain parts of the body.

The Awrah for a male is the part of the body from the naval to the knee, this he can only show to his wife.

The Awrah for a female is the whole body with the exception of face and hands.  She may only show her body to her husband.  However, among Muslim males whom she cannot marry (such as her father, brother, son, uncle or nephews) and all other Muslim women, only her body from the chest down to her knees excluding her arms may not be shown.

Five Islamic Requirements

As part of the religion, Muslims have five main duties they must perform:

Declaration of Faith – that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah (God) and Mohammed is the messenger of God.

Prayer - The duty to worship the one god in prayer, five times a day.
Prayers of prescribed verses recited in Arabic at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon,
sunset and nightfall.

Cleanliness - To perform a prayer a person must be clean. Cleanliness of the body and clothes worn is especially important. Muslims can pray anywhere if the environment is clean. During prayers they cannot talk to anyone, they cannot walk or carry out any action that is not a part of the prayer.

Alms Giving – The duty to give alms and to help the needy, for most purposes this involves a payment of 2.5% of one’s annual savings which can be distributed to eight groups of people.

Pilgrimage (Hajj) -Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, is the duty of each Muslim at least once in a lifetime if financially and physically able.

Fasting – For the month of Ramadan all Muslims fast from dawn to sunset, abstaining from bad behaviour such as foul language, bad habits as well as food, drink, and sexual relations.  Certain people are exempt from fasting. These include travellers, people who are ill, women who are pregnant, breastfeeding or menstruating.

Hosts will need to understand that during Ramadan:
• it is inappropriate to offer food or drinks to someone fasting
• a family cannot take the Student to a restaurant or dining area
• asking students to join them at mealtimes should be avoided
• activities during the day through Ramadan must be kept to a minimum
• a family must not offer food during fasting hours which are from Sunrise to Sunset

Halal Food

The meaning of the word halal is “Permitted, allowed, authorised, approved, sanctioned, lawful, legal or legitimate.”

Animals such as cows, sheep, goats, deer, moose, chickens, ducks, game birds etc, are all Halal, but they must be Zabihah (slaughtered according to Islamic Rites) in order to be suitable for consumption.

The procedure is as follows: the animal must be slaughtered by a Muslim (or a Jew or Christian). The animal should be put down on the ground (or held if it is small) and its throat should be slit with a very sharp knife to make sure that the 3 main blood vessels are cut. While cutting the throat of the animal (without severing it), the person must pronounce the name of Allah or recite a blessing which contains the name of Allah, such as “Bismillah Allah-u-Akbar”.

In addition, halal food must be kept separate from food which is not halal.  Cooked in a pan that has not been used for cooking ordinary meat and cut with a knife that has not been used to cut ordinary meat.  This is similar to kosher in the Jewish religion.