Iraq ReligionIraq religion is Islam. Muslims (those who practice Islam) account for a whopping 97% of the Iraqi population. However, the Catholic Religion is allowed to practice in Iraq. This year 2008, Christmas was a recognized holiday. Believe it or not, there are small pockets of Christianity throughout Iraq. Some of these Christian groups are made up of Catholics. Other Christians are from Chaldean, Assyrian, Syrian, Armenian, and Jacobite people groups in Iraq. A fraction of Iraq religion is made up of the Yezidis who are mistaken for Satan worshipers. There are also Sabaeans or Mandeans who follow the teachings of John the Baptist. The prophet Mohammed supposedly started getting messages from his god, Allah in AD 610, when he was 40 years old. After three years, Mohammed began to share these messages and soon had a steady following that continued to multiply. The poor people were especially drawn to Mohammed. The main point of faith in the Iraq religion of Islam is for the believer to submit totally to Allah. The word "Islam" means "submission". In AD 622, the important people in Mecca drove Mohammed away. He went north to Medina. His followers grew more rapidly there. In AD 630, he was in charge of an army of 10,000! He took this army back to Mecca and took control of the city. Mohammed died in AD 632. His followers rapidly spread his teachings all across the Middle East. They spread to Africa and to Spain by AD 710. Mohammed put his messages from Allah in a book called the Koran or Quran.
Islam has five main rules or pillars that all believers and Iraq religion must follow: 1. The profession of faith that says there is no God but Allah. 2. The obligation of prayer five times a day. The times are at sunrise, noon, mid afternoon, sunset, and night. It is okay for prayers to be anywhere except for Friday noon prayers. These must be performed in a mosque. 3. Muslims have to give 1/40th of their yearly income to the poor. This is conveniently done through a state tax collected by the ministry of religious affairs. 4. Ramadan in September marks the time of year when Mohammed received the Quran. During daylight hours for the whole month, Muslims cannot smoke, eat, or drink anything at all, including water. They cannot have sex until dark during this month as well. 5. Each Muslim should make at least one pilgrimage to Mecca. This trip results in having all past sins forgiven. I would like to comment on these five pillars: 1. There is only one God and He is not Allah. 2. Many do not follow this obligation of prayer. There are a few that do but they do it for show. I have seen a few committed ones though. One way to tell those who are committed from those who are not is there will be a mark on their forehead from where they bow down and touch the grown to pray. 3. This so called Tax is not going to the poor. This I have been told by the poor. Because of the corruption at the upper levels, especially in places like Pakistan and Afghanistan, this money is used to line the pockets of officials not help the poor. In Afghanistan, there are poor and crippled people actually sitting in the middle of the streets begging for money. We have to be careful in our convoys because sometimes you do not see them until the last second. 4. While Muslims may follow this practice, they expect others to do the same. In Kuwait for instance, the Kuwaiti men do not do physical labor. However, the many Indians working for them are required to do the labor but have to do it with no food or water since you cannot eat or drink where they can see you. It is a form of oppression of the meanest kind. Allah may over look their oppression but God will not.
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