The media spotlight on Islam has raised questions across the country about the world’s second-largest religion.

In the United States, there are 4 to 6 million practicing Muslims. Muslims have been active members of society in the United States for the past 100 years, said Robert Baum, associate professor of religious studies. The oldest U.S. mosque is in Cedar Rapids.

Muslims believe Mohammed is the last great prophet, but they believe Jesus is the second greatest, Baum said. Muslims feel Allah is their only god, he said.

The Qu’ran is the holy book, Baum said. Muslims recognize other holy books but feel the Qu’ran is the perfect word of Allah – all other holy books are imperfect, he said.

Started in the seventh century by Muhammad, Islam has five basic obligations – faith, prayer, charity, fasting and pilgrimage, Baum said.

Those obligations of faith are referred to as the five pillars of the basic structure of Islam, said Mansoor Khadir, president of the ISU Muslim Student Association.

Jihad, which has been used by radical Muslims to mean holy war, is not one of the pillars, said Khadir, freshman in pre-business. The word itself means the struggle within and has more to do with a spiritual idea, he said.

“It is a common misconception of the Western world – nothing to do with violence,” Khadir said.

Islam does not advocate any form of violence nor does the Qu’ran condone terrorism, he said.

Islam hasn’t spread quickly over the years but has spread throughout the world, Baum said.

The majority of Muslims live in Southern Asia, and Indonesia is the largest Muslim country, he said.

“The image that Islam is mostly Arab is inaccurate,” Baum said. “Most Muslims are not Arab.”

Like other religions, Islam has radical factions that use the religion as a political weapon, he said.

“You need to separate what the religion teaches from the people who use it as a political movement,” Baum said.

Khadir said women are equal to men in Islam. What is seen on television from Afghanistan is not representative of how women are treated within the religion, he said.

“Afghanistan uses Islam as an excuse to oppress women,” Khadir said. “Islam gives more rights to women than men.”

In Christianity, Eve was made of the rib of Adam, Khadir said. In Islam, the Qu’ran says women are equal and not from a rib.

“What you see on TV is more cultural than Islamic,” Khadir said.