History

Islam is the name given to the religion preached by the Prophet Muhammad in the A.D. 600's. Islam is an Arabic word that means surrender or submission. God is called Allah. A person who submits to Allah and follows the teachings of Islam is called a Muslim.
Muslims believe that in about 610, Muhammad began to receive revelations from Allah (the God) that were transmitted by the angel Gabriel. These revelations were assembled in a book called the Quran which is the holy book of the Muslims. They believe it contains God's actual words. The Quran and the sunna, the example of the words and practices of Muhammad, make up the foundation of Islamic law.
Islam is the world's second largest religion behind Christianity. Over 1.1 billion people follow Islam. Muslims live in every country in the world, today. Although Islam began in Arabia, more than half of the world's Muslims live in South and Southeast Asia.

source: World Book Encyclopedia