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'''Islam''' is a [[heresy]], according to [[Saint]] [[John of Damascus]] in his [http://orthodoxinfo.com/general/stjohn_islam.aspx "Critique of Islam"]: :"There is also the superstition of the Ishmaelites which to this day prevails and keeps people in error, being a forerunner of the [[Antichrist]]. They are descended from [[w:Ishmael#Ishmael_in_Genesis|Ishmael]], who was born to [[w:Abraham|Abraham]] of [[w:Hagar_%28biblical_person%29#Hagar_in_Genesis|Agar]], and for this reason they are called both Agarenes and Ishmaelites. They are also called [[w:Saracen|Saracens]], which is derived from Sarras kenoi, or destitute of [[w:Sarah|Sara]], because of what Agar said to the angel: 'Sara hath sent me away destitute.' These used to be idolaters and worshiped the [[w:morning_star|morning star]] and [[w:Aphrodite|Aphrodite]], whom in their own language they called Khabár, which means great. And so down to the time of [[w:Heraclius|Heraclius]] they were very great idolaters. From that time to the present a false prophet named [[w:Mohammed|Mohammed]] has appeared in their midst. This man, after having chanced upon the Old and New Testaments and likewise, it seems, having conversed with an [[Arianism|Arian]] monk, devised his own '''heresy'''. Then, having insinuated himself into the good graces of the people by a show of seeming piety, he gave out that [[w:Quran|a certain book]] had been sent down to him from heaven. He had set down some ridiculous compositions in this book of his and he gave it to them as an object of veneration." Islam is one of the major world religions with an estimated 1.3 billion followers worldwide [http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html]. The name ''Islam'' comes from an Arabic term meaning ''submission'', a reference to the central belief that the goal of religion, or of a true believer, is submission to God's will. Adherents of Islam are referred to as '''Muslims'''.
Islam teaches that [[God]] (in Arabic, ''Allah'') revealed his direct word and commands for mankind to Muhammad (c. 570–632) in the form of the Qur'an (also ''Koran''), and to other [[prophet]]s (including [[Adam]], [[Abraham]], [[Moses]], and [[Jesus]]), many of whom are [[Bible|Biblical]] figures shared with Christianity and [[Judaism]]. Despite admitting the ministry of prophets earlier than Muhammad, Islam asserts that the primary written record of God's revelation to humankind is the Qur'an, which Muslims believe to be flawless, immutable, and the final revelation of God.
Islam teaches that parts of the [[Bible]] have been forgotten, misinterpreted, or distorted by Christians and Jews. Given this perspective, Islam views the Qur'an as corrective of Jewish and Christian scriptures.
Muslims do not hold the divinity of [[Jesus Christ]] and his unique salvific role, and the teachings of Islam in this respect have been likened to a compound [[heresy]] composed of elements of [[Arianism]], [[Nestorianism]], and [[Docetism]] ("''...They did not kill him [Jesus] and they did not crucify him, but it was made to seem so to them...''" Qur'an, 4:157), with some [[Pelagianism|Pelagian]] and also [[Monarchianism|Monarchianistic]] (i.e., anti-Trinitarian)] elements.
Muslims hold that Islam is essentially the same belief as that of all the messengers sent by God to mankind since [[Adam]], with the Qur'an (the one definitive text of the Muslim faith) codifying the final revelation of God. Islam views Judaism and Christianity as incomplete derivatives of the teachings of certain prophets—notably Abraham—and therefore acknowledges their Abrahamic roots, whilst the Qur'an calls them People of the Book.
