ISLAM - THE WORLD POWER OF THE FUTURE? In the 19th century Islam had virtually disappeared from view in Europe and America. Only a few Westerners in distant colonies had been exposed to Muslims. Some romantic tales about the Turkish wars survived. However, the rapid technological developments in the West had by-passed the Islamic peoples, making them appear insignificant. But not much time has passed since Europe was last in danger of being overrun by Islam. In the year 1453 Constantinople, the Eastern bulwark of Christianity, was captured by the Ottomans. Later in 1529 and again in 1683 the Turks stood at the gates of Vienna. The struggle…

What is religion? This question has puzzled theologians throughout human history. But how did religion start in the first place? Why did it start? In order to understand some of these issues, let us have a look at the etymology of the word “religion” itself, and see that when and where this word was used for the very first time in the human history.

The word religion was used for the very first time in the Latin language. The actual word used in Latin was “religio”, which changed into religion when came into English. The roots of the Arabic word “Mazhab” or “Deen” can also be traced back to “religio”. In the Latin language, the word “religio” had three basic meanings; which are Faith, Trust & Belief.

If you further analyse these three words, faith, trust and belief; then you realize that there are actually three different characteristics