Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world but probably the most misrepresented by the media. Surprisingly to some, it does not preach terrorism or violence. For instance, you may have been told in school history lessons that it was spread by the sword. Fair enough. You were probably also encouraged to believe in the tooth fairy and Father Christmas. Well that's fair enough too but I'm sure you get my point.
The following are my own thoughts on what Islam is to me.
Islam was first practised by the prophet Adam {pbuh} and has been propagated through 
other prophets such as Abraham {pbuh}, Moses {pbuh}, and Jesus {pbuh}, with the final seal of the prophets being Muhammed {pbuh}. Now whereas Christianity took its name from Jesus Christ {pbuh}, Buddhism from Guatema Buddha, Zoroastrinism from Zoroaster, and Judaism from the tribe of Judah, Islam is unique in that it has no association with any particular person. Actually the word Islam is more of an attributive title in that whoever has Islam within them is a muslim.
So what is Islam? It is an Arabic word meaning Surrender or Submission (to God) and also Peace. This concept of Islam is applied as a background and framework upon which one's life is based. This means that the moral and ethical codes within make Islam more of a way of life rather than a religion.
So what do you need to be a muslim? Well, emphasis is placed upon five main articles of faith. These are:
(call to prayer).
As prayer is so important within Islam, I've included a prayer timetable (generated every day) here: works best in Safari
Muslims also believe in the existence of Angels, the books of guidance given to the prophets, and life after death. There are of course many other guidelines with which we live our lives including abstinence from alcohol (it's detrimental effects far outweigh the good ones, and besides, you don't need to get drunk to have a good time), abstinence from pork (considered unclean), the stipulation of eating only Halal (Kosher) food, and many others. As you can see there are similarities with Judaism as well as with Christianity. This is because we believe that all three Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) have truly originated with God but that the former two were subsequently changed by Mankind (hence the need for Islam). In fact, there are more similarities between the three faiths than there are differences, it's just that the few differences present are quite profound (as they are between other sects of Islam ).
To illustrate the similarities compare the Greco-Christian hippocratic oath with the Islamic medical oath.
There are many other issues which it would take me ages to type up so if you have any other questions mail me and I'd be happy to answer them by sticking the topic up here.
However, before I go on let me just put in some links:
Need a muslim name for a new family addition? I have listed some names and their meanings here: