Key Islamic Terms
dawah - missionary sharing of Islam with nonbelievers
Hadith - the book of the Prophet's sayings
hajj - pilgrimage to Mecca
hijab - woman's head covering
imam - prayer leader
ijma - community consensus
ijtihad - individual interpretation of religious law
ja'ma - striving to unify in a local community
jihad - spiritual struggle
kafir - nonbeliever
Koran - book of Allah's sacred revelation to Muhammad
mullah - religious scholar
salat - ritual prayers
shari'ah - Islamic law emerging from Koranic writings
shoura - religious consultation
Sunnah - the collective words and deeds of the Prophet
ummah - the global Muslim community
ulema - collective group of scholars
zakat - required tithing
