Islam and Sikhism Moses, Jesus and Mohammed in other religions. Islam believes that before Muhammad there were many messengers of God, Muhammad was the last messenger, and Quran was the last revelation to the last prophet. The Five Pillars of Islam are duties incumbent on every Muslim. These duties are Shahada (testimony that "There is no god but God and Muhammad is the messenger of God"), Salat (prayers), Zakat (Giving of Alms), Sawm (Fasting during Ramadan) and Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca). These five practices are essential to Sunni Islam; Shi'a Muslims subscribe to eight ritual practices which substantially overlap with the five Pillars.
Engaging the Muslim World the Middle East." "The Economist" called it a "balanced and effective antidote to oversimplified Western views of Islam" and stated that it "manages to prick western misconceptions". Kirkus Reviews labeled it a "well-reasoned, useful vision for Western-Muslim relations." Vali Nasr, bestselling author of "The Shia Revival: How Conflicts Within Islam Will Shape the Future", commented that "Cole looks deep into what went wrong to show the way forward to a new engagement of the Muslim World" and he described the book as "[i]ntelligent, clear and erudite." "Library Journal" wrote that: "Publishers Weekly" gave a more critical review, stating that "For