CRANBERRY TWP — “As-salamu Alaykum.” Peace be upon you.

Those attending Tuesday evening’s program hosted by the members of the Muslim Association of Greater Pittsburgh were welcomed with the traditional Islamic greeting.

The group came to the Cranberry Public Library to discuss two aspects of Islam — its faith and civilization.

The program helped explain how the Islamic faith related to Christianity and Judaism practiced in Western Pennsylvania.

The Muslim congregation, which has about 75 families and is located in Wexford, presented a session on Islam.

The three-year-old group has members from around the world including India, Pakistan, Turkey, Syria, Morocco, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Muslims that were born U.S. citizens.

Sadf Haq, a U.S.-born Muslim from New York, told attendees Islam in Arabic means submission, derived from a word meaning peace.

“Islam is a faith and comprehensive way of life that literally means ‘peace through submission to God.’ It provides a clear understanding of a person’s relationship with God, purpose in life and ultimate destiny,” said Haq.

“A Muslim is someone who adopts the Islamic way of life by believing in the oneness of God and the prophethood of Muhammad,” she said.

She pointed out all the monotheistic religions including Judaism and Christianity have a common thread: They have all descended from Adam and the Prophet Abraham.

From the Prophet Abraham came his sons Isaac and Ishmael.

From Prophet Isaac’s family came Jesus and from Prophet Ishmael’s, many generations later, came the Prophet Muhammad.

She also pointed out Islam, Christianity and Judaism have a number of common characteristics including: oneness of God; messengers that were prophets; revelation through a book and scriptures; prayers, fasting and charity; and a day of judgment.

The holy Quran is the word of God that was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad over a span of 23 years. Written in classic Arabic, it has 114 chapters and more than 6,000 verses.

“When we pray, we have to pray in Arabic. It is obligatory on every Muslim to memorize at least a few verses to be recited performing prayers,” said Haq. “The Quran has true stories from the past, rules and regulations for Muslims to live their lives.”

Islam has articles of faith that include: a belief in God (Allah), belief in the prophets, belief in the books of God, belief in the judgment and resurrection, belief in God’s angels and belief in predestination.

“We believe before the Day of Judgment, Jesus will be the one that will descend to help, not the Prophet Muhammad, nor the Prophet Moses or any other prophet,” said Haq.

“Jesus is mentioned more times in the Quran than any prophet, even more than the Prophet Muhammad,” she said.

Haq explained there also are the Five Pillars of Islam, which are obligatory duties. They are a declaration of faith or Shahada; offering of daily prayers before sunrise, noon, afternoon, sunset and early night (Salat); obligatory charity (Zakat); fasting during the month of Ramadan (Sawm); and for those who can afford it, a pilgrimage to Makkah (Haji).

“Those who miss the fast are required to make them up later in the year. And, all those who are physically unable to keep the fast, they must feed or provide money to a poor or needy person for every day they missed,” said Haq.

Mounia Alaoui-El-Azher, who was born in Morocco, lived in Paris, and moved to the U.S., first living in Florida before moving to Franklin Park five years ago, told of the spread of Islam from the Arabic peninsula throughout Spain, North Africa and Asia.

Islam is the second-largest religion next to Christianity with 1.62 billion followers, about 23 percent of the world’s population. In the United States, there are 6.62 million Muslims.

In the Pittsburgh area in 1900, there was only one mosque. Today, there are currently 10 mosques and about 15,000 Muslims, said Alaoui-El-Azher.

Shameem Gangjee, an India-born Muslim who taught at the University of Pittsburgh and lives in Hampton, said for those wanting to learn more about Islam, a collection of books and DVDs have be compiled through an endowment awarded from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association.

The Muslim Journeys Bookshelf is a collection of 25 books, 4 DVDs, and other programming resources selected to help people become more familiar with the people, places, history, faith and cultures of Muslims around the world and within the United States.

The bookshelf is intended to address both the need and the desire of the American public for trustworthy and accessible resources about Muslim beliefs and practices and the cultural heritage associated with Islamic civilizations, and it is currently available through the Cranberry Public Library at 2525 Rochester Road.