My paper so far.......

Islam is a dynamic religion with a rich theological tradition, as well as a civilization with diverse political, social, and cultural expressions. Explain.

There is no commonality between the three major monotheistic religions (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism) that I know of that is particularly and solely based on the belief of God’s existence, although all three believe in the same God. The dividing point of these three all are based on how Jesus is perceived - as divine Son and Savior who died in pain for humanity’s sins according to Christian belief, as a great prophet who brought the Word of God to humanity at a level it could understand at that time but who did not die for mankind’s sins because God only condemns those who have failed to commit any good acts in keeping with the Quran, and even as a Jewish heretic. Believers of each of these three religions do not know much regarding the other religions, and this has lead to a great deal of misunderstandings, conflicts and sometimes bloody wars. Akbar S. Ahmed has attempted to clarify many of the, especially Western, misconceptions held concerning Islam and Muslims with his book, “Islam Today - A Short Introduction to the Muslim World”.
Islam has been the center of much controversy, with many books having been written about it, both non-fiction, many in attempts to clear up misconceptions, similar to Ahmed’s book, and fiction books, written for other reasons, some of which are not very flattering of Islam. “Not Without My Daughter” is one that many Westerners are familiar with. Some have been written by Muslims themselves, complaining of actions by other Muslims, such as “Princess”. Being unknowledgeable about a religion and culture that is ‘foreign’ to them, and then being presented with such images portrayed in these books can easily cause most people to have an extremely negative view of Islam. This was not always the case, as Muslims and Christians, as well as Jews, were able, throughout many times in history, to live side by side, and also worship in close proximity, without incident. While times have changed and this is much more difficult to do today, Islam itself has remained stable within itself, unlike Christianity, which has had much squabbling regarding what would be accepted as doctrine and what would be excluded from doctrine. Islam’s Quran has remained largely unchanged for mainstream Muslims, although there are several variations attributed to different groups who are not considered to be in keeping with the Quran. Most of these groups are inclined towards a militaristic agenda, and use their version of Islam to further their own goals, even though the effects are nothing similar to what the Prophet would have wanted for any Muslim to experience.
The main teachings within the Quran include having respect for the elderly, the impoverished, children, and contrary to many Westerners’ belief, women, and even non-human living creatures, as God has made all living things on the Earth, also. Other things taught by the Quran are prayer five times a day, humility, forgiveness for those who have caused harm, mercy towards those who are being judged, as well as generosity and charity towards the less fortunate. There are many other things taught in the Quran - the previous list was not all inclusive.
Some sayings attributed to Mohammed were excluded over a millennium ago as not having truly originated from Mohammad and thus not being true hadith (A 18-19). Hadith are similar to the situations Jesus used to teach, sometimes within his parables. These sayings are not part of the Quran, but are studied alongside it, and the Quran and hadith reinforce each other. Living according to the Quran and the hadith are what every Muslim attempts to do, on a daily basis. This being pious and adhering to Mohammad’s teachings from the Quran and his hadith and still being one’s own self and interacting with other people are called din and dunya, and finding a balance between the two aspects is very important to the typical Muslim (A 27).
Islam has three main streams, two of which are divided on the basis of who should have inherited duties, as it were, from Mohammad upon his death. These two are Sunni and Shia. The other, which was not explained in great detail by Ahmed, is Sufism, which is more meditative than the previous two mentioned, but is accepted by both Sunnis and Sufis as being valid to Islam.
Many Westerners, especially feminist women, find the traditional dress of Muslim women to seem restricting of, demeaning to, and even unsafe for the women who wear the chador, hijab, and pardah. Many Muslim women feel quite the opposite, as wearing these items allows them to maintain a balance between dunya and din while visiting mosques. They are able to maintain their modesty, which is extremely important to Muslim women, and still spend time in places they feel are close to God, which increases their spirituality, and benefits them in many ways.