Islam teaches that all religions originally had the same essential message, which was to submit whole-heartedly to the will of God and to worship Him and Him alone. For this reason, Islam is not a new religion but is the same divinely revealed ultimate truth that God revealed to all prophets, including Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them all).
For a fifth of the world’s population, Islam is both a religion and a complete way of life. Muslims follow a religion of peace, mercy, and forgiveness, and the vast majority have nothing to do with the extremely grave events which have come to be associated with their faith.