Inside Muslims remove their shoes, wash and sit together on the floor - equal in status - facing Mecca. CREATION STORY Allah created the universe and its natural order with a single word - "Be!" The Koran says that creation is ongoing. CUSTOMS AND PLACES OF WORSHIP Ritual prayer and recitation of the Koran, five times a day, to communicate with Allah Often takes place in a mosque. He is eternal, omnipotent, omniscient and pictures or statues of Allah are prohibited, since he is wholly spirit and has no form or sex He rewards and punishes fairly but is merciful. ISLAM Age: 1,400 years old (revealed to Mohamed, the last of the prophets, in AD610)Based: Middle East, Asia and Africa SUPREME BEING There is only one God, Allah, and he only is worthy of worship. They include: Pope Benedict XVI, George Bush, Cliff Richard, Mel Gibson, Evander Holyfield and Tom Hanks.
Catholics may spend time in purgatory first for purification. Christians will undergo bodily resurrection and enter God's kingdom Everyone else will go to hell. FAMOUS FOLLOWERS There are 2.16 billion Christians worldwide - with the fastest growth in Asia - and some 41 million in the UK. Lent, a time for fasting and reflection on the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness. Easter rejoices over the disciples' discovery that Jesus had been resurrected. MEANING OF LIFE To live by Jesus' teachings and life, loving God and one's neighbour, in order to reach heaven, a place of peace with no sickness or death.
THE AFTERLIFE The day of judgement at the end of time will see all people rise from the dead in the general resurrection. Souls will be cast into the eternal realms of either heaven or hell. Christians can worship in groups in churches or on their own anywhere. MAJOR FESTIVALS Christmas, which celebrates the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.
Catholics also petition certain saints or the Blessed Virgin Mary for intercession. Prayer means surrendering to God's will, recognising his good work and the need for his forgiveness. CUSTOMS AND PLACES OF WORSHIP Worship involves praising God through hymns, readings, sermons and prayers. CREATION STORY God created the universe from nothing in six days and six nights, according to the Book of Genesis.