Religious Analysis of Islam through the Quran and Hadith Islam may be considered an exotic religion to many in the western part of the globe. The impression Westerners have is generally obtained through media portrayals of Islamic countries or groups in the midst of a holy war. The wars, called Jihad, are usually waged by Islamic fundamentalists who use terrorism to get their messages across, giving Islam a negative reputation. Due to the lack of understanding of this much-publicized religion, many conflicts arise between the people of the Eastern and Western worlds. In turn, this causes problems between different cultures through various political and religious battles resulting from these misconceptions. In order to prevent future conflicts, it is important that people around the world have a better understanding of other religions. To interpret Islam from an objective point of view, it is easiest to use religious analysis, a system that breaks down religion into specific terms: epistemology, ontology, anthropology, psychology, teleology, and methodology. The epistemology of Islam is contained in the holy book called the Quran which was revealed in Arabic to the Prophet Muhammad with the exact words of God through the angel Gabriel. The Quran means Collect, Clarify, Recital, Reading and Criterion. It contains truths about everything and functions as a memory of all previously revealed books. When Muhammad was forty years old, he had his first revelation and continued to do so for the next twenty-two years, remembering each revelation and then having them written down by scholars. The entire book consists of chapters said to have been put in order by Muhammad himself and which come word for word from God. This book is the most read and remembered book in the world and, thanks to the number of people who memorized it, helped it remain unchanged throughout the 14th centuries. Containing truths about the world and our existence until the end (Judgment Day), it is also a guide for us on how to live and worship God. Besides the Quran, the Sunnah, known as the customs or practices of the Prophet Muhammad, are also considered sources of knowledge by Muslims who consider him an exemplary human being and try to emulate his actions and lifestyle. His actions and words were recorded and reported in what is known as the Hadith, a collection of his deeds throughout his life..