The Crescent Moon and five-pointed Star became a prominent symbol of Islam from the 19th century onwards.
Islam means surrender to Allah's (God's) will and followers are referred to as Muslims. The Qur'an (Koran), the Islamic key holy book, contains the stories of a number of prophets also contained in Jewish and Christian texts. These include Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus. Muslims view the Prophet Muhammad as the final prophet and the teachings given to him by Allah are contained in the Qur'an.
Islam is followed by approximately 21% of the world's population, in effect making it the largest single religion in the world.
The religious leader is referred to as an imam, literally translated as 'one who stands at the front'.
