All Muslims are part of the Ummah (the worldwide community of all Muslims) but, due to both religious and cultural reasons, different groups of Muslims have different customs and cultures. Some of these differences are due to religious disagreements within the Ummah. If one looks around the Web, every day one can see religious arguments raging between various Islamic groups. It is regrettable that, sometimes, these arguments flare into violence - something which Islam itself abhors and prohibits. Islam encourages healthy discussion and argument about the religion itself - but this must be reasoned, peaceful discussion and no more.

Other differences are due to culture. As Islam spread and was adopted by people living in different parts of the world they did not (and in some cases could not) completely adopt a Middle-Eastern lifestyle. Sometimes, even these cultural differences can lead to violent disagreements between groups of Muslims. Again, such conflicts are not supported by the religion itself. Some of the differences in culture are simply because of the laws or history of the host country - although people may adopt Islam in a short space of time, a complete change of culture is another matter. Other cultural differences are necessary because of terrain, climate, local flora or fauna, etc.

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