adityasasidhar/Wikipedia_Cleaned huggingface dataset:
Muslims believe [[Isa Masih|Jesus]] was the second-to-last Prophet (messenger of God). They call Him "Isa", the Arabic name for Jesus. They believe that [[Muhammad]] was the very last Prophet. They believe that both Jesus and Muhammad were ordinary men, chosen by God to be his servant and teach the word of Islam.
Muslims do not believe that Jesus was God or "the Son of God". Islam is strictly [[monotheism|monotheistic]]: it says that there is only one God. Muslims believe that Jesus cannot be part of God, because there is only one God. If someone other than God is worshiped, it is thought to be [[polytheism]] (belief in more than one god). It is also thought to be [[idolatry]]: idolizing someone other than God.
Islam teaches that Jesus did not die on the cross, but another man disguised as him went on the cross for Isa ([[Qur'an]] 4:157). This is very different from Christianity. Jesus' death is a very important part of the Christian belief about salvation. Muslims always say "peace be upon him" after saying Jesus' name as a sign of respect in short and Arabic a.s.
Muslims also accept some other teachings about Jesus. These teachings say that Jesus will return to the earth in the End Of Days; he will then destroy the false messiah or [[Anti-christ]] before the day of judgment. Muslims also accept Jesus' claims to be a healer. They believe in the many miracles he is said to have performed, like raising the dead to life and giving sight to the blind. They believe that all his miracles were granted to him from God.
The [[Qur'an]] (like the [[Bible]]), mentions the [[virgin birth of Jesus]] but then it says other things about Mary (Islamic-Maryam). The Bible says that Joseph helped Mary give birth to Jesus, but in Islam there is no Joseph. Instead, Mary walked the desert alone in labor and found a tree. The angel [[Gabriel]] (Jibril) asked if she was hungry, then told her to shake the tree and dates fell for her to eat. Then he asked if she was thirsty and he said look down at your feet and there was water and there she gave birth to Jesus. (Qur'an 19) This is why Muslims [[fasting|fast]] and how they break their fast. Mary knew she had to go back to her town and when she did, with Jesus in her arms, the people were shouting at her for [[adultery]]. Mary wanted to explain herself but the Angel told her not to speak.
Even though Jesus was a Jew and his teaching came out of the Jewish religion, most Jewish people do not believe that Jesus was the "Messiah" that is promised in the [[Old Testament|Jewish Scriptures]].
Although, today and through history, most Jews do not believe what Christians say about Jesus, there are some Jews who do believe that Jesus was the "Messiah" promised in the Jewish Scriptures. Jews who believe this are called Jewish Christians.
By tradition, "the Gospels" were written by four men, [[Saint Matthew|Matthew]], [[Saint Mark|Mark]], [[Saint Luke|Luke]] and [[John the Apostle|John]] who gave their names to these books.
Other scholars have said that leaders in the Early Christian Church made changes to the Gospel writings. These changes are said to have happened at different times, in different ways and for different reasons. For example, one story was left out of many old versions of the Gospels. It is about Jesus rescuing a woman who had committed [[adultery]] (had sex outside marriage) and was about to be killed. [[St. Augustine of Hippo]], (354-430 AD) wrote that this was probably was left out because some church leaders thought the story might cause people to act in a sinful way. This story is in all modern Bibles and is thought to contain very important teaching for Christians. Other differences that can be found in versions of the Gospels are mostly small and do not make a difference to what is known about the life of Jesus and his teaching.
[[File:Good shepherd 02.jpg|thumb|left|3rd century A.D. Catacomb painting of Jesus as the "Good Shepherd"]]
[[File:Christ with beard.jpg|thumb|left|Dating from 4th century Rome, this is the oldest known picture of Jesus showing him as a bearded semitic man, rather than a shaved, short-haired Roman.]]
Mark's Gospel, which is thought by biblical scholars to be the earliest, has the name of a young disciple of the apostle Paul who is mentioned several times in the "Acts of the Apostles" and Paul's Letters. The Gospel was probably written in [[Rome]] and is thought by scholars to be from the memories of Jesus' follower or "disciple", [[Saint Peter|Peter]]. It does not tell about Jesus' birth; it starts when he was 30 years old, at the time when the disciples got to know him. It shows Jesus as a man of action: going around the country, teaching and healing people.
Matthew's Gospel was written next. Matthew was one of Jesus' disciples. He was a Jewish man that was hated by other Jews because he worked for the Roman rulers as a [[tax]] collector. Matthew tells that one day Jesus saw him sitting at his desk in the [[market place]] and said "Follow me".
[[File:Icon 01011 Bogorodica Kazanskaya.jpg|thumb|220px|Jesus as a child, with his mother, Mary. This picture is called "Theotokos of Kazan".]] The apostle Luke was Greek and a friend of the apostle [[Saint Paul|Paul]]. He was a doctor. Luke came to know about Jesus from the "disciples". Luke writes about the birth and the childhood of Jesus and he says "Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them."
It is believed by scholars of the Bible that John was a "disciple" of Jesus and was probably the youngest of the twelve men who were Jesus' main followers. He lived to be an old man and, because of his teaching about Jesus, he was sent to a small island, called [[Patmos]].
John writes with one particular idea in mind. He wants to prove to the reader that Jesus is God's way of saving humans from the terrible problem of [[sin]] or "evil". John starts by telling the reader that Jesus was and is God. John says that Jesus is God's "Living [[Communication]]" (or "Living Word"). Every part of "John's Gospel" is written to show that Jesus came from God, taught the "Message of God" and is the way for people to understand "God's Love".
[[File:Johns 10.JPG|thumb|417x417px|A church window with the story of The Good Samaritan]]
In this story from chapter 10 of [[Gospel of Luke|Luke's Gospel]], Jesus shows what it means to be a good neighbour. Near the Jews lived the people called [[Samaritan]]s. They did not agree with each other about religious teaching, and were considered enemies. One day, a Jewish man was walking, when some robbers beat him up, robbed him, and left him naked and almost dead, by the road. A Jewish priest came along and saw him. He thought, "If I touch that naked bleeding man, I will be unclean and I will not be able to go to the Temple!" So he pretended that he had not seen him. Another Jew, a Holy Man, came along and acted in the same way. At last a Samaritan came along with a donkey. When he saw the wounded man he stopped. He washed his wounds with wine and olive oil. Then he put him on his donkey and took him to the nearest inn. He paid the innkeeper and said "Keep him until he is well, and whatever is owing, I will pay when I come back this way." Jesus said to the people who were listening "Which one of these people acted like a good neighbour?" They said "He that stopped and helped." Jesus said "You go and act the same way."
In this story from chapter 15 of [[Gospel of Luke|Luke's Gospel]], Jesus tells how a rich man had two sons. They would both get a share of his money, when he died. The younger son said, "Father, give me my money now, so I can go and enjoy myself, while I'm young." He took the money to the city, and spent it all on parties with his friends and other sinful things. Soon he had none left to feed himself and was ashamed. He got a job caring for pigs, a unholy meat to eat, just keep himself from starving. He said to himself, "I'll go home to my father and I will say, 'Father, I have sinned! Please let me be a servant in your house!'" When his father saw him coming, he ran along the road to put his arms around his son. The father said, "Bring the finest clothes! Kill the fattest calf to make a feast!" When the elder brother heard all this, he was angry and said, "I'm a good son to you, but you never even gave me one little goat to have a party with my friends!" The father said, "You have always been with me. I love you greatly, and all I have is yours, but my son who was lost is now found! My son who seemed to be dead is alive! Be happy with me!" Jesus said that this is the way God loves and forgives his people, when they ask for forgiveness.
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The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S., US or the States), or simply America, is a sovereign country mostly in North America. It is divided into 50 states. Forty-eight of these states and the District of Columbia border each other between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. They are bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwestern area of the continent and is separated from the other 48 states by Canada making it an exclave. Alaska is bordered by Canada to its east and south and by Russia to its west across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is a set of islands in the mid-Pacific located within Polynesia and is about 2,200 miles (3,500 kilometers) from the mainland. The country also possesses territories, and insular areas, in the Caribbean and Pacific. The capital city is Washington, D.C and the largest city by population is New York City with a population of 8.8 million people. And with a population of 331 million people, the United States is the third most populated country in the world. And with an area 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km) it is the third or fourth-largest country in the world by total area.
The land that would one day become the United States was first settled by migrating tribes from Siberia that walked across a land bridge about 20,000 years ago. These people were the ancestors of the Native Americans. European colonization began in the 16th century with several European nations setting up colonies in North America.
The nation was founded on July 4, 1776, by the thirteen colonies of Great Britain along the Atlantic coast. They issued the Declaration of Independence, which announced their independence from Great Britain and their creation of a cooperative union. The disobedient colonies defeated Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War, making it the first successful colonial war of independence in history. The Philadelphia Convention adopted the current United States Constitution on September 17, 1787; its approval the following year made the states part of a single republic with a strong central government. The Bill of Rights, making up ten constitutional amendments guaranteeing many basic civil rights and freedoms, was approved in 1791.
In the 19th century, the United States pursued a policy of manifest destiny where they believed that it was their god given right to expand across the North American continent. They conquered and took over native lands and bought territory from France, Greece, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and Russia, and took over the Republic of Texas and later the Republic of Hawaii.
Today, the United States is one of the world's most ethnically mixed and multicultural nations, and is the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the largest national economy in the world, with an estimated 2020 gross domestic product (GDP) of US$ 20.9 trillion (about a quarter of worldwide GDP).
The United States is the world's fourth largest nation by total area (land and water), ranking behind Russia, Canada, and China or behind Russia, Canada, and ahead of China. The ranking varies depending on how two territories disputed by China and India are counted and how the total size of the United States is measured: calculations range from to to . Measured by only land area, the United States is third in size behind Russia and China, just ahead of Canada.
The Rocky Mountains, at the western edge of the Great Plains, extend north to south across the country, reaching altitudes higher than 14,000 feet (4,300 m) in Colorado. Further west is the rocky Great Basin and deserts such as the Chihuahua and Mojave. The Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges run close to the Pacific coast, both ranges reaching altitudes higher than 14,000 feet. The Alaskan Range passes through much of Alaska and is home to Denali which stands at a height of 20,310 ft (6,190 m) above sea level and is the tallest mountain in the United States and in North America. Denali is in fact the tallest mountain in the World on land from base to summit standing at about 18,000 ft (5,490 m), which is about 4,000 ft (1,220 m) higher than Mount Everest which sits at a height of about 14,000 ft (4,270 m) from base to summit.
The U.S. ecology is considered "megadiverse"; about 17,000 species of vascular plants occur in the contiguous United States and Alaska, and over 1,800 species of flowering plants are found in Hawaii, few of which occur on the mainland. The United States is home to more than 400 mammal, 750 bird, and 500 reptile and amphibian species. About 91,000 insect species have been described.
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 protects threatened and endangered species and their habitats. They are watched by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. There are fifty-eight national parks, and hundreds of other federally managed parks, forests, and wilderness areas. The United States government owns 28.8% of the country's land area. Most of this is protected, but some is leased for oil and gas drilling, mining, logging, or cattle ranching. 2.4% is used for military purposes.
A example of animals that are native to the United States such as opossums, raccoons, pumas, and bears. Endangered animals in the United States include the jaguar, the California condor, and the Florida panther.
There are many types of small trees and shrubs in the United States. Some of these are hackberries, hawthorn, serviceberry, blackberry, wild cherry, dogwood, and snowberry. Wildflowers grow all around the United States. They even grow in deserts and places with mountains. Wildflowers include forget-me-not, fringed and closed gentians, jack-in-the-pulpit, black-eyed Susan, columbine, and common dandelion, as well as many types of aster, orchid, lady's slipper, and wild rose.
The First World War started in Europe in 1914. The United States said it was neutral and did not join the war at first. Later, the Americans helped the British and French, even though many citizens, especially those from Ireland and Germany, were against it. In 1917, the United States joined the Allies. They helped defeat the Central Powers. At the end of the war, many Americans did not want to stay involved in Europe. The Senate did not approve the Treaty of Versailles (1919). The United States stayed out of the League of Nations. The country became more isolationist.
In 1920, the Women's rights movement gained the approval of a constitutional amendment to grant women the right to vote. For most of the 1920s, the country enjoyed a period of success, decreasing the inequality in the balance of payments while profiting from industrial farms. This period, known as the Roaring Twenties, ended with the Wall Street Crash of 1929 that triggered the Great Depression.
After his election as president in 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt responded with the New Deal, a series of policies that increased government interference in the economy. From 1920 to 1933 a prohibition banning alcohol was in place. The Dust Bowl of the 1930s left many poor farmer communities and encouraged a new wave of emigration to the West Coast.
The United States, officially neutral during the early stages of World War II, began supplying supplies to the Allies in March 1941, through the Lend-Lease program. On December 7, 1941, the country joined the Allies' fight against the Axis Powers, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. World War II boosted the economy by providing investment capital and jobs, making many women enter the labor market. Of the significant fighters, the United States was the only nation to be enriched by war. The discussions at Bretton Woods and Yalta created a new system of an international organization that placed the country and the Soviet Union at the heart of world affairs. In 1945, when the end of the Second World War in Europe came, and international gathering held in San Francisco drafted the Charter of the United Nations, which came into force after the war. Having developed the first nuclear weapon, the government decided to use it in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August of that same year. Japan gave up on September 2, ending the war.
After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union started the Cold War. This was because both of them thought their own type of government was the best. The United States was supported by NATO, and the Soviet Union was supported by the Warsaw Pact. They never fought each other directly, but did many proxy wars. In the Korean War, the United States sent soldiers to help South Korea. They fought Chinese soldiers that were helping communist North Korea. In the 1960s, the Cuban Missile Crisis almost led to a real war between the two countries. However, the Soviets agreed to take their missiles out of Cuba if the United States did not attack them. Because of the Cold War, many Americans were scared of communist spies taking over the United States. This started the Second Red Scare, and hundreds of people were arrested because they were communist. Later, many cases in the Supreme Court made arresting communists illegal, because it is free speech.
In 1957, the Soviet Union launched a satellite named Sputnik 1 into outer space. Later, they were the first to put people in outer space. Because of this, President John F. Kennedy wanted to send a man to the Moon. This started the Space Race, and the United States made the Apollo program, a project used for outer space. In 1969, the United States launched Apollo 11, and was the first country to send people to the Moon.
The economy of the United States grew a lot. In the 1950s and 1960s, Americans had the highest average income in the world. Because of this, many people moved to large cities and suburbs, and had more children. The country built the Interstate Highway System, which made it easier to travel and move things across the country. In 1959, Alaska and Hawaii became U.S. states.
There were many social movements in the United States during this time. The Civil Rights Movement wanted to give African Americans more rights. It was led by people such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. It was very successful, and helped make many laws that protected African Americans, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 1968. John F. Kennedy was murdered in 1963, and Lyndon B. Johnson became the President. Johnson sent United States soldiers to the Vietnam War, and many people did not like this. This started the counterculture movement. Counterculture included many things, such as people who wanted black nationalism, peace, and more rights for women. In 1969, the Stonewall riots in New York marked the start of the gay rights movement.
In 1974, Richard Nixon became the first President to resign. This was because of the Watergate scandal, where people broke into the Democratic headquarters and took a lot of information to help Nixon. During the Yom Kippur War, the United States helped Israel. Because of this, countries in OPEC did not let the United States buy their oil. This started an oil crisis. In the 1970s, the country's economy had a problem with stagflation, something that happens when prices go up but production does not. When Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980, he tried to stop this with lower taxes and less government control over the economy. These changes were called Reaganomics. The Cold War ended in 1991. This was because the Soviet Union dissolved. With no Soviet Union, the United States became the largest superpower in the world.
Under President George H. W. Bush, the country took on a global dominant role worldwide, as in the Gulf War (1991). The longest economic expansion in modern American history, from March 1991 to March 2001, spanned the presidency of Bill Clinton and the dot-com bubble. A civil lawsuit and a sex scandal led to his impeachment in 1998, although he managed to finish his period. The 2000 presidential election was one of the most competitive in American history, it was settled by the Supreme Court: George W. Bush, son of George H. W. Bush, became president, even though he gained fewer votes than his opponent Al Gore.
On September 11, 2001, the terrorists of the Al-Qaeda group attacked the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City (which were destroyed) and the Pentagon near Washington, D.C., in a series of attacks that ended the lives of nearly three thousand people. In response, the Bush administration launched the "War on Terror." At the end of 2001, U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan, toppled the Taliban government and destroyed Al-Qaeda's training camps. Taliban insurgents continue to fight a guerrilla war. In 2002, Bush began to push for a regime change to take place in Iraq. With NATO's lack of support and without a clear UN order for military intervention, Bush organized the coalition of the willing; The coalition forces quickly invaded Iraq in 2003 and toppled the statue of dictator Saddam Hussein. The following year, Bush was re-elected as the most voted president in an election.
The massacres in Orlando of June 12, 2016 at the gay disco "Pulse" (51 dead) and in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017 (60) are listed as the largest massacres in the country since 9/11. The Murder of George Floyd in late May 2020 sparked protests all over the world that demanded racial justice. On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. was stormed during a riot and violent attack against the U.S. Congress.
The executive branch is the part of the government that enforces the law. Members of the U.S. Electoral College elect a president who is the leader of the executive branch, as well as the leader of the armed forces. The president may veto a bill that Congress has passed, so it does not become a law. The President may also make "executive orders" to ensure that people follow the law.
The president is in charge of many departments that control much of the day-to-day actions of the government. For example, Department of Commerce makes rules about trade. The president chooses the heads of these departments and also nominates federal judges. However, the Senate, part of the legislative branch, must agree with all of the people the president chooses. The president may serve two 4-year terms.
One house is the House of Representatives. The Representatives are each elected by voters from set areas within the states. The number of Representatives a state has is based on how many people live there. Representatives serve two-year terms. The total number of representatives today is 435. The leader of the House of Representatives is the Speaker of the House.
The United States of America consists of 50 states, 5 territories, and 1 district (Washington D.C.). States can make laws about things inside the state, but federal law is about things dealing with more than one state or dealing with other countries. In some areas, if the federal government makes laws that say different things from the state laws, people must follow the federal law because the state law is not a law anymore. Each state has a constitution of its own, different from the federal (national) Constitution. Each of these is like the federal Constitution because they say how each state's government is set up, but some also talk about specific laws.
Since 2021, the president is a Democrat, and Congress is also Democrat-controlled, so the Democrats have more power in the federal government. There are still many powerful Republicans who can try to stop the Democrats from doing things that they believe will be bad for the country. Also, members of a party in power do not always agree on what to do. If enough people decide to vote against Democrats in the next election, they will lose power. In a republic like the United States, no party can do whatever they want. All politicians have to argue, compromise, and make deals with each other to get things done. They have to answer to the people and take responsibility for their mistakes.
The United States conquered and bought new lands over time, and grew from the original 13 colonies in the east to the current 50 states, of which 48 of them are joined together to make up the contiguous United States. These states, called the "lower 48", can all be reached by road without crossing a border into another country. They go from the Atlantic to the east to the Pacific in the west. There are two other states which are not joined to the lower 48 states. Alaska can be reached by passing through British Columbia and the Yukon, both of which are part of Canada. Hawaii is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Washington, D.C., the national capital, is a federal district that was split from the states of Maryland and Virginia in 1791. Not part of any US state, it used to be in the shape of a square, with the land west of the Potomac River coming from Virginia and the land east of the river coming from Maryland. In 1846, Virginia took back its part of the land. Some people living in DC want it to become a state, or for Maryland to take back its land, so that they can have the right to vote in Congress.
The United States territories and possessions consist of sixteen lands that do not state, many of which are colonial territories. None of them have any land borders with the rest of the US. People live in five of these places, which are "de facto" American:
The United States is very influential in global economics, politics, and the military. It is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and the headquarters of the United Nations is in New York City. It is a member of the G7, G20, and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Almost all countries have embassies in Washington, D.C., and many have consulates around the country. Likewise, nearly all nations host American diplomatic missions. However, Iran, North Korea, Bhutan, and Taiwan do not have formal diplomatic relations with the United States. The United States has a "special relationship" with the United Kingdom and strong ties with Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and Israel.
The United States has a capitalist economy. The country has rich mineral resources, with many gold, coal, and uranium deposits. Farming makes the country among the top producers of, among others, corn (maize), wheat, sugar, and tobacco. Housing contributes about 15% to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States. America produces cars, airplanes, and electronics. About 3/4 of Americans work in the service industry.
The United States of America has people of many different race and ethnic backgrounds. 80% of the people in the United States descend from European immigrants. Many people are descended from Germany, England, Scotland, Ireland, Africa, and Italy. 13% of the people in the United States are African-American. Most of them descend from the African slaves that were brought to America. African Americans are concentrated in the Southern United States. Asian-Americans make up only 5% of the population in America but make up a bigger portion in the west coast. For example, in California, Asian-Americans make up 13% of the population of that state. Hispanic-Americans or people of Latin origins make up 15% of the nation. Mexicans are the largest Hispanic national group, followed by Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Salvadorans and Dominicans. The original peoples, called Native American, American Indians, or Amerindians and Inuit (Eskimos) are a very small group. There are 574 federally recognized Native American tribes in the United States.
11% of the people in the United States are foreign-born. 18% speak a language other than English at home. For people 25 and older, 80% are high school graduates while 25% have a bachelor's degree or higher.
The 2000 Census counted self-reported ancestry. It identified 43 million German-Americans, 30.5 million Irish-Americans, 24.9 million African-Americans, 24.5 million English-Americans, and 18.4 million Mexican Americans.
There are many different religions in the U.S. Statistically, the largest religion is Christianity, including groups such as Catholicism, Protestantism, and Mormonism. Other religions include Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Unitarian Universalism, Wicca, Druidry, Baha'i, Raelism, Zoroastrianism, Taoism, and Jainism. Religions which were founded within the United States include Eckankar, Satanism, and Scientology. Native American religions have various animistic beliefs.
Doubts about the existence of a God, gods or goddesses are higher among young people. Among the non-religious population of the U.S., there are deists, humanists, ignostics, atheists, and agnostics.
American popular culture goes out to many places in the world. It has a large influence on most places, especially the Western world. American music is everywhere, and American movies and television shows can be seen in most countries.
The American flag is made up of 50 stars on a blue background and has 13 stripes, seven red and six white. It is one of many symbols of the United States like the Bald Eagle. The 50 stars represent the 50 states. The red stands for courage, the blue stands for justice, and the white represents peace and cleanliness. The 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies.
A hamburger is one of the popular foods of the United States. Fast food in the United States is home to many regional cuisines such as the Cuisine of the Southern United States, also known as Southern food. There are Americanized versions of Chinese, Greek, Japanese, Italian and Mexican cuisine. Native American cuisine is the cuisine of the indigenous Native Americans. A lot of American dishes are influenced by many countries around the world. American cuisine has Native American, British, French, German, and Spanish influences. Soul food is traditional southern African American food.
The most popular genres in the United States are rock and roll, pop, country, R&B, and hip hop. Native American music is the indigenous music of the United States.
Native Americans played lacrosse before Europeans arrived. Baseball is the country sport for the United States, and American football is the most popular sport. Basketball is also very popular in the USA, which the USA has its own league called the NBA.
The video game industry of the United States is one of the largest of any country. It is the second largest market for video games after China. Many of the world's largest video game developers are based in the USA, like Take-Two Interactive, Electronic Arts, Activision Blizzard, and Xbox Game Studios.
The United States is the only developed country that doesn't officially use the metric system. Instead, the United States customary units are the official measurement system used, though certain fields like science use the metric system. There were also attempts at metrication in the past, most notably in the 1970s, but they have been struck down.
Canada is a country in North America. Its land reaches from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. The Arctic Ocean is to the north of Canada. Canada's land area is . It is the world's second largest country by total area, but only the fourth largest country by land area. It has the world's longest coastline (a border with water). Canada has ten provinces and three territories. Most parts of the country are cold or severely cold in the winter. Areas in the south of Canada are warm in the summer. Much of the land is covered in forest or tundra. Most of the people in Canada live in urban areas, near the southern border with the US. This border is the longest between any two countries in the world. The national capital isOttawa, and the largest city is Toronto. Other large cities include Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Quebec City, Winnipeg and Hamilton.
Aboriginal people lived in the places (that are now Canada) for a long time. In 1537, the French started a colony. The British Empire soon followed. The two empires fought several wars. In the late 18th century, only British North America remained with what is more or less Canada today. The country was formed from several colonies with the British North America Act on July 1, 1867. Over time, more provinces and territories became part of Canada. In 1931, Canada achieved nearly total independence with the Statute of Westminster 1931, and became completely independent when the Canada Act 1982 removed the last remaining ties of legal dependence with the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Canada is a federal parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with King Charles III as its head of state. The country is officially bilingual at the federal level. That means that citizens have the right to communicate with the government in two languages: English or French. Immigration to Canada has made it one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations. Its economy is the eleventh largest in the world, and relies mainly on natural resources and well-developed international trade networks. Canada's relationship with its neighbor and biggest trading partner, the U.S., has a big impact on its economy and culture.
Canada is a developed country and has the tenth highest nominal per capita income globally as well as the sixteenth highest ranking in the Human Development Index. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, and education. Canada is a Commonwealth realm member of the Commonwealth of Nations, a member of the Francophonie, and part of several major international and intergovernmental institutions or groupings including the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the G7, the G20, the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
By total land and water area, Canada is the second-largest country in the world. It is only smaller than Russia. By land area alone, Canada ranks fourth. It has the longest border with water (coastline) of any country in the world. It is next to the Pacific, Arctic, and Atlantic Oceans. It is the only country in the world to be next to three oceans at once. It has six time zones.
Canada is made up of ten provinces and three territories. The provinces are between the 45th and 60th parallels of latitude, and the territories are to the north of the 60th parallel of latitude. Most large cities in Canada are in the southern part of the country, including Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal. Very few people live in the northern part of Canada.
Canada extends from the west coast to the Atlantic provinces. In the north, there are three territories: Yukon in the west, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut. They make up 16% of the Earth's fresh water. The Saint Lawrence Seaway joins the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean, allowing vessels in the ocean to travel as far inland as Thunder Bay in Ontario, Canada.
Canada shares land and sea borders with the USA (the lower 48 states and Alaska), Greenland, and France (St. Pierre and Miquelon, a small group of islands off the southern coast off the island of Newfoundland).
The geography of Canada is very different in each region. Canada's geography features high alpine areas in the west, flat grasslands and prairies in the middle, and ancient shield rocks in the east. Canada has some of the very last untouched boreal forest in the world.
The Canadian Shield is a vast area of ancient Pre-Cambrian rocks lying in an arc around Hudson Bay, covering more than one third of Canada's land area. This is a unique land of lakes, bogs, swamps, trees, and rocks. It is a terrain that is very dangerous and difficult to traverse cross country because of the lakes, bogs, swamps, trees, and rocks. Canada has 60% of the world's lakes.
Many people think the first people to live in Canada came from Siberia at least 14,000 years ago, using the Bering land bridge. The land bridge connected Asia and North America.
When European people first settled in Canada, the number of Indigenous people living in Canada was between 200,000 and two million.
The Vikings were the first Europeans to land in Canada, in what is now Newfoundland. The exploration was led by the Viking explorer Leif Erikson. They did not stay for a long time. In the early 16th century, Europeans started exploring Canada's eastern coast. The first of these explorers was John Cabot from England, in 1497, and later Jacques Cartier from France, in 1534. Alexander Mackenzie later reached the Pacific coast over land, where captains James Cook and George Vancouver went by sea. The Europeans also traded beaver furs to the First Nations.
Some parts of Canada were settled by France. Other parts of the country were settled by Great Britain. In 1605, Port-Royal was built in Acadia (today called Nova Scotia) by the French, led by Samuel de Champlain. In 1608, he settled in Quebec. The British took control of the French areas after a battle of the French and Indian War on the Plains of Abraham, near Quebec City, in 1759.
Thousands of people came north to Canada and settled in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario. They were called United Empire Loyalists.
On July 1, 1867, Canada was united under a federal government. At first, Canada was only made up of the provinces Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. Sir John A. Macdonald was the first prime minister. Manitoba, the Yukon territory, and the Northwest Territories became part of Canada in 1870. British Columbia joined in 1871, and Prince Edward Island in 1873.
Canadian soldiers fought in World War I for the British Empire. More Canadians died in this war than any other war. Canada became better known as a country after its success in capturing Vimy Ridge from the Germans in France in 1917. Women were given the right to vote by the end of the war, partly because of the help they gave making weapons while the men fought in Europe. In 1931, Canada became fully independent. The government of Canada made all the decisions about Canada.
Canadians also fought in World War II. The Dieppe Raid, in 1942, went very badly. Most soldiers were killed, wounded, or imprisoned. Canadians helped capture soldiers at Normandy in 1944. They also liberated the Netherlands from Germany.
In 1949, Newfoundland and Labrador became the 10th province of Canada. In 1956, Canadian Lester Pearson, who later became prime minister, helped end the Suez Crisis. Because of this, he won the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1965, Pearson helped change the design of Canada's flag. This design is known as the Maple Leaf today. Before that, the Red Ensign was Canada's flag. In 1982, Canada changed its constitution. The change introduced a new Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The main part of the Constitution is the 1867 British North America Act.
Today, about 25% of Canadians speak French as their first language. Many people in Canada speak both French and English. Although most French Canadians live in the province of Quebec, there are French-speaking communities and people all across Canada. For example, 40% of the people in the province of New Brunswick and 20% of those in Manitoba have a strong French background, as some people do in Ontario, mainly along its border with Quebec.
Canada has a government called a constitutional monarchy. It has a monarch (meaning a king or queen is the head of that country), and is a democracy (meaning the people of that country rule it). The head of state is King Charles III, who is officially the King of Canada. He appoints a Governor General to represent him in the country, however, the choice of Governor General is made by the prime minister.
Because Canada is very far north, and most people cannot survive the conditions, most Canadians live in the southern parts, where the weather is much milder. In some cities, the temperature gets very cold in the winter, especially inland. Warm air systems, moving in from the Pacific Ocean, bring more rain than snow to the Pacific coast. The colder temperatures further inland result in snow. Parts of Canada can get quite hot in the summer, often over .
Canadians are known to play winter sports, such as ice hockey and skiing and snowboarding, as well as enjoy many summer sports and games.
Canada has lots of natural resources. Its large amounts of fish have been used for centuries for food and money. Hydroelectric power (electricity by water) is abundant because of Canada's many rivers. Forests in the west are used for wood. Besides these renewable resources, Canada has metal ores and oil deposits. Canada is the leading exporter of zinc, uranium, gold, nickel, aluminum, steel and lead.
Around 38 million people live in Canada. About 90% of the Canadian population live within of the border with the United States. This is because of climate and trade with the US. This means that over 60% of Canadians live south of Seattle, Washington.
In 2020, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported that there were not enough hospital beds in Ontario. Ontario is Canada's largest province, and is home to Canada's largest city, Toronto. The number of hospital beds available in Ontario is 1.4 per every 1,000 people.
Islam (; , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion. A person who believes in Islam is called a Muslim. A disbeliever is called a Kafir in Islam. Islam means submission to the will of God.
Most teachings and beliefs of Islam are written out in the Quran (the words from God) (also spelled Qur'an or Kuran), the central holy scripture of Islam. Alongside the Qur'an, Muslims also believe in the previous revelations of God, such as the "Tawrat" (Torah), the "Zabur" (Psalms), the "Injeel" (Gospel), the "Scrolls of Abraham", and the "Scrolls of Moses". Muslims believe that the Quran was spoken to Muhammad by the angel Gabriel. The Quran is regarded as the word of God (or Allah), while Muhammad is regarded as the last prophet and messenger of God. Other beliefs and rules about what Muslims should do may come from hadiths, although they are not universally accepted by Muslims.
With about 1.75 billion followers (24% of the world's population), Islam is the second-largest religion in the world. Islam is also the fastest-growing religion in the world.
After Muhammad died, the Arab Muslim leadership was assumed by Abu Bakr. He was followed by Umar, Uthman ibn Affan, Ali, and Mu'awiya I, who established the Umayyad Caliphate. Under these caliphs, Islam became one of the most important religions in the world. Under Umar, more than two thirds of the Eastern Roman Empire was conquered by the Arab Muslims. The Arab Islamic empire reached its largest geographical extent under the Umayyad Caliphate.
In Islamic belief, the Quran is the holy book of Islam and contains what Muslims claim Allah (God) conveyed to the Prophet Muhammad through the archangel Jibraeel (Gabriel), who had been tasked since the times of Adam to convey the words of God as guidance to mankind. The Quran is the central point of reference and is a link which connects humanity with God.
The Qur'an contains many passages and chapters which cover the entire aspect of humanity, down to the most minute detail. From the creation and conception of human child to the details of the Earth and beyond. In the aspect of human life, it contains stories and tales of old civilizations and past prophets and their life chronicles. The Quran contains the Sharia law or hudud, and emphasizes the equal rights man and women alike with mothers given special status where it is sinful to even glare at them.
The Qur'an has a total of 30 Juzuks. In each Juz, there are many Surahatun or verses, with 114 Surahatun which begin with Surah al-Fatehah (The Beginning) and ended with Surah an-Naas (Humanity). A Hafeez is a Muslim who has committed the Quran to memory and can accurately say every word in the Quran without flipping a single page and apply them to daily life.
Other important teachings in Islam are previous revelations of God, such as the "Tawrat" (Torah), the "Zabur" (Psalms), the "Injeel" (Gospel), the "Scrolls of Abraham", and the "Scrolls of Moses", as well as the Sunnah (which tell about Muhammad's life) and the Hadith (which are collections of dialogues of conversation that Muslims believe Muhammad said).
The Qur'an is considered in Islam as a manual for all of humanity and its teachings are to be implemented and shared by its readers.
Muslims pray in a place of worship called the mosque. A mosque is called a "masjid" in Arabic. Most mosques were mostly seen having at least a single dome, and some have one or more towers called Minarat, where the Muadzin gives the Adhan. The Call for Muslim Prayer. Which is 13 or 15 sentences. But many mosques were built without either domes or towers.
The Muslim is called to prayer or solah three or five times a day. This call to prayer is called Adhan. The muezzin, a man chosen to make the call to prayer, uses a loudspeaker, which carries his voice to the people nearby. The call to prayer is often done out loud, in public, in Muslim countries. Being called to solah is a normal part of daily life for most people in Muslim countries.
When it is time to pray, Muslims made Wudu, then face the direction of Qibla - the direction they are supposed to pray in, towards Mecca. They then roll out their prayer mat, and perform their prayers to God.
In 2009, a study was done in 193+1+=(195)+37 countries and territories. This study found that 23% of the global population or 1.57 billion people are Muslims. Of those, between 75% and 90% are Sunni and between ten and twenty five percent are Shi'a. A small part belong to other Islamic sects. In about fifty countries, more than half of the people are Muslim. Arabs account for around twenty percent of all Muslims worldwide. Islam has three holy sites:Jerusalem, Mecca and Medina.
Most Muslims live in Asia and Africa. Around 62% of the world's Muslims live in Asia, with over 683 million followers in Indonesia, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh.
In the Middle East: The non-Arab countries such as: Turkey, and Iran are the largest Muslim-majority countries. In Africa: Egypt and Nigeria have the biggest Muslim communities.
The three main beliefs at the center of Judaism are Monotheism, Identity, and covenant (an agreement between God and God's people).
The most important teaching of Judaism is that there is one God, who wants people to do what is just and compassionate. Judaism teaches that a person serves God by learning the holy books and doing what they teach. These teachings include both ritual actions and ethics. Judaism teaches that all people are made in the image of God and deserve to be treated with respect.
The main teachings of Judaism are about God, that there is only one God. According to Judaism, only God created the universe and only God controls it. Jewish people refer to God by many names. The most holy name for God in Judaism is "Yahweh", though most Jews avoid saying this name aloud due to how holy it is. Judaism also teaches that God is spiritual and not physical.
Jews believe that all goodness and morality is from God. God is interested in what people do and that God watches what they do.
The Land of Israel is holy in Judaism. A Jewish belief is that God created the Earth from Mount Moriah in Jerusalem in the Land of Israel, and God is always closest to this land. Jews believe that this land is where God told the Jewish people to build a society to serve God, and many "mitzvot" (commandments) in the Torah are about the Land of Israel.