Islam is derived from the Arabic root Salema; peace, purity, submission (to the will of god) and obedience (to His law).
Believing in the Shahada (the testimonial of faith) makes you a muslim. The shahada in it's shortest form reads: There is no god but Allah (God). Muhammed is the messenger of Allah. Also, one must believe that, the Holy Qu'ran is the literal word of God, revealed by Him. That the day of judgement is true and will come. Not worship anything nor anyone except God and accept Islam as his or her religion.
Islam is between you and God; that relationship is sacred. You must not let anyone interfere with that. It is very likely that people will disagree with you, and/or judge you because of your point of view.
Your intentions should always be pure and only for Allah his sake. The fastest way into falsehood is to expect appreciation and rewards from others.
Do not believe everything you read. Pick your sources very wisely and make sure that what you're reading is a fact and not an opinion.
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Islamic Advice - Guide us to the straight path (1:6)
Random"All praise is due to Allah, Who guided us to this! And we would not have found the way if Allah had not guided us." (Quran, Chapter Al-Araf. 7:43)
