1) Islam is practiced by over 1.5 billion people worldwide, from North Africa westward through the Middle East and Central Asia, and is also found in communities throughout Europe, Africa, and other regions. 2) Islamic civilization made major contributions to fields like philosophy, science, and mathematics during the Abbasid Caliphate, translating and preserving Greek and Roman works and advancing knowledge in many areas. 3) The discipline of Islamic studies examines Islam as a faith and way of life through topics like the Quran, hadith, law, art, literature, and history from the rise of Islam to the modern day.