Saidah Abdulhaqq, a Muslim living in a predominantly Christian society.

She was referring to the Quran, the Muslim Book of God.

But with three simple words, Abdulhaqq started to dismantle years of pent up- apprehension caused by the negative stereotypes of Islam being beamed into American households during the evening news. She gave perspective to those images that have portrayed Islam as a religion that was only practiced in another world and another time. She said, more or less, we are all the same.

And at the same time, different. Abdulhaqq is a student at The College of New Jersey who, at the age of 12, became a Muslim in a predominately Christian United States. She distinguishes herself by wearing a scarf, called a hijab, on her head. She breaks five times a day to kneel and pray toward Mecca, Islam's holiest city. Instead of attending traditional Sunday religious services, she goes to a Mosque on Fridays, the Muslim holy day. She is considerably different from most U.S. college students.

But in the years to come, there will be more and more Muslims like Abdulhaqq living in the U.S. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, as well as the United States.

According to the 1997 Statistical Abstract of the United States, there are currently 527,000 Muslims living in the country.

Though it is growing fast, Islam is probably one of the most mysterious religions to most Americans. Americans don't know enough about Islam, Abdulhaqq said. She explained that Americans haven't been introduced to Islam "from the Muslim point of view." The images of Islam in the media have little to do with the religion, and focus more on the politics of practicing Muslims.

Dr. Mohamoud Ismail, an assistant professor of sociology at The College of New Jersey and an immigrant from Somalia, said his Islamic religion "practices what is practical and peaceful, but it is not willing to take oppression. Truly the center of Islam is peace, peace among people, but it has got to be applied across the board."

According to Ismail, the term Islam comes from the Arabic verb, Aslama, which means "to become the peaceful one, through submission, through the will of God. So a Muslim is one who submits, only to God."

"In the Quran, there is a famous line, 'There is no compulsion.' You are not oppressed," Ismail said.