Eleven players each side, but what's the point?

Islam is supposed to be a simple enough religion for all. Somehow, some people - mostly Muslims (and scholars) tend to make it seems so complicated that many tend to back away from it.

AFAIK, in order for you to become a Muslim, you only need to comply with the five pillars - Profess the Shahadah (declaration that there is no other god but Allah, and Muhammad is His Messenger), pray five times a day, fast during Ramadhan, pay the Zakat (a portion of your money to help the poor, or for charity), and performing the Haj (pilgrimage to Mekah) if you have the capability and resources. A few Muslim sect believe that the fifth pillar is Jihad (holy struggle), based on certain dalil (reasonings based on Quran and hadith).

When you become a Muslim, you have to be a Mukmin (man of faith) as well, by believing in the six pillars of faith - Believe in Him (Allah), believe in His Archangels, believe in His Books, believe in His prophets and messengers, believe in the End of Days (aka Judgement Day) and believe in Qada' and Qadar (His Decree and the Destiny He has set).

Islam becomes complicated when people start to ask how and why to the most tedious and trivial things.

The prophet Muhammad gave the simplest answer for the "how". Just follow his lead and refer to the Quran and his sunnah (habit or usual practice). The sunnah is naratted through Hadith (reports, stories or statement made by the people who live in the prophet's era). When in doubt, consult someone who have better knowledge than you.

For the "why", there are those which the Quran and Hadith give specific answers and reasonings to, while there are some which we need to think for ourselves. However, when you can't find or think of any other answer, Islam has already provide the generic answer (which some critics calls the 'escape' answer) - that is "it is Allah's Will", so, "sami' na wa atho' na" (we hear and we obey).

However, the simplicity does not mean we can be simplistic. We need to always seek knowledge and if somehow we found something to be so complicated, go back to the basic. Always remember the five pillars of Islam and the six pillars of Faith.