Islam in Sierra Leone Mauvi Sadeeur Rahman. In the early 18th century Fulani and Mande-speaking tribesmen from the Fouta Djallon region of present-day Guinea converted many Temne of northern Sierra Leone to Islam. During the period of British colonization, attempts to spread Christianity were mostly ineffective. Islam continued to spread after independence in 1961; in 1960 the Muslim population was 35 percent and grew to 60 percent by 2000, and then to 71% in 2008. It is difficult for people from Sierra Leone to travel to Mecca for the Hajj, the fifth pillar of Islam, due to the distance between the two places and
Pillar tomb have been found along with pillar tombs, including a rare octagonal one. Port Dunford, situated nearby, also contains a number of ancient ruins, including several pillar tombs. Prior to its collapse, one of these structures' pillars stood high from the ground, making it the tallest of its kind in the region. Pillar tomb A pillar tomb is a type of monumental grave wherein the central feature is a single, prominent pillar or column, often made of stone. A number of world cultures incorporated pillars into tomb structures. Examples of such edifices are found in the ancient Greek colony of Lycia