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 of cloud Pillar of cloud A pillar of cloud (Hebrew: עמוד ענן) was one of the manifestations of the presence of the God of Israel in the Torah, the five books of Moses which appear at the beginning of the Old Testament Bible. According to Exodus, the pillar of cloud guided the Israelites by day during the Exodus from Egypt (circa the 18th Dynasty; see dating of the Exodus). The pillar of cloud is traditionally paired with the manifestation of the divine presence by night as the pillar of fire, which provided light. This was so they "could travel by day or