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 Fire (theophany) Pillar of Fire (theophany) A Pillar of Fire was one of the manifestations of the presence of the God of Israel in the Torah, the five books ascribed to Moses which conventionally appear at the beginning of the Bible's Old Testament. According to Exodus, the pillar of fire provided light so that the Israelites could travel by night during the Exodus from Egypt (perhaps at the time of the 18th Dynasty; see dating of the Exodus). Scripture traditionally pairs a pillar of fire with the manifestation of the divine presence by day as the Pillar of Cloud. The combination meant