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
The Elephant in the Dark – Christianity, Islam and the Sufis of Muslims, respect for Christianity is built into the foundations of Islam in the Quran, and Jesus is regarded as a pillar of their religion. Muhammad himself lay down the foundations of respect for Christianity both by precept and by example, although there was a difference between what he taught and what his successors made of it. Christians in the West, on the other hand, have been much more lacking in accurate information about, and appreciation for, Islam. Shah provides an exposition of the basic Arabic triconsonantal root “SLM” and its associated word groupings: Islam, Muslim, Salem, salaam, and so