As Salamu Alaykum

Peace be upon you

Hallo and greetings from everyone at

Bakoteh Proper Lower Basic School. How are

you all?

We are back at school now after a long summer break

and extra time off to celebrate Tobaski.

The rainy season has

almost finished and it is very

hot these days.

The water melons are now in season. They are delicious to eat especially when you are

thirsty.

We are all very worried about the ebola virus. It is not in the Gambia yet.

But in countries like Sierra Leone and

Guinea that are close by. We hope they find a cure soon.

We also worry you might be getting the wrong impression of Muslims because of

the wicked things some terrorists are

doing.

People like the Islamic state fighters in Iraq and

Syria and Boko haram are just wicked people and spoil the good name of

Muslims

The Muslim religion teaches us to be kind and tolerant people.

85 percent of the population of

Gambia are Muslims.

Because Britain once ruled The Gambia the other 15 percent are

Christians and we live happily side by side. Christmas and Easter are

public holidays and are celebrated by all as are the Muslim festivals of

Koriteh and Tobaski

So please can we tell you a little bit about the Muslim Faith and how its teachings and

rules make sure we are good people

There are five important pillars on which being a

good Muslim is built

The latest Prophet of Allah was Muhammed and we following his teachings. They are set out in the

Qu’ran. We also believe Jesus was a Prophet and his teachings are set

out in the Bible.

The first is Shahadah – That there is only one God. We call him Allah. But we all

worship the same God

Salat tells us we should

pray five times a day

Zakat tells us we should give to the poor once we have met our own

needs. So at the feast of Tobaski if we are lucky enough to be able to buy a ram we share the meat with families who were not able to buy

one.

Sawn tells us once we become adults we must fast for the 28

days of the Holy Month of Ramadan

We are not able to eat or drink from sun rise to sun set. It

reminds us what it is like to be hungry and thirsty and to make

sure we help those who are suffering or in need.

The fifth pillar is Hajj. And that means if at all

possible once in your life you go on a

pilgrimage to Mecca.

And you pray in Kabba – The mightiest of Mosques. Mecca is

where the Prophet Muhammed was born and lived

most of his life.

As Muslims we study the Qu’ran a lot. It teaches us to be good and kind

people and never to hurt anyone – even

our enemies.

So you can see that Muslims, like Christians and Catholics

and Jews try to be good people and do God’s work on

earth