ISLAM

By: Arnau Carballo

HISTORY

• It all started in the seventh century when the prophet Muhammad advised some disciples that were persecuted by the pre-Islamic inhabitants. Those disciples had to migrate to another area to the Red Sea in the Christian Kingdom of Abyssinia. This migration was called the first hijrah. Africa became the first safe haven for Muslims and the first place Islam would be practiced outside of the Arabian Peninsula. After the dead of Muhammad, the islam had been expanded around all Africa. All the territories became to Islam. They built lots of mosques but they had problems, on Fridays, mosques were very crowded.

BELIEFS

• Belief in Allah as the one and only God

• Belief in angels

• Belief in the holy books like the Quran

• Belief in the Prophets like Abraham

• Belief in the Day of Judgement

• Belief in Predestination

HOLY DAYS

• Eid ul Fitr: The festival begins when the first sight of the new moon is seen in the sky. There are special services out of doors and in Mosques, processions through the streets, and of course, a special celebratory meal.

• Eid ul Adha: The festival remembers the prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son when God ordered him to. During the festival Muslims who can afford to, sacrifice domestic animals, usually sheep, as a symbol of Ibraham's sacrifice.

PRACTICES

• -Shahadah: sincerely reciting the Muslim profession of faith

• -Salat: performing ritual prayers in the proper way five times each day

• -Zakat: paying an alms (or charity) tax to benefit the poor and the needy

• -Sawm: fasting during the month of Ramadan • -Hajj: pilgrimage to Mecca

MOSQUE

• Muslims worship is a building called mosque. Outside of every mosque there’s a place to leave the shoes. The main hall of a mosque is a bare room largely devoid of furniture. There are no pictures or statues. Muslims believe these are blasphemous, since there can be no image of Allah, who is wholly spirit. Many mosques have a minaret which is a tall thin tower. Women can attend the mosque and when they do they sit separately from the men. This is out of modesty and to prevent any distraction. It is more usual for women to pray at home.

QURAN

• The Qur'an is the holy book for Muslims, revealed in stages to the Prophet Muhammad . There are 114 chapters in the Qur'an, which is written in the old Arabic dialect. Translations of the Qur'an exist in over 40 languages. The Qur'an is treated with immense respect by Muslims because it is the sacred word of God.

SHARI'A LAW IN AFRICA

• The Shari’a law is the legal code of the islam. It talks about the marriage, the divorce and the child custody. It’s a very conservative law. Per exemple, this law in Nigeria allows to stone and kill the women that have convicted adultery. The Shari’a can be the law of a country. It manages testaments, inheritances and bank issues.

SUFISM

 • It is about Islamic spirituality. It talks about affairs of

the spirit, soul purification, metaphysics, the internal interpretation of Islamic precepts, the relationship between God and the Cosmos. Another main idea is the consecution of the God proximity.

Notable Muslim African Kingdoms and Sultanates

• Kanem Empire (700 AD - 1376 AD)• Kingdom of Kano (1000 AD - 1805 AD)• Ifat Sultanate (1285 AD - 1415 AD)• Songhai Empire (1340 AD - 1591 AD)• Bornu Empire (1369 AD - 1893 AD)• Adal Sultanate (1415 AD - 1555 AD)• Sennar Sultanate (1502 AD - 1821 AD)• Dendi Kingdom (1591 AD - 1901 AD)