Page 117 - LD215 History of the Church in Africa A4 final

Triumph and Trouble

or welcomed into Paradise. When Muslims describe Paradise, they
visualize it as male-centered. To the Muslim, God is the final judge who
has pre-determined from eternity both good and evil for every person,
and He alone controls everything. This leads to a form of fatalism—or a
“whatever will be, will be” attitude about the present and future.

Articles of Faith

• Belief in Allah as the one, the only, and the unique
(incomparable) Deity.
• Belief in the angels of Allah.
• Belief in the prophets of Allah.
• Belief in the Books of Allah—the Tawrat (Torah), the Zabur
(Psalms), the Injil (Gospel), and the Qur’an (as the final and
allegedly superior revelation).
• Belief in the decrees of Allah (predestination of all things).
• Belief in the Day of Judgment.

Pillars of Islam
Muslims base their faith on five pillars that represent the obligations
for all orthodox Muslims. A sixth pillar, jihad, relates more to the
community than to the individual. These pillars are as follows:

• Shahada: The confession, “There is no God but Allah, and
Muhammad is his prophet.”
• Salat: The obligation to pray five times a day, facing Mecca.
• Zakat: The obligation to give 2.5 percent of one’s annual income
to the poor and needy.
• Ramadan: The obligation to fast from sunrise until sunset every
day during the month of Ramadan.
• Hajj: The obligation to make a pilgrimage to Mecca once in a
Muslim’s lifetime if he or she is physically and financially able.
(Some Muslims also choose to include the city of Medina on their
pilgrimage.)
• Jihad: In a crisis, a holy war must be waged on behalf of Islam as
a religious duty.

Folk Islam
Many Muslims practice “folk Islam,” a mixture of Islamic beliefs that
involve traditional or animistic practices. In one country in East Africa,

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