Nonetheless, the Qur‘an teaches that Jews, Christians and Muslims are all “People of the Book.” As believers, Jews and Christians have juridical rights under Islamic law to live as “protected peoples.” Historically, Islam has been a relatively tolerant religion. Islam clearly teaches that “There is to be no compulsion in matters of religion.” In the 7th century Muslim armies brought vast territories under Muslim political control, but conversion to Islam was voluntary and was not imposed “by the sword.” This is a Western myth. A majority (58 percent) of the public agree that children should be brought up in religion so they can learn good values, but unaffiliated Americans vehemently reject this notion. Strength is the ultimate good and ensures the survival of the State. I’d tell him good luck. Arab chroniclers tell us that the pastoral nomadic Tuareg founded Timbuktu as a trading outpost. Around the eighth century, Arab documents mentioned ancient Ghana and that Muslims crossed the Sahara into West Africa for trade.

The Songhay’s major trading partners were the Merenid dynasty in the Maghrib (north-west Africa) and the Mamluks in Egypt. This gave rise to one of the major features of Ghana-the dual city; Ghana Kings benefited from Muslim traders, but kept them outside centers of power. The French were already quite strong before this war but got even stronger after because two of their biggest rivals (Austria and Spain) both lost a lot of their power throughout the war. Last September, in Castel Gandolfo (see photo), Benedict XVI dedicated two days of study to Islam, behind closed doors, together with two experts in Islamic studies and a group of his former theology students. Two centuries later, the kingdom of Gao rose again as the Songhay Empire. Although modern Ghana is unrelated to the ancient kingdom of Ghana, modern Ghana chose the name as a way of honoring early African history. The Almoravid movement imposed greater uniformity of practice and Islamic law among West African Muslims. The movement led to centralization of power in the Muslim community, education reforms, and transformations of law.

The fall of apartheid and the Orange Revolution in Ukraine both testify to the power of public involvement and awareness. When the men finally flipped the power switch, more than 6,000 volts of electricity coursed through Topsy. In Scotland, another country steeped in religious tradition, a majority of people, 59%, now identify as non-religious – with significantly more women (66%) than men (55%) turning away from organised faith. Such a call can often be regarded as an appeal to emotionally-laden traditional symbols without real religious standing. There are actually a few symbols that share this meaning; another one looks like a pair of wavy lines on a stick over a circle. Over the next few decades, African rulers began to adopt Islam while ruling over populations with diverse faiths and cultures. Scholars have debated the origins of the 19th century West African jihads. The Sahel, the ecological transition zone between the Sahara desert and forest zone, which spans the African continent, was an intense point of contact between North Africa and communities south of the Sahara.

The first known jihad in West Africa was in Mauritania during the 17th century. Islam, which means acknowledging the sovereignty of God, is first and foremost a monotheistic system of belief and practice. For the first time, “Xinhua Zidian” has overtaken “Don Quixote” for the top spot. Over time, the population began to adopt Islam, often selectively appropriating aspects of the faith. At that time, Mauritanian society was divided along scholar and warrior lineages. Many of the traditions in the forest zones still reflect the tradition of Al-Hajj Salim Suwari, a late fifteenth-century Soninke scholar, who focused on responsibilities of Muslims in a non-Muslim society. Merchant-scholars also played a large role in the spread of Islam into the forest zones. Even in the blues, the crossroads play a large role. Every action done with the awareness that it fulfills the will of God is considered an act of worship, but the specific acts termed the Five Pillars of Islam provide the framework of Muslim spiritual life.