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of Islam, for he comes directly into Allah's presence five times a day, and no intermediary is necessary between him and his All-Powerful Creator.

The following are some of the other pillars of Islam: abstention from all forms of liquor, gambling, and other causes of moral degradation; abstention from foods forbidden by Divine Law, such as pork and pork products and certain sea "foods," the practice of total ablution (bodily cleanliness) or bath before each prayer. In effect, these requirements and practices make the Moslems a people of many admirable qualities.

As a matter of fact, these aspects of Islam have contributed more to the growth of Islam in certain sections of the globe than the basic "Five Pillars" (mentioned above), which, of course, have always made a mark of their own wherever men have adopted our remarkable Faith.

For instance, in the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent, the untouchables among the Hindus so appreciated the brotherhood of Islam when it was first introduced in that part of the world that hundreds of thousands of them turned Moslem in a short time. As Moslems, they were no longer to be treated as an underprivileged group; instead, they gained a respect for themselves they had never experienced before. No one could now look down upon them, as was the case previously. As followers of Islam, they could worship in any mosque they pleased and associate with men from all walks of life. The new freedoms granted to them by Islam opened vast new horizons for these natives of India and eventually led them to establish a homeland of their own in the sub-continent. Today there are over seventy-five million Moslems in the independent Republic of Pakistan and nearly forty million in the Union of India.

[[image black & white photograph of a bearded man]]
[[Photo Credit - ARAB INFORMATION OFFICE]]
[[caption]] A native of Saudi Arabia[[/caption]

We do not contend that the untouchables were the only people in India who welcomed Islam as a remedy of their ills and adopted this Faith. What we wish to emphasize here is the fact that they constituted an overwhelming majority of converts year after year, and they had turned to Islam in the belief that it was a religion "especially meant for them."

The advent of Islam in Africa, where dark-skinned people outnumber the whites by 41 to 1, can be compared, in a way, to that in the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent. While thousands upon thousands of well-to-do Africans have joined the fold of Islam in all parts of the Continent in recent history, the "average-type" natives


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have always comprised the largest proportion of converts in any year or century. Why? The common African finds in Arab missionaries his true brethren, and in their message a hope that never existed in the teachings of other religions introduced there by European missionaries: of peace, progress and enlightenment for all Africa. They trust the Moslem Arabs, because they are convinced that they are not after the (Africa)) natives' land and property. They know that the missionaries of Islam cannot be the political agents of any imperialistic powers, nay, they come to them as bearers of glad tidings and goodwill and love. Besides, Africans find in the practices of Islam an inner satisfaction and contentment of mind their pagan ways or Christianity never provided them.

In other words, they too, like the converts to Islam in India, find that Islam is to them a means of great spiritual gain and moral uplift and of unlimited progress on this earth and of Salvation in the Hereafter. In fact, once they turn Moslem, many of their traditional characteristics simply disappear-today the Algerian, Moroccan, Tunisian, Nigerian and Ethiopian Moslems are proud of their Islam even more than they are of their "nationality." We do not exaggerate when we say that in many areas of Moslem Africa, the natives are known only as "Moslems" and not by their ethnic or tribal names.

A visitor to such all-Moslem states as Turkey and Afghanistan will find that even there Islam and "nationality" have become completely synonymous. The citizens of Turkey love to refer to Islam as "the Turkish religion" and the proud Afghans always think of themselves as "the brave sons and warriors of Islam."

Thus it can be said that Islam is a Turkish - Afghan - Pakistani - Iranian - Indonesia - Jordanian - African religion as well as that of other Moslem nations.

And now we return to the question of Islam being a so-called "Negro" religion:

There are approximately seventeen million people of African descent in the United States of America whom non-Moslems generally refer to as "Negros." Today in the second half of the Twentieth Century, the Message of Islam is being offered to them as a means through which they would be able to develop their capacities and potential to an extent hitherto never reached by them. And before they give Islam a place in their hearts, they want to be reassured of the "natural relationship between them and Islam" which is claimed by certain Moslem leaders in America. "Is Islam ours or isn't it?" they ask.

"Be not afraid of Islam," we wish to tell our friends who seek the knowledge of its great Message, "for Islam is the religion of your Creator (Allah) Himself, as it is also of Abraham and of Abraham's children."
As for Islam being your religion, dear friends, of course it is! It is your religion because it is professed by your own kith and kin in Africa. Islam has often been described as a "Faith best suited to the needs of African;" so it must best suit your needs too! Indeed Islam is meant to do you immense good.

You should, in fact, give thanks to Almighty Allah, whose Mercy has now come to you in the form of the teachings

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