Os textos desta secção refletem as opiniões e análises dos/as autores/as
Understanding Islamism in few lines
When I present myself to strangers and assume that I am a Muslim, one of the questions that comes up is the following:
– “Are you from the religion of terrorists, those who place bombs?”
I promptly ask:
-“what???…”
And I begin to explain, saying:
“This is not what you are talking about and what you are thinking. Islam is a monotheistic religion, its foundations are based on the existence of a single God (Allah) and on the teachings of the last prophet and messenger Muhammad (Mohamad Sallallahu Aleihi WassAllam). Religion has several principles, among which, voluntary submission to God (Allah), respect for others, fulfilment of the five pillars that are: Faith -Chahada- (pray and accept the creed); Prayer -Saláh- (pray five times throughout the day towards Mecca); Fasting -Ramadan- (deprivation of food, drink, sexual intercourse and other deprivation during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar); Charity -Zakat- (donating money or other goods to the most needy); and Pilgrimage -Hajj- (make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in your life, if you have physical conditions). Whoever professes the Islamic religion is called Muslim (Muslim) and the holy book is Quran (Alcurân). ”
After this explanation, I make it clear that one thing is religion, another thing is fundamentalists who seek to terrorize and kill people, and nothing can compare to the principles that keep Islam standing today, because Islam does not encourage actions that call into question someone else’s life.
(Cook, Sociologist and Poet)
Throughout the African Diaspora, mainly in Brazil, Cuba and Haiti, were created spaces for the preservation and maintenance of spirituality with the main purpose of reconnecting the individual to the Mother Earth (Africa) and keeping the cultural identity and its history alive. In Brazil, these spaces are popularly known as Terreiros de Candomblé – the word would be a phonetic modification of “Candonbé”, a type of atabaque used by Angolans. African-based religions preserve the memory and identity of the ancient African Kingdoms; their descendants were forced to strip themselves of that identity in order to satisfy the Western system. The maintenance of this legacy is still the target of persecution, attacks and death, with a real war for the right to freedom of worship. Education, in its most varied aspects, becomes indispensable to, through knowledge, provide a society that respects religious diversity and exalts its importance for humanity.
