Underpants+Gnomes~+North

1. What is the Quran? The Quran is one of the main sources of the Islamic law. It is also the basic teachings of Islam. They believe it contains the word of god. They also believed that Muhammad revealed it to them during the month of Ramadan. The law is based on the words and actions of Muhammad, and on comments by Muslim scholars and law makers. They believed that Muhammad was a prophet and the messenger of Islam. Muslims agreed that the Egyptian laws should be based on the Quran. But in 1978 Egypt’s government studied the laws of Egypt and found out that most laws were in agreement with the Quran.
 * North Africa**

Vocab: 1) Fast- a period when people go without food   2) Muslim- a follower of the religion of Islam 3) Quran- the sacred book of the Muslims 4) Fellaheen- Egypt’s rural farmers 5) Bazaars- a traditional open-air market

This is a picture of the Quran. I chose this because the Quran is important to the Islam faith. I got this picture from    http://www.dhikrullah.com/images/quran/quran%20light.jpg

 2. What is the major religion of North Africa?

The major religion of North Africa is Islam. There are a couple ethnic groups in North Africa that are Muslims, one ethnic group which is the largest in North Africa are the Arabs. Another ethnic group are the Berbers who mostly live in Algeria and Morocco. In Islam every Muslim has to do the five pillars of Islam. One pillar is Declaration of Faith ,which is when you have to declare that there is only one God and Muhammad is God's final messenger. The second pillar is Prayer, which means you have to pray five times a day. The third pillar is Almsgiving, Which is giving a portion of one's salary to the poor. The fourth pillar is Fasting, which is when you don't eat/drink from dawn to dusk for a month. the last pillar of Islam is Pilgrimage, which is when someone travels to Mecca in Saudi Arabia to do prayers and rituals for three days. But if a person is poor or is sick they do not need to do some of the pillars.

I chose this picture because this is one of the most important pillar of Islam.
 * [[image:Kabba.jpg caption="I found this picture at http://www.m3mary.com/white_pages/Kabba.jpg"]] ||
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Vocab; Ethnic group-Is a group of people who share the same language, religion, and other cultural traditions.

Works Cited: __QuickRob__. 2 Mar. 2008 <[|http://http://www.quickrob.com/political/Cartoons/] Muhammed_Persian_Icon.jpg>. World Explorer. "Islam in Egypt." __Eastern Hemistphere.__ World Explorer."Teachings and Practices." __Eastern Hemisphere__. World Explorer."An Islamic Renewal." __Eastern Hemisphere__.

3. How is North Africa preserving Muslim culture? One of the influences on North Africa is Western culture. Muslims are concerned that countries are becoming too Western. People are wearing western clothes, buying western products, seeing Western films, and adapting to their ideas. Muslims fear that they will lose Muslim values and traditions. They want to preserve their culture. In Africa, people face the problem of how to preserve their culture. Vocab: Cultural diffusion- The movement of customs and ideas. Desertification- The process to make and arid land a desert. Sahara- The biggest desert in the world located mostly in North Africa. Nile- Longest river in the world located in Egypt which is in North Africa. This picture was found at http://www.answers.com/topic/north-africa I picked this picture because it shows how big North Africa is. Facts found at World Explorer. “Preserving Muslim Culture” __Eastern Hemisphere.__