World Religions

Introduction to World Religions Study Guide East, non-Arab countries, such as Turkey and Iran, are the largest Muslim countries. In Africa, Egypt and Nigeria have the most populous Muslim communities. Culture The term “Islamic culture” refers to the dress codes, festivals, and religion. To the Muslim people, it means the early culture of the caliphates. Cale dar The formal beginning was chosen to be the Hijra in 622 CE, which was the turning point in Muhammad’s fortunes. The assignment of this year is 1 AH (Anno Hegjrae) and the calendar was made by Caliph Umar. It is a lunar calendar, with days lasting from sunset to sunset. The Islamic holy days fall on fixed dates of the lunar calendar, which means they occur in different seasons in different years than in the Gregorian calendar. The most important Islamic festivals are Eid al-fitr on the 1 st of Shawwal, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan . Eid al-Adha is on the 10 th of Dhu al-hijja , which coincides with the pilgrimage to Mecca.

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