Islam is the largest and majority religion in

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

. Based on the 2015 Pew Research Center research, 78% of Sierra Leone's population is Muslim. The vast majority of Sierra Leonean Muslims are adherent to the Sunni Islam.

Composition and practice

There are 16 ethnic groups in Sierra Leone, the two largest being the Temne and Mende are both Muslim majority. Ten of Sierra Leone's sixteen ethnic groups are Muslim majority. The vast majority of Sierra Leonean Muslims are Sunni of the

Maliki school The ( ar, مَالِكِي) school is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. It was founded by Malik ibn Anas in the 8th century. The Maliki school of jurisprudence relies on the Quran and hadiths as primary ...

of Jurisprudence.

History

In the early 18th century

Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...

and Mande-speaking tribesmen from the

Fouta Djallon Fouta Djallon ( ff, 𞤊𞤵𞥅𞤼𞤢 𞤔𞤢𞤤𞤮𞥅, Fuuta Jaloo; ar, فوتا جالون) is a highland region in the center of Guinea, roughly corresponding with Middle Guinea, in West Africa. Etymology The Fulani people call the ...

region of present-day Guinea converted many Temne of northern

to Islam. During the period of Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate, British rule, attempts to spread Christianity were mostly ineffective. Islam continued to spread after independence in 1961; in 1960 the Muslim population was 35 percent and grew to 60 percent by 2000, and then to 71% in 2008. It is difficult for people from Sierra Leone to travel to Mecca for the Hajj, the fifth pillar of Islam, due to the distance between the two places and the cost of travel being beyond the means of most Sierra Leoneans. The 2014-2016 Ebola crisis worsened the situation by making it impossible for Sierra Leoneans to obtain Visas to Saudi Arabia. The recent

Sierra Leone Civil War The Sierra Leone Civil War (1991–2002), or the Sierra Leonean Civil War, was a civil war in Sierra Leone that began on 23 March 1991 when the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), with support from the special forces of Liberian dictator Char ...

was secular in nature featuring members of Christian, Muslim, and Tribal faiths fighting on both sides of the conflict.

Composition and practice

History

See also