One of the themes I have noticed throughout this unit are the similarities between Islam and Christianity. This is especially true with the Five Pillars in today’s reading. I found a variety of parallels between these and many of the rules in my religion, Catholicism.
The first pillar, Shahadah, is declaring a belief in Allah. We do something similar when saying the creed during mass, when we reaffirm our belief in God. Salah is the second pillar, which involves prayer. While ours is less regulated, we are still expected to say prayers and the rosary, which is more structured. The third pillar is Sawm, or fasting during Ramadan. I would say the Catholic equivalent is Lent, or the 40 days leading up to Jesus’ resurrection. During this time, we cannot eat red meat on Fridays and we fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. The fourth pillar is Zakah, the charity tax. During mass each week, the offertory basket is passed around for donations, and once a year each Diocese conducts a Diocesan appeal, where Catholics are encouraged to make a donation. The final pillar is Hajj, or the great pilgrimage. While this is the biggest stretch, Catholics are encouraged to attend church each week. Overall, there are more similarities between the two religions that one would think.