The Influence of Animism on Islam

One must begin here if one wishes to understand Islam. The student of Islam will never understand the common people unless he learns their curious beliefs and semi-heathen practices. The missionary should not only know these things but also sympathize with the people. By avoiding contempt or condemnation, he will even find points of contact in "Animistic Islam" that may lead discussions directly to the Cross and the Atonement Cross and Atonement: References to central Christian doctrines concerning the crucifixion of Jesus and his role in reconciling humanity with God.. In popular Islam, we are dealing with men and women who are groping for the light and struggling in the mud for a firm foothold on the Rock The Rock: A common biblical metaphor for God or a solid foundation of faith.. This book may help us reach out to them in the dark. As we read these pages, we must not forget that even in Egypt and India, over 94 percent of the Muslim population is illiterate and, therefore, has no other religion than this popular, folk-influenced Islam.