Islam in 1958
My sister was cleaning out her closets and found and sent to me an old Life book, The World’s Great Religions (Special Edition for Young Readers), published in 1958. The section on “Customs and Sections in Islam” makes for some interesting reading:
Today, most Moslems can afford only one wife and family. Many daughters are being educated, some even for professions. Wives are more and more being allowed to come out into the world, since many liberal Moslems recognize that handicaps on women are a prime reason for the long stagnancy of Islamic life.
There are many other signs that Islam is now entering upon a new period of life and growth. In almost every nation across the Islamic world, Moslems are re-emphasizing their faith in various ways — politically, spiritually and culturally. Islam is adjusting to the forces of the modern world. Many leading Moslems argue that Islam should make every effort to revise its society from within and meet other civilizations on terms of equality and independence.
One example is a new Moslem emphasis on missions. The Ahmadiyya sect has an active missionary program [referencing a photograph]. Islam is spreading rapidly in Africa.
