Islamic teachings began to spread in Southeast Asia from around the thirteenth century. Islam teaches the oneness of God (known to Muslims as Allah), who has revealed his message through a succession of prophets and finally through Muhammad (ca. 570-632 CE). The basic teachings of Islam are contained in the Qur’an (Koran), the revelation of Allah’s will to Muhammad, and in the hadith, reports of Muhammad’s statements or deeds. There are several specific requirements of a Muslim, which are known as the “Five Pillars”. These are: 1) the confession of faith. “I testify that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his Prophet”; 2) prayers five times a day, at daybreak, noon, afternoon, after sunset and early evening; 3) fasting between sunrise and sunset in the month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the lunar year; 4) pilgrimage to Mecca (in modern Saudi Arabia), or hajj, at least once in a lifetime if possible; and 5) payment of ¼º of income as alms, in addition to voluntary donations. There are no priests in Islam, but there are many learned teachers, known as ‘ulama, who interpret Islamic teachings according to the writings and commentaries of scholars in the past, and the teachings of the four schools of law practiced within the majority Sunni tradition. Sunni Muslims, who comprise about 85 percent of all Muslims, recognize the leadership of the first four Caliphs and do not attribute any special religious or political position to descendants of the Prophet’s son-in-law Ali