Western africa western africa the islamic revolution in the western sudan. The factors responsible for the spread of islam in west africa proceedings of 72nd the ires international conference, mecca, saudi arabia, 23rd24th june 2017 64 presence of muslims long ago. Islam reached the savannah region in the 8th century c. In doing so, it discusses the influence of the berbers and the transsaharan caravan trade of the saharan region. At first, muslim traders and merchants lived side by side with the nonmuslims of west africa. Rather than dwell upon problems of representing cultural and religious factors, this paper takes it for granted that cultural narratives are 1 significant, and 2 pluralistic. Spread of islam in africa javad haghnavaz department of islamic thoughts faculty, jolfa branch, islamic azad university, jolfa, iran abstract. Different societies in africa have generally appropriated islam in both more inclusive ways, or in the more radical ways, as with the almoravid movement in the maghreb and sahara.
Containment, mixing, and reform from the eighth to the twentieth century. Along which latitude lines are the deserts in africa located. This wealthy king of mali spread islam throughout northern and western africa. Islam enjoys a dominant presence in states situated in west africa, north africa, the swahili coast, and the horn of africa. Quiz on africa trade, resources, major kingdoms, and leaders. Colonialism brought europe and the west to asia and africa. Following asia, including the middle east, africa has the largest number of muslims in the world. Most orders in west africa emphasize the role of a spiritual guide, marabout or possessing supernatural power, regarded as an africanization of islam. Spread of islam in west africa all parts the religion of. A map of religions in africa shows that while christianity dominates the southern part of the continent, islam has. The first west africans to be converted were the inhabitants of the sahara, the berbers, and it is generally agreed that by the second half of the tenth century, the sahara had. Islam in africa is often adapted to local cultural contexts and belief systems, thereby forming the continents own orthodoxies.
The islamic revolutions of west africa on the frontiers. In what ways did the spread of islam affect west african culture and society. Immigration, islam and the west the express tribune. Since the religion was introduced to the continent in the 7th century, it has spread extensively and the continent today is home to nearly onethird of the muslim population in the world. Islam has a large presence in north africa, west africa, the horn of africa, the southeast and among the minority but significant immigrant population in south africa. A map of religions in africa shows that while christianity dominates the southern part of the continent, islam has majority control of the north and center. According to the political spreading of islam by the. The moroccan occupation of the niger bend in 1591 meant that the domination of the western sudan by mande or mandeinspired empiresghana, mali, songhaiwhich had persisted for at least five centuries, was at last ended. West african jihadist movements in the light of history executive. Article is composed of three parts, which 1how islam spread into subsaharan region of west africa, and the great civilizations it established there, taking its inhabitants out of paganism to the worship of one god. Diversity and tolerance in the islam of west africa aodl. The most important connection that islam made globally was the establishment of. Spreading of islam without any violence in central, east.
Islam is one of the most popular religions in africa. The cultural economic and political impact of islam on. Almost onethird of the worlds muslim population resides today in the continent. From immigration to global islam jocelyne cesari the immigration of muslims to europe, north america, and australia and the complex socioreligious dynamics that have subsequently developed have made islam in the west a compelling new. Islam, the quran, and the five pillars all without a flamewar. A summary of this can also be downloaded in pdf format.
Islam arrived in subsaharan west africa as early as the 8th century, travelling with arab traders from north africa. First, islam spread into the regions west of the niger bend senegambia, mali, then into chad region and finally into hausaland. The famous scholar ibn munabbah wrote as early as 738 c. We discuss intellectual history, the curricula of madrasas and a day in the life of a 16thcentury student in sankore. Make sure you write down the fact number you got it from. Introduction of christianity and islam into african traditional society have slighted. Islam spread to west africa through trade between arabberbers and west african empires over land, and came to the east through trade between arabia and the swahili coast over water. Impact of islam on west africa islam impacted west africa in many ways.
Western africa the islamic revolution in the western sudan. The first group arrived in the year 698 fleeing the persecution of the omayyad governor of iraq, hajjaj ibn yusuf. Islam reaches west africa, and a history of the islamic empire of ghana. The united nations defines western africa as the 16 countries of benin, burkina faso, cape verde, the gambia, ghana, guinea, guineabissau, ivory coast, liberia, mali, mauritania, niger, nigeria, senegal, sierra leone and togo, as well as the united kingdom overseas territory of saint helena, ascension and tristan da cunha. Trade and commerce paved the way for the introduction of. Africa gave the islamic world its first muezzin, bilal ibn rabah. While the presence of islam in west africa dates back to eighth century, the spread of the faith in regions that are now the modern states of senegal, gambia, guinea, burkina faso, niger, mali and nigeria, was in actuality, a gradual and complex process.
Green they wanted to bring islam to west africa too, but knew it would be hard to cross the sahara desert islam first reached ghana through muslim traders and missionaries people. Islam in subsaharan african contexts the web site cannot be found. It was home to its greatest historian, ibn khaldun and the birthplace of its bestknown traveler, ibn batuta. It changed the peoples views of their rulers, and in some people, even the way they viewed the world. Diversity and tolerance in the islam of west africa. Islam and the west as john indicated, this is a sort of homecoming, and in respect to this particular topic, it is more than that, because five years ago ljubo and lisl invited me to give a talk at this conference, while it was still at lake bled, on the subject of the roots of islamist ideology. Sep 21, 2017 islam enjoys a dominant presence in states situated in west africa, north africa, the swahili coast, and the horn of africa. West african rulers gain political protection from arabs and economic power, rich, tolerant culture developed quran study, timbuktu, traders attend. Diversity and tolerance in the islam of west africa explores these traditions through carefully crafted galleries of audio and video interviews, transcripts, photographs, maps, documents, and multimedia presentations. This lesson explains the gradual spread of islam into west africa. At its height in the sixteenth century, the muslim songhai empire stretched from the atlantic to the land of the hausa and was a major player in the transsaharan trade. Along the coast of africa islam spread among the berbers, who joined the muslim community and almost immediately drove north across the mediterranean into europe. Almost onethird of the worlds muslim population resides in this continent. The islamic revolutions of west africa on the frontiers of.
Mecca holiest city in the religion of islam, muslims must make a hajj to this city, birthplace of mohammed 14. Islam in east africa 77 shfites being in zailia on the ethiopian coast. Presented in six galleries of audio and video interviews, transcripts, photographs, maps, documents, and multimedia presentations, these resources shed muchneeded light on how muslims in west africa accept religious difference and create productive interactions among christians, muslims, and practitioners of other faiths. If you then look at the muslim north, the territories above 25 degrees north latitude, you find north africa, egypt, the middle east except for southern arabia, northern india, afghanistan, central asia, and turkey. But by 1498 when vasco da gama visited the coastal towns, muslims had become the privileged class. How islam spread into subsaharan region of west africa, and the great civilizations it established there, taking its inhabitants out of paganism to the worship of one god. The spread of islam in west africa after the berbers islamisation, the religion spread into the western sudan from the closing decades of the tenth century. It contains a lot of brief, yet informative articles.
While the presence of islam in west africa dates back to eighth century, the spread of the faith in regions that are now the. Almost onethird of the worlds muslim population resides in the continent. Spread of islam in west africa all parts the religion. Islams presence in african history islams presence in african history dates back to the first phase of the prophet muhammads mission, when in 615 a. Islam and west african indigenous religion west africa maybe taken as the country stretching from senegal in the west, to the cameroons in the east.
Sep 21, 2017 however, christianity in most of the areas of north africa was wiped out with the advent of islam. West africa and sudan have various sufi orders regarded skeptically by the more doctrinally strict branches of islam in the middle east. Islam has gained more converts in africa than has christianity, which labors under the burden of identification with european imperialism. The cultural economic and political impact of islam on west. While this was a shortlived encounter, muslims eventually left a. If you follow that line of latitude around the globe, you will find that at least half of the muslims in the world live in the muslim south, which includes bangladesh, indonesia, the philippines, west africa, east africa, sudan, and ethiopia. Introduction of islam in africa contributed by prof. The songhai kings were pushed southeast into their original homeland of dendi, farther down. The histom1 ofls1am il1 africa ohio university press.
As for the political aspect many islamic states rose and fell, in the time period of and 1750 c. Mediterranean climate zone very top of africa adjacent to the mediterranean sea. Trade and geography in the economic origins and spread of islam. List of books and articles about islam in africa online. He made a famous pilgrimage to mecca spreading islam and established trade routes to the middle east. The medieval world, this video explains how life changed in west africa once islam was introduced. Islam in africa has to varying degrees incorporated tribal and preislamic practices, and the muslims of africa have accepted claims of several selfproclaimed mahdis. The spread of islam in africa began in the 7th and 8th cent. The western part of ssa the west african sahel, historically often called the western and central sudan is at the frontiers of the dar alislam in at least 3 ways. Africa was the first continent, outside of arabia that islam spread into in the early 7th century. In 12, a new leader, mansa musa, took over in mali. The spread of islam in west africa linkedin slideshare.
Under mansa musa s rule, mali became a major crossroads of the islamic world. Muslim north, the territories above 25 degrees north latitude. Answer the following questions using the facts that are found all over the room. Other aspects stayed the same, like the beliefs of the pagan people and how they lived. The european contribution to the spread of christianity in subsaharan africa the portuguese attempted to introduce a catholicinfluenced form of christianity between the 16th and 18th centuries in the kongo kingdom, but it did not last for long. Muslims crossed current djibouti and somalia to seek refuge in presentday eritrea and ethiopia during the hijrah arabic. Sep 19, 20 impact of islam on west africa islam impacted west africa in many ways. In this interview, we explore the early history of islam in west africa with professor ousmane kane, who has mapped out the networks of islamic learning in the region. Nazeer ahmed, phd africa, alone among the continents, has a majority muslim population. He became the first west african ruler to practice islam devoutly. Margari hill, stanford university january 2009 available in pdf format 1. Legacies of colonialism and islam for hausa women center for. Bringing together two dozen leading scholars, this comprehensive work treats the.
Operational information on the west africa subregion is presented below. West african civilization continues to advance, and other kingdoms have appeared beside ghana, notably songhai and mali. Here is a look at islam in a few west african countries. Africa was the first continent into which islam spread from southwest asia, during the early 7th century ce. In conclusion, islam impacted west africa greatly by increasing trade, and blending its culture with west african culture. Trade and commerce paved the way for the introduction of new. These questions are not in order, so you will have to read carefully. The spread of islam in west africa ha transsaharan trade brought islam to west africa in the 8th century. Aug 22, 2017 in this interview, we explore the early history of islam in west africa with professor ousmane kane, who has mapped out the networks of islamic learning in the region. For the first time in a single volume, the history of islam in africa presents a detailed historic mapping of the cultural, political, geographic, and religious past of this significant presence on a continentwide scale. Certificate examination wassce history paper 1, west africa and the wider world from. Feb 05, 2015 islam, the quran, and the five pillars all without a flamewar.
Indonesia, the philippines, west africa, east africa, sudan, and ethiopia. Islam has had a lasting impact on africa, affecting its languages, architecture, and culture. The western part of ssa the west african sahel, historically often called the western and central sudan is at the frontiers of the dar al islam in at least 3 ways. The history of the islamic faith on the continent of africa spans fourteen centuries. The great mosque of djenne is an islamic landmark in mali. Over time, however, islam played a growing role in west african society. Focusing on the west african countries of ghana and senegal, these rich resources shed muchneeded light on how muslims in west. Because islam spread to west africa from north africa, muslims there fol lowed the maliki school of law dominant in north africa. But it reemerged in late 18 thand 19 centuries in subsaharan west africa as jihads were launched against lessthenfullymuslim states justifying themselves much as the almoravids had centuries earlier. They were the first negro people who accepted islam. History textbook west african senior school certificate.
Furthermore, contrary to the conventional belief that a predominantly oral culture has always existed in africa, a rich literate culture thrived among africans historically going back as far as a millennium. Jun 28, 2012 here is a look at islam in a few west african countries. Islam is also now spreading across the sahara desert into west africa, carried by merchants and missionaries, although at his date the great bulk of the population remain pagans. Islam was introduced into east africa as early as the 7 th century by successive waves of refugees from arabia. The origin and growth of islam on the african continent. This website is for people of various faiths who seek to understand islam and muslims.
As for the political aspect many islamic states rose and. The political systems in the west, as well as the islamic world, are in a state of flux. West africa or western africa is the westernmost region of africa. Transsaharan trade brought islam to west africa between 639708 c. A people, language, kingdom, and empire in western sudan in west africa that was founded by sunni ali. It was estimated in 2002 that muslims constitute 45% of the population of africa. You will find often west african manual workers, laborers and farm workers chewing kola as they go. On the other hand, in east africa, where islam came from the arabian peninsula, muslims followed the shafli school of law that prevailed in arabia. Muslim merchants, traders, and scholars from egypt and north africa came to mali to do business or to settle. The salman rushdie affair, hijab controversies, the attacks on the. Shortly thereafter, a second group arrived, led by the kharijites sulayman and saeed, whose revolt against the caliph. These conquests continued from east to west resulting in the development of islam from the west of china to all of north africa, even including andalusia, towards the end of the 8th century.