General Info

What causes a unique brand of Islam to develop in Africa?

What causes a unique brand of Islam to develop in Africa?

According to Arab oral tradition, Islam first came to Africa with Muslim refugees fleeing persecution in the Arab peninsula. Gaining power depended on securing trade routes into gold-producing areas in Sub-Saharan Africa. Islamic rulers expanded north as well as south.

How did Islam affect the development of African civilization?

Islam brought laws and stability to all parts of life for Africans, but took away many women’s rights because Africa was previously a matriarchal society. Mosques, schools, and libraries were built. The societies of Africa had been mostly polytheistic or animist, but when Islam was introduced, many became monotheistic.

How did Islam impact West Africa?

Islam promoted trade between West Africa and the Mediterranean. The religion developed and widened the trans-Saharan Caravan trade. The trade enriched the West African and the Muslim traders. Muslims from North Africa came in their numbers and settled in the commercial centres.

What caused Islam to develop?

The expansion of the Arab Empire in the years following the Prophet Muhammad’s death led to the creation of caliphates occupying a vast geographical area. Conversion to Islam was boosted by missionary activities, particularly those of Imams, who easily intermingled with local populace to propagate religious teachings.

How did Islam make its presence in Africa?

Islam made its presence felt in much of Africa (the East coast and Horn of Africa as well as West Africa) mainly through trade and migration. In West Africa, for instance, Islam was introduced from North Africa by the Berbers through the trans-Saharan trade as early as the ninth century.

What kind of trade did Muslims do in Africa?

For the most part, the Saharan trade, except for the period when Europeans traded for slaves and gold, remained exclusively a Muslim trade as late as the seventeenth century. On the other hand, during this time, Christians controlled the maritime trade of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

Who was the first Muslim ruler in Africa?

The Portal into West Africa. A marginal Muslim, Sundiata expanded the empire, increased production from the alluvial gold fields, developed the military, and claimed to be a liaison with the spirit world. Just decades later, under Mansa Musa, Mali became the first African Muslim state, with Islam as the state religion.

Where did the spread of Islam take place?

Trade and the Spread of Islam in Africa. Between the eighth and ninth centuries, Arab traders and travelers, then African clerics, began to spread the religion along the eastern coast of Africa and to the western and central Sudan (literally, “Land of Black people”), stimulating the development of urban communities.

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