Over the next few hundred years, islam spread among west africans. Islam is more that beliefs and rituals, it provides a holistic way of life and civilization. Several important early empires developed in west africa, such as ghana. Find out more about describe and analyze the cultural economic and political impact. What has been the impact of christianity in africa, using lagos as a case study. Spread of islam in west africa islam reached the savannah region in the 8th century c. The continuity of the beliefs of the pagan people also helped islam spread, and kept most of the empire in order.
Here are some of the impacts that islam left in west africa. This has tremendous impact on human relations in view of the resurgence of religion and its growing role in both public and private life. Impact of islam on west africa islam impacted west africa in many ways. The history of islam in west africa can be explained in three stages, containment, mixing, and reform. Muslims crossed the sahara and traded salts, horses, dates, and. I shall start by first examining the key words in the title of this article, and by briefly discussing the phenomenal growth of. 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. Social cultural economic islam allowed longdistance traders to obtain various tools such as contract law, credit, and information networks, furthering the economic integration of west africa into the world market. Over time, however, islam played a growing role in west african society. Doc impact of islam in western africa prior to 1500 a. Influence of islam in west africa flashcards quizlet. 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.
Mar 03, 20 islam s spread from ad to 1750 ad impacted africa socially, culturally, and politically by instituting the slave trade, creating a rise in education, and adding muslim leaders to west africa s history. It was not until the middle ages that islam really began to flourish with the conversion of some of west africas most powerful rulers. African religion and its influence on christianity and. Only the narrow stretch of the red sea separates the arabian peninsula from north africa, and islam reached africa quickly after the birth of islam in a. The influence of islam on west africa medieval africa. Unlike christianity, islam is not a just a religion or a mass of doctrines or beliefs and rituals, but rather a complete way of life or civilization. Ihc impact of islam on the individual lives of people and, in this case, on the hves. Islam had a great impact on the people and states of western sudan and for that matter west africa in general. The most important connection that islam made globally was the establishment of. The medieval world, this video explains how life changed in west africa once islam was introduced. Th e report then zooms in on east africa, where the three religious families of traditional religion, islam and christianity are all present in large numbers. Subsaharan africa now is home to about oneinfive of all the christians in the world 21% and more than oneinseven of the worlds muslims 15%.
How did the arrival affect of islam west africa economically. During the 7th century, the religion of islam spread quickly through the middle east and north africa. Musa, whose fame spread to sudan, north africa and up to. The changes islam made in the views of the west africans helped them get through rough times, and unified them. As for the impact, im east african so i only know of the specific impacts the religion has had on my culture islam. Oct 25, 2009 islam has been in east africa since the lifetime of prophet mohamed pbuh, while islam s arrival to west africa is relatively recent. Africa was the first continent into which islam spread from southwest asia, during the early 7th century ce. Pdf islam and west african anthropology researchgate. The king had so much authority that once he converted to islam, he ordered all the idols to be broken down in his kingdom. An example of this is the west african king al musulmani. I believe you will have to look at the history of the continent of africa itself. The impact of african traditional religious beliefs and. Example essay on political impact of islam on west africa will inspire you.
Many theories might explain why africa has been the poorest continent despite its many valuable resources and vast amount of land. The impact of the expansion of islam in north and west africa essays the islamization of africa started around the seventh century with the military conquests in egypt led by arabic armies and spread over the western part of the continent during the next five hundred years, reaching morocco. Between and 1700, islam caused west africa to experience an increase in trade and economic activity, the rise and fall of several islamic states and empires, and provided new practices to be blended with the traditional african culture. As islam spread across the arabian peninsula and later across north africa and the middle east, it had an aggregating effect.
Islam in subsaharan africa islam entered africa within decades of its inception in the seventh century ce. Spread of islam in africa javad haghnavaz department of islamic thoughts faculty, jolfa branch, islamic azad university, jolfa, iran abstract. The impact of islam on christianity political islam. Cultural economic and political impact on islam on west. The spread of islam in west africa definitely has a huge impact on the people on countries there.
The history of islam in africa ohio university press. In doing so, it discusses the influence of the berbers and the transsaharan. At first, muslim traders and merchants lived side by side with the nonmuslims of west africa. Cultural economic and political impact on islam on west africa. Culture of west africa geography and climate west africa includes the western part of the maghreb western sahara, morocco, algeria and tunisia, occupies an area of more than 6. Muslims crossed current djibouti and somalia to seek refuge in presentday eritrea and ethiopia during the hijrah arabic. University of south africa, pretoria, south africa abstract the aim of this article is to describe the impact of christianity on subsaharan africa. From egypt, islamic influence extended in three directions, through the red. 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. It changed the peoples views of their rulers, and in some people, even the way they viewed the world. Traders bring islam to ghana between the years 639 and 708 c.
Every muslim should read quran and remember the parts. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. In north africa its spread was related to the empirebuilding process which took islam to morocco and spain in the far west and to india in the east whereas in the rest of africa its diffusion followed a different path. In this thesis, i mean to test my theory that western influence has had a major impact on economic development and the progress of democracy in africa. Email citation this text by a notable scholar of both christianity and islam concentrates on the religious dimensions of west african christianity and the roles of both missionaries and africans in its spread and development. The occupants of these areas had been nomadic tribes for a very long time. Id like to talk to you about the effects of islam upon christianity.
Spread of islam in west africa all parts the religion. Islam has been in east africa since the lifetime of prophet mohamed pbuh, while islams arrival to west africa is relatively recent. The influence of islamic values and ideas on indigenous african. This website is for people of various faiths who seek to understand islam and muslims. Africa was the first continent, that islam spread into out of arabia in the early seventh century.
The impact of the expansion of islam in north and west africa. Effects of islam on west africa by dark form on prezi. This website hosts a textbook aimed at west african students taking west african senior school certificate examination wassce history paper 1, west africa and the wider world from earliest times to 2000. Compare and contrast the impact of islam in west and east.
Almost onethird of the worlds muslim population resides in the continent. What has been the impact of christianity in africa. History textbook west african senior school certificate. Islam has had a lasting impact on africa, affecting its languages, architecture, and culture. A critical and appreciative perspective 3 these questions, we will first seek to develop a better grasp of religion as a major constituent of the worldview of african people. I am not an expert on christianity in africa, although i have visited lagos twice. Religions of africa 1985 that one of the most fascinating aspects of our history is the richness and varieties of its religious traditions. Islams spread from ad to 1750 ad impacted africa socially, culturally, and politically by instituting the slave trade, creating a rise in education, and adding muslim leaders to west africas history. Rather than looking at the faith as an insular african phenomenon, this piece examines the links between africans and the wider. In west africa, the three great medieval empires of ghana, mali, and the songhay developed in sahel. Boko haram and the islamic states west africa province boko haram emerged in the early 2000s as a small sunni islamic sect in nigeria advocating a strict interpretation and implementation of islamic law, and has evolved since 2009 to become one of the worlds deadliest terrorist groups.
It was not until the middle ages that islam really began to flourish with the conversion of some of west. The weight of authority seems to be that islam probably crossed the sahara about the 11th century, a. General history of africa unesco journal of pan african. The nickname boko haram was given by local communities to. Brief origin of islam in west africa the history of islam in west africa is more than inter. Northcentral and west africa, this paper seeks to show that christianity has been in africa virtually since its inception and that the.
African religion and its influence on christianity and islam. Islam in africa is often adapted to local cultural contexts and belief systems, thereby forming the continents own orthodoxies. Almost onethird of the worlds muslim population resides today in the. Islam reaches west africa, and a history of the islamic empire of ghana. This paper was submitted to my ancient and precolonial africa class at carleton university ottawa, canada on november 26, 2012. Consequently, egypt was the first country to come under islamic influence and provided the arabs with an important gateway into the rest of africa. Because islam spread to west africa from north africa, muslims there fol lowed the maliki school of law dominant in north africa. Furthermore, contrary to the conventional belief that a predominantly oral culture has always existed in africa, a rich literate culture thrived among africans historically.
The impact of the expansion of islam in north and west. Remember, although tribes or regions may share the same. Transsaharan trade brought islam to west africa in the 8th century. Sea to the eastern coastal areas, up the nile valley to the sudan, and across the west. While the presence of islam in west africa dates back to eighth century, the.
It contains a lot of brief, yet informative articles about different aspects of islam. Islam reached the savannah region in the 8th century c. Sep 19, 20 impact of islam on west africa islam impacted west africa in many ways. African christianity african studies oxford bibliographies. A section on politics explores the framework for the impact of islam, and a final section, on mimesis, discusses some cultural processes still at. African religion and its influence on christianity and islam traditional african religion has been the basis of spirituality for the people of africa. E islam increased west african economics by increasing trade. This is a subject that if you go to a seminary or any other school, you wont be taught anything about, but it turns out that islam has shaped christianity in ways that very few people suspect or know. They were polytheistic and reaped all the political problems associated with polytheism. This text by a notable scholar of both christianity and islam concentrates on the religious dimensions of west african christianity and the roles of both missionaries and africans in. The book first places africa in the context of world history at the opening of the seventh century before examining the general impact of islamic penetration. Margari hill, stanford university january 2009 available in pdf format 1.
Africa was the first continent, outside of arabia that islam spread into in the early 7th century. 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. 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. Despite all of these changes, west africa maintained some continuity as well. Spread of islam in west africa all parts the religion of. The histom1 ofls1am il1 africa ohio university press. In west africa they built huge libraries with lots of books. This lesson explains the gradual spread of islam into west africa. Despite all of these changes, west africa maintained some continuity as. I shall start by first examining the key words in the title of this article, and by briefly discussing the phenomenal growth of christianity in subsaharan africa. Almost onethird of the worlds muslim population resides in this continent. The vast majority of these lands consist of the plains lying less than 300 meters. The origins of islam in west africa came through the berbers and arabs of north. Islam in mali in the th century and describes the rule of mansa.
This website hosts a textbook aimed at west african students taking west african senior school certificate examination wassce history paper 1, west. Boko haram and the islamic states west africa province. This essay discusses some of the recent trends in the scholarship on islam and africa that contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the historical relationship between african muslims and the global ecumene of believers. The famous scholar ibn munabbah wrote as early as 738 c. Western impact on africas economic development and the. Islam spread throughout west africa and arabic language as well. Although christianity and islam have added distinct elements to african religions, each has been and continued to be adapted to and shaped by. In west africa arabic became the language of region, but west africa they use their own language in every speech. The impact of islam in multiple ways helped unify west africa, and established important connections around the world.