Tanzania, kenya, uganda, rwanda, burundi and south sudan are members of the east african community eac. Understanding islam, its history in ghana, and an effective. Most accurate islamic prayer times in pretoria, gauteng south africa today fajar time 05. Islam came to root along the east african coast some time in the 8th century, as part of a continuing dialogue between the people on the east coast. West africa and sudan have various sufi orders regarded skeptically by the more doctrinally strict branches of islam in the middle east.
Following asia, including the middle east, africa has the largest number of muslims in the world. The major living world religious traditions spring from the indian subcontinent, where hinduism and buddhism emerged, and the ancient middle east or west asia, where judaism began and gave birth to the other. Islam has had a lasting impact on africa, affecting its languages, architecture, and culture. If an encampment was attacked by outsiders, it was the solemn duty of the tribe to exact vengeance. Islam and politics in east africa was first published in 1980. East african muslims are mostly shafiites and some. Latitude lines, called parallels, run east and west around the earth. 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. In eastern africa, straddling the equator, between latitudes 4o n and 4o s, and longitudes 34o e and 41o e. East africaspecifically kenya, tanzania, and ugandais an appropriate starting point for a survey of the nature of political islam in africa and its implications for u. Impacts of islam in east africa case study template. Islam provided a community much wider than the tribe but did not put an end to the tribal system.
The history of islam in east africa is extremely significant in elucidating the modern place of islam. While this was a shortlived encounter, muslims eventually left a. Meanwhile, on the east coast of africa, the swahili trading states have had to face the eruption of the portuguese into the indian ocean. And in tanzania the tariqa, almost immediately after its arrival, became a key political institution in the muslim community. The introduction of islam into east africa followed a somewhat different path from that in west africa. The facts about bagamoyo coupled with the data from elsewhere in east africa, mainly tanzania, in parts 1 and 2, make it possible to answer the question posed at the outset of this studywhy the tariqa can play an important role in political change. 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.
Sultan majid passed away in 1870 and his successor sultan bargash lacked the wisdom to govern and stave off the contagion of colonialism. Along the coast of africa islam spread among the berbers, who joined the muslim. Trade and geography in the economic origins and spread of islam. The indian ocean was the connecting link between the arabian peninsula and the coast of east africa, called the swahel or sahel in arabic. Get reliable source of pretoria athan azan and namaz times with weekly salat timings and monthly salah timetable pretoria.
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. This document pdf may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. It was the tribe that provided for the encampment, the family, and the individual the protection needed to survive in a stateless society. Eastern africa, part of subsaharan africa comprising two traditionally recognized regions. He made a famous pilgrimage to mecca spreading islam and established trade routes to the middle east. Islam, islamism and islamic activism islamism is defined here, and will be in future crisis group reports, as synonymous with islamic activism, the active assertion and promotion of beliefs, prescriptions, laws, or policies that are held to be islamic in character. Africa always had its arms open to those muslims who were at the losing end of armed conflicts and were fleeing the heavy handed persecution by the victors. Islam to the coastal belt, but most bantu remained african traditional religion adherents. One is the east african coast, which became accessible to sailors and merchants coming down the red sea and the persian gulf, just as it had been for previous centuries for southeast asians. Early history the earliest concrete evidence of islam and muslims in eastern africa is a mosque foundation in lamu where gold, silver and copper coins dated ad 830 were found. Spread of islam in africa javad haghnavaz department of islamic thoughts faculty, jolfa branch, islamic azad university, jolfa, iran abstract. West africa felt the presence of islam through north african traders who travelled.
In contrast to north africa, east africa was never subject to one wide, sweeping muslim takeover. Because islam spread to west africa from north africa, muslims there fol lowed the maliki school of law dominant in north africa. However, these east african people werent considered classically muslim, they were considered african muslims, they uniquely adapted islamic beliefs in a different way. Islam in africa history of islamic expansion in africa. The eastern coast of africa saw the rise of swahili civilisation which was not an empire or a kingdom but a collection of city states like zanzibar and mombasa and mogadishu. The first phase brought the earliest muslims as part. In the united nations statistics division scheme of geographic regions, 20 territories make up eastern africa. 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 democracy in east africa jeffrey haynes this study examines the relative political signi. The region is home to the rugged landscape of the ethiopian highlands. The origin and growth of islam on the african continent.
A brief history of the islamic empires of kanembornu and hausafulani land. In central and east africa, new kingdoms are forming as trade networks spread deeper into the continent. Among the pertinent issues obscured by the attacks and the u. Trade and commerce paved the way for the introduction of new. Pdf muslims in eastern africa their past and present. Of the 100 million people who live in that region today, approximately 40% are muslim. Conn this article will focus on islam in the culture zone associated with uganda, kenya and tanzania. 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. East africa, made up of kenya, tanzania, and uganda. Islam in east africa has been known for many years to cohabitate with african islam to an extent of intermixture. Bagamoyo provided setting for a detailed look at the tariqas in east africa. Jul 24, 2018 the horn of africa is sometimes also called the somali peninsula. Islam came to the east african coast in many waves. Almost onethird of the worlds muslim population resides in the continent.
Muslim north, the territories above 25 degrees north latitude, you find north africa, egypt, the. On the other side of africa, there was an alternative model of civilizational development. Islam in east africa on the other side of africa, there was an alternative model of civilizational development. They were the first negro people who accepted islam. An independent east africa was too much to stomach for the british who had consolidated their indian. 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. Until the mid20th century, it remained largely confined to the coast and closely bound up with the history of the swahili towns situated on it. Minnesota archive editions uses digital technology to make longunavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original university of minnesota press editions. Most orders in west africa emphasize the role of a spiritual guide, marabout or possessing supernatural power, regarded as an africanization of islam.
Eastern africa consists largely of plateaus and has most of the highest elevations in the continent. Indonesia, the philippines, west africa, east africa, sudan, and ethiopia. The history of the islamic faith on the continent of africa spans fourteen centuries. 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. What was africa like before the introduction of islam. In islam, muslims pray five times a day and after 624 ce, these prayers were directed towards mecca and the kaaba rather than jerusalem. Following the conquest of north africa by muslim arabs in the 7th century ce, islam spread throughout west africa via merchants, traders, scholars, and missionaries, that is largely through peaceful means whereby african rulers either tolerated the religion or converted to it themselves. In this way, islam spread across and around the sahara desert. 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. The purpose of this manuscript is to present a reliable estimate in form of tables of the muslim population and its percentage in each country in africa. Chapter nineteen muhammad and the beginnings of islam. The coastal region stretches from the juba river in somalia to cape delgado in mozambique.
The great mosque of djenne is an islamic landmark in mali. East africa or eastern africa is the eastern region of the african continent, variably defined by geography. The famous scholar ibn munabbah wrote as early as 738 c. Why did some areas of africa quickly convert to islam, some. Similarly, nonroman city states in east africa with deep connections to muslim areas through trade over the indian ocean gradually converted to islam over centuries. The swahili language remains central to many east african muslims, hence the occasionally heard phrase, swahili islam.
Bringing together two dozen leading scholars, this comprehensive work treats the. Islam came to the east african coast in many waves and at different times. Sep 21, 2017 islam enjoys a dominant presence in states situated in west africa, north africa, the swahili coast, and the horn of africa. A volatile mix, national geographic, january 2002, 85. Twin parallel rift valleys that are part of the east african rift system run through the. Islam in south africa is a minority religion practiced by less than 1. Mecca holiest city in the religion of islam, muslims must make a hajj to this city, birthplace of mohammed 14. The islamic world east africa routledge handbooks online. According to historians and religious sources, islam penetrated ethiopia when prophet mohammed was alive. Islam in subsaharan africa islam entered africa within decades of its inception in the seventh century ce. The two most striking highlands are in ethiopia and kenya, respectively, where large areas reach elevations of 6,500 to 10,000 feet 2,000 to 3,000 metres.
Mediterranean climate zone very top of africa adjacent to the mediterranean sea. East africa or eastern africa is the eastern region of the african continent, variably defined by. Judaism, christianity, and islam i n the twentyfirst century, no religious tradition lives in isolation. Islam sharply divided the swahili people from their western african neighbors. Introduction the history of islam in east africa is extremely significant in elucidating the modern place of islam. 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. Muslims crossed current djibouti and somalia to seek refuge in presentday eritrea and ethiopia during the hijrah arabic. It seeks to identify, describe and account for the sources and signi. East africa includes a broad swath of territory embracing the modern nations of somalia, kenya, uganda, rwanda, burundi, tanzania, malawi and mozambique. The histom1 ofls1am il1 africa ohio university press. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
Islam in east africa 77 shfites being in zailia on the ethiopian coast. Building geography skills for life mayfield city schools. Ethiopian highlands, east africa is surprisingly cool and dry for its latitude. It located in the easternmost part of africa, sticking out into the arabian sea and forming the south side of the gulf of aden. Chapter nineteen muhammad and the beginnings of islam between the third century and the sixth god replaced the gods throughout much but not all of western eurasia and north africa. 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.
Which of the following regions was not one of the important points of cultural contact between africa. Africa was the first continent, outside of arabia that islam spread into in the early 7th century. Islam entered east africa mainly via seafaring merchants from southern. As islam spread in the savannah region, it was quite. The history of islam in east africa stretches back to around ce. The spread of islam in ancient africa ancient history. This book is concerned primarily with the peoples of the littoral fringe and offshore is islands zanzibar, pemba, tumbutu of kenya and tanganyika, since this is the region where islam is deeply implanted. 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 reached the savannah region in the 8th century c. Superior warships and cannon have given the newcomers a dominating position, and they have now seized. African islam refers to islam practiced the african way.
In some parts of africa, african islam has gradually substituted islam without any ruptures and clashes. The history of islam in africa 2000 identifies two main gateways of islamization in the continent. Africa was the first continent into which islam spread from southwest asia, during the early 7th century ce. Much of northern africa, as former roman provinces, were christian during the arab conquests, but gradually became more muslim over time, often thanks in part to economic pressures. The spread of islam in africa began in the 7th and 8th cent. Middle eastnorth africa report n37 2 march 2005 understanding islamism i. Spread of islam in west africa all parts the religion. In east africa, tanzania was the country where brotherhoods were most active and where, as a result, islam made its greatest gains. 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. Islam 19 th e coming of islam 19 islam versus colonialism 20 th e present appeal of islam 21 islam and civil wars in west africa 23 christianity 2525 christianity and colonialism 25 africanisation of christianity 3030 christianity, armed con. Still pagan were the people living in regions that were not readily accessible from the great centers of civilization in the mediterranean and the near. Why did some areas of africa quickly convert to islam. But by 1498 when vasco da gama visited the coastal towns, muslims had become the privileged class.