Islam in Africa is the continent's second most widely professed faith behind Christianity . Africa was the first continent into which Islam spread from the Middle East , during the early 7th century CE . Almost one-third of the world's Muslim population resides in Africa . Muslims crossed current Djibouti and Somalia to seek refuge in present-day Eritrea and Ethiopia during the Hijrah ("Migration") to the Christian Kingdom of Aksum . Like the vast majority (90%) of Muslims in the world, most Muslims in Africa are also Sunni Muslims ; the complexity of Islam in Africa is revealed in the various schools of thought, traditions, and voices in many African countries. Many African ethnicities, mostly in the northern half of the continent, consider Islam as their traditional religion. The practice of Islam on the continent is not static and is constantly being reshaped by prevalent social, economic, and political conditions. Generally Islam in Africa often adapted to African cultural contexts and belief systems forming Africa's own orthodoxies.
63-654: The Kanjars are a Muslim tribe native to Pakistan , with small populations also living in India. The Kanjari language is spoken mostly by the Kanjari people living in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Kanjari is a lesser-known Indo-Aryan language , but almost all Pakistani Kanjars speak Punjabi as well. In the British Raj , the Kanjaris were listed under the 1871 Criminal Tribes Act as
126-519: A Muslim is a person who has dedicated his worship exclusively to God, for just as we say in Arabic that something is ‘ salima ’ to a person, meaning that it became solely his own, so in the same way ‘ Islām ’ means making one's religion and faith God's alone. In several places in the Quran , the word muslim conveys a universal meaning, beyond the description of the followers of Muhammad , for example: "Abraham
189-472: A great impact upon segments of Muslim populations. Cohabitation or coexistence between Muslims and non-Muslims remains, for the most part, peaceful. Nigeria is home to Africa's largest Muslim population. In 1999, Nigeria's northern states adopted the Sharia penal code, but punishments have been rare. In fact, dozens of women convicted of adultery and sentenced to stoning to death have later been freed. Egypt, one of
252-627: A notified tribe. The 2011 Indian census showed a Kanjari population of 115,968 in Uttar Pradesh . For centuries, Lucknow was a hub for affluent families would send their children to be educated in Lucknow. This has been home to a large community of Kanjari for centuries. A recent study found that: "A Kanjari hears the music of tabla and ghungroo from the day of her birth and must begin her formal education before her non-Kanjari friends start going to school." In Pakistan , two distinct communities go by
315-546: A person. Among Asharites , it is also seen as a sign of humility and the individual's longing to improve, because the creature has no assurance of their own state (of belief) until the end of life. The Qur'an describes many prophets and messengers within Judaism and Christianity , and their respective followers, as Muslim. Some of those that were mentioned are: Adam , Noah , Abraham , Ishmael , Jacob , Moses , and Jesus and his apostles are all considered to be Muslims in
378-499: A person. Fellow Muslims can only accept the personal declaration of faith. Only the Khawārij developed an understanding of Muslim identity based mainly on the adherence to liturgical and legal norms. When asked about one's beliefs, it is recommended to say the Istit̲h̲nāʾ , for example, " in-sha'allah I am Muslim a believer" (so God will, I am Muslim), since only God knows the future of
441-926: A result of many Muslim Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) such as the World Muslim League, the World Assembly for Muslim Youth, and the Federation of Mab and Islamic Schools primarily funded by Salafi governments in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf . These Salafist organizations, often based out of Saudi Arabia, promote a form of conservative reformism and regard Sufism as "heterodox" and contrary to their interpretation of traditional Islam. Such NGOs have built Salafi-dominated mosques and Islamic centers in Africa, and many are staffed by puritanical African Muslims, often trained in
504-607: A survey by Pew, there are thirteen countries in Africa wherein at least twenty percent of the Muslim population adheres to a non-denominational form of Islam, i.e. are non-denominational Muslims . These countries, as well as the percentages of the Muslim populations who fall under this bracket include, Mali (55%), Nigeria (42%), Cameroon (40%), Tunisia (40%), Guinea Bissau (36%), Uganda (33%), Morocco (30%), Senegal (27%), Chad (23%), Ethiopia (23%), Liberia (22%), Niger (20%), and Tanzania (20%). Sufism, which focuses on
567-527: A tribe "addicted to the systematic commission of non-bailable offenses." The Kanjari were denotified in 1952 when the Criminal Tribes Act was replaced by the Habitual Offenders Act . However, the community carries considerable social stigma , mainly due to the association of their culture with traditions distinct from mainstream Indian culture . Kanjaris are also known as Gihar which is not
630-657: Is "Muslim". For most of the 20th century, the preferred spelling in English was "Moslem", but this has now fallen into disuse. That spelling and its pronunciation was opposed by many Muslims in English-speaking countries because it resembled the Arabic word aẓ-ẓālim ( الظَّالِم ), meaning "the oppressor". In the United States, the Associated Press instructed news outlets to switch to the spelling "Muslim" in 1991, making it
693-422: Is no god [worthy of worship] except Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah." In Sunni Islam , the shahada has two parts: la ilaha illa'llah (there is no god but Allah ), and Muhammadun rasul Allah ( Muhammad is the messenger of God), which are sometimes referred to as the first shahada and the second shahada . The first statement of the shahada is also known as the tahlīl . In Shia Islam ,
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#1732845387136756-591: Is not static and is constantly being reshaped by prevalent social, economic and political conditions. Islam in Africa is often adapted to local cultural contexts and belief systems, thereby forming the continent's own orthodoxies. 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. Additionally, Islam in Africa has both local and global dimensions. On
819-678: Is the Mosque of the Companions in the Eritrean city of Massawa . This qibla of this mosque in Massawa points towards Jerusalem as well, though now defunct, occasional prayers are still held in this mosque with qibla correction towards Mecca. In 20 H / 641 CE, during the reign of Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab , Muslim troops took over current Egypt and conquered current Libya the following year. Muslims then expanded to current Tunisia in 27 H / 647 CE, during
882-399: Is the active participle of the same verb of which islām is a verbal noun , based on the triliteral S-L-M "to be whole, intact". A female adherent is a muslima ( Arabic : مسلمة ) (also transliterated as "Muslimah" ). The plural form in Arabic is muslimūn ( مسلمون ) or muslimīn ( مسلمين ), and its feminine equivalent is muslimāt ( مسلمات ). The ordinary word in English
945-570: The Shahada in front of Muslim witnesses, one of the Five Pillars of Islam , a declaration of faith and trust that professes that there is only one God ( Allah ) and that Muhammad is God's messenger. It is a set statement normally recited in Arabic: ašhadu ʾan-lā ʾilāha ʾillā-llāhu wa ʾašhadu ʾanna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh ( أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وأشهد أن محمداً رسول الله ) "I testify that there
1008-699: The Americas . Additionally, in subdivided geographical regions, the figure stands at: 91% of the Middle East–North Africa , 90% of Central Asia , 65% of the Caucasus , 42% of Southeast Asia , 32% of South Asia , and 42% of sub-Saharan Africa . While, there are several Islamic schools and branches , as well as non-denominational Muslims , the two largest denominations are Sunni Islam (75–90% of all Muslims) and Shia Islam (10–20% of all Muslims). By sheer numbers, South Asia accounts for
1071-401: The Five Pillars of Islam : the declaration of faith ( shahadah ), daily prayers ( salah ), almsgiving ( zakat ), fasting during the month of Ramadan ( sawm ), and the pilgrimage to Mecca ( hajj ) at least once in a lifetime. The majority of theological traditions of Islam accept that works do not determine if someone is a Muslim or not. God alone would know about the belief of
1134-652: The Horn of Africa and the Sahel , as well as West Africa . Islam has been in Africa for so long, since its emergence on the Arabian peninsula, that some scholars have argued that it is a traditional African religion. Although the majority of Muslims in Africa are non-denominational Muslims , Sunni or Sufi , the complexity of Islam in Africa is revealed in the various schools of thought, traditions, and voices that constantly contend for dominance in many African countries. Islam in Africa
1197-792: The Quran , the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraham (or Allah ) as it was revealed to Muhammad , the main Islamic prophet . Alongside the Quran, Muslims also believe in previous revelations , such as the Tawrat ( Torah ), the Zabur ( Psalms ), and the Injeel ( Gospel ). These earlier revelations are associated with Judaism and Christianity , which are regarded by Muslims as earlier versions of Islam. The majority of Muslims also follow
1260-596: The Senegal River and as rulers and kings embraced Islam. Islam then spread slowly in much of the continent through trade and preaching. During this period these Muslims from North and West Africa came to be known by Europeans at large as Moors . By the 9th century, Muslim Sultanates started being established in the Horn of Africa , and by the 12th century, the Kilwa Sultanate had spread as far south as Mozambique . Islam only crossed deeper into Malawi and Congo in
1323-502: The Tawrat ( Torah ) to the prophets and messengers amongst the Children of Israel , the Zabur ( Psalms ) to David and the Injil ( Gospel ) to Jesus, who are all considered important Muslim prophets . The most populous Muslim-majority country is Indonesia, home to 12.7% of the world's Muslims, followed by Pakistan (11.0%), Bangladesh (9.2%), Nigeria (5.3%) and Egypt (4.9%). About 20% of
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#17328453871361386-680: The 7th century CE, when in Rajab 8 BH, or May 614 CE, Muhammad advised a number of his early disciples , who were facing persecution by the polytheistic inhabitants of the Mecca , to seek refuge across the Red Sea in Axum . In the Muslim tradition, this event is known as the first hijrah , or migration. Twenty-three Muslims migrated to Abyssinia where they were protected by its king, Armah An-Najāshī , who later accepted Islam. They were followed by 101 Muslims later in
1449-545: The 7th century, and is the oldest mosque in the city. In the late 9th century, Al-Yaqubi wrote that Muslims were living along the northern Somali seaboard. He also mentioned that the Adal kingdom had its capital in the city, suggesting that the Adal Sultanate with Zeila as its headquarters dates back to at least the 9th or 10th century. According to I.M. Lewis, the polity was governed by local dynasties , who also ruled over
1512-570: The Americas (5.2 million or 0.6%), Australia (714,000 or 1.9%) and parts of Europe (44 million or 6%). A Pew Center study in 2016 found that Muslims have the highest number of adherents under the age of 15 (34% of the total Muslim population) of any major religion, while only 7% are aged 60+ (the smallest percentage of any major religion). According to the same study, Muslims have the highest fertility rates (3.1) of any major religious group. The study also found that Muslims (tied with Hindus ) have
1575-593: The Empires and Kingdoms in Yorubaland claims about the early arrival of Islam in southwestern Nigeria. He seconded the Arab anthropologist Abduhu Badawi on the argument that the early Muslim missionaries had benefited their works from the fall of Kush in northern Sudan and the prosperity of the politically multicultural Abbasid period in the continent which, according to him, had created several streams of migration, moving west in
1638-509: The Middle East. Academic scholarships to study in Islamic universities in the Middle East are also offered to further Salafism. On the other hand, Africanist scholars trace the popularity of Salafi ideals to local cultural factors and the social efforts of prominent African Salafi scholars, reformists, organisations and intellectuals and their religious ties with various Islamic scholars across
1701-508: The Muslim world with keen interest. With globalization and new initiatives in information technology, Muslims in Africa have developed and maintained close connections with the wider Muslim world. Analysts argue that Muslims in Africa, like other Muslims in Asia , the Middle East and the rest of the world, seem to be locked into an intense struggle regarding the future direction of Islam. At core of
1764-544: The Qur'an. The Qur'an states that these men were Muslims because they submitted to God, preached His message and upheld His values, which included praying, charity, fasting and pilgrimage. Thus, in Surah 3:52 of the Qur'an, Jesus' disciples tell him, "We believe in God; and you be our witness that we are Muslims ( wa-shahad be anna muslimūn )." In Islamic belief, before the Qur'an, God had given
1827-645: The continent's Sunni communities, while the Shafi'i madh'hab is prevalent in the Horn of Africa , eastern Egypt , and the Swahili Coast . The Hanafi fiqh is also followed in Northern and Western Egypt. Quranism is an umbrella term denoting a strand within Islam that endorses a Quran-oriented form of Islam and often eschews hadiths. There are many forms of Quranism and they may not all agree on practical tenets. According to
1890-821: The cultural practices common to Muslims and historically Islamic people. The early forms of Muslim culture, from the Rashidun Caliphate to early Umayyad period, were predominantly Arab , Byzantine , Persian and Levantine . With the rapid expansion of the Arab Islamic empires , Muslim culture has influenced and assimilated much from the Indonesian , Pakistani ( Punjabi , Pashtun , Baloch Kashmiri , Sindhi ), Hindustani , Bengali , Nigerian , Egyptian , Persian , Turkic , Caucasian , Malay , Somali , Berber , and Moro cultures. Islam in Africa In 2014, it
1953-457: The folklorists Sufis, who they claim have incorporated "un-Islamic" beliefs into their practices, such as celebrating the several events, visiting the shrines of "Islamic saints", dancing during prayer (the whirling dervishes). West Africa and Sudan have various Sufi orders regarded skeptically by the more doctrinally strict branches of Islam in the Middle East. Most orders in West Africa emphasize
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2016-400: The largest Muslim states in Africa, claims Sharia as the main source of its legislation, yet its penal and civil codes are based largely on French law . Muslims in Africa mostly adhere to Sunni Islam , with sizable Ibadi adherents. In addition, Sufism , the mystical dimension of Islam, has a very big presence. The Maliki madh'hab is the dominant school of jurisprudence amongst most of
2079-511: The largest portion (31%) of the global Muslim population. By country, Indonesia is the largest in the Muslim world , holding around 12% of all Muslims worldwide; outside of the Muslim-majority countries, India and China are home to the largest (11%) and second-largest (2%) Muslim populations, respectively. Due to high Muslim population growth , Islam is the fastest-growing religion in
2142-460: The latter bribes the police to cover up the honour killing of his son. The hakim in return had to bear a daughter for Saqa Kanjar's daughter Meena. Muslim Muslims ( Arabic : المسلمون , romanized : al-Muslimūn , lit. 'submitters [to God ]') are people who adhere to Islam , a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider
2205-453: The legal code in most Islamic countries, but the extent of which its impact varies widely. In Africa, most states limit the use of Sharia to "personal-status law" for issues such as marriage, divorce, inheritance and child custody. With the exception of northern Nigeria in West Africa , secularism does not seem to face any serious threat in Africa, even though the new Islamic revival is having
2268-556: The local level, experts assert that Muslims (including African Muslims) operate with considerable autonomy and do not have an international organization that regulates their religious practices. This fact accounts for the differences and varieties in Islamic practices throughout the African continent. On the global level, Muslims in Africa are also part of the Ummah (Islamic community worldwide), and follow global issues and current events that affect
2331-469: The lowest average levels of education with an average of 5.6 years of schooling, though both groups have made the largest gains in educational attainment in recent decades among major religions. About 36% of all Muslims have no formal schooling, and Muslims have the lowest average levels of higher education of any major religious group, with only 8% having graduate and post-graduate degrees. Muslim culture or Islamic culture are terms used to describe
2394-512: The majority, while 25.9% of the world's Muslim population lived in countries where Muslims are in the minority. A Pew Center study in 2010 found that 3% of the world's Muslims population live in non-Muslim-majority developed countries . India's Muslim population is the world's largest Muslim-minority population in the world (11% of the world's Muslim population). Followed by Ethiopia (28 million), China (22 million), Russia (16 million) and Tanzania (13 million). Sizable minorities are also found in
2457-573: The men work as agricultural labourers. Their tents are made from split bamboo or munji grass, and their encampments can be found at the edges of villages, as well as in urban areas such as Faisalabad and Lahore. They are the subject of the Hindi story Indrajal (Magic in English), by Jaishankar Prasad . In the Lollywood film Bol , prominent character Saqa Kanjari, financially helps a fanatic hakim after
2520-522: The mid-9th century into Sub-Saharan Africa . Adelabu pointed at the popularity and influences of the Abbasid Dynasty (750–1258), the second great dynasty with the rulers carrying the title of ' Caliph ' as fostering peaceful and prosperous migration of the intercultural Muslims from the Nile Valley to Niger as well as of the Arab traders from the desert to Benue . Some argue that adoption of Islam
2583-621: The middle of the 11th century, the Kanem Empire , whose influence extended into Sudan , converted to Islam. At the same time but more toward West Africa, the reigning ruler of the Bornu Empire embraced Islam. As these kingdoms adopted Islam, their subjects thereafter followed suit. In praising the Africans' zealousness to Islam, the 14th-century explorer Ibn Battuta stated that mosques were so crowded on Fridays, that unless one went very early, it
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2646-647: The most common spelling thereafter. The last major newspaper in the United Kingdom to use the spelling "Moslem" was the Daily Mail , which switched to "Muslim" in 2004. The word Mosalman or Mussulman ( Persian : مسلمان , romanized : mosalmân , alternatively musalmān ) is a common equivalent for Muslim used in Central and South Asia . In English it was sometimes spelled Mussulman and has become archaic in usage; however, cognates of this word remain
2709-426: The mystical elements of Islam, has many orders as well as followers in West Africa and Sudan, and, like other orders, strives to know God through meditation and emotion. Sufis may be nondenominational Muslim , Sunni or Shi’ite, and their ceremonies may involve chanting, music, dancing, and meditation. Many Sufis in Africa are syncretic where they practise Sufism with traditional folklore beliefs. Salafis criticize
2772-418: The name Kanjari. Over the centuries they became associated with the profession of peripatetic craftsmen and entertainers, best known for the terracotta toys they produce. The term 'Kanjar' is a slur generally used to refer to a person of low moral character than as a reference to the tribe. Although nomadic, the Kanjari follow a set route and often maintain a relationship with the villages they visit. Many of
2835-640: The non-Muslim ruling classes called the Suwarian tradition . Many Islamic schools were purely oral, and most children leaving Koranic schools were able to recite the whole of the Quran in Arabic despite not being fluent themselves. The History of Islam in Africa and accounts of how the religion spread, especially in North and the Horn of Africa, has always been contentious. Head of Awqaf Africa London, Sheikh Dr. Abu-Abdullah Adelabu has written in his Movements of Islam in face of
2898-421: The population in the Middle East identify as either Sunni or Shi'a, a significant number of Muslims identify as non-denominational . With about 1.8 billion followers (2015), almost a quarter of earth's population , Islam is the second-largest and the fastest-growing religion in the world , primarily due to the young age and high fertility rate of Muslims, with Muslims having a rate of (3.1) compared to
2961-454: The reign of Umar II , the then governor of Africa, Ismail ibn Abdullah, was said to have won the Berbers to Islam by his just administration. Other early notable missionaries include Abdallah ibn Yasin , who started a movement which caused thousands of Berbers to accept Islam. In the 13th century, Al-Hajj Salim Suwari formulated an important theological rationale for peaceful coexistence with
3024-516: The reign of the third Muslim Caliph Uthman Ibn Affan . The conquest of North Africa continued under the Umayyad dynasty , which annexed parts of Algeria around 61 H/680 CE and Morocco the following year. From the latter Muslim troops crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to Europe in 92 H/711 CE. Islam gained momentum during the 10th century in West Africa with the start of the Almoravid dynasty movement on
3087-462: The role of a spiritual guide, marabout or possessing supernatural power, regarded as an Africanization of Islam. In Senegal and Gambia, Mouridism Sufis claim to have several million adherents and have drawn criticism for their veneration of Mouridism's founder Amadou Bamba. The Tijani is the most popular Sufi order in West Africa, with a large following in Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Gambia. Recently, Salafism has begun spreading in Africa, as
3150-490: The same year. Most of those Muslims returned to Medina in 7 AH / 628 CE but some settled in the neighboring Zeila (current day Somalia ) which was at that time part of Bilād al-Barbar ("Land of the Berber(s)"). Once in Zeila, they built the Masjid al-Qiblatayn ("Mosque of the two Qiblahs ") in 627 CE. This mosque has two Qiblas because it was built before the Prophet switched the Qiblah from Jerusalem to Mecca. They also reportedly built Africa's oldest mosque , that
3213-438: The second half of the 19th century under the Zanzibar Sultanate . Then the British brought their labor force from India, including some Muslim-Indian nationals, to their colonies in Africa towards the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century. Islam was introduced to the northern Somali coast early on from the Arabian peninsula , shortly after the hijra . Zeila 's two- mihrab Masjid al-Qiblatayn dates to
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#17328453871363276-402: The shahada also has a third part, a phrase concerning Ali , the first Shia Imam and the fourth Rashid caliph of Sunni Islam : وعليٌ وليُّ الله ( wa ʿalīyyun walīyyu-llāh ), which translates to "Ali is the wali of God". In Quranist Islam , the shahada is the testimony that there is no god but Allah ( la ilaha illa'llah ). The religious practices of Muslims are enumerated in
3339-466: The similarly-established Sultanate of Mogadishu in the littoral Benadir region to the south. Adal's history from this founding period forth would be characterized by a succession of battles with neighboring Abyssinia . In the following centuries, the consolidation of Muslim trading networks, connected by lineage, trade, and Sufi brotherhoods, had reached a peak in West Africa , enabling Muslims to wield tremendous political influence and power. During
3402-533: The standard term for "Muslim" in various other European languages. Until at least the mid-1960s, many English-language writers used the term Mohammedans or Mahometans . Although such terms were not necessarily intended to be pejorative , Muslims argue that the terms are offensive because they allegedly imply that Muslims worship Muhammad rather than God. Other obsolete terms include Muslimite and Muslimist . In Medieval Europe, Muslims were commonly called Saracens . The Muslim philologist Ibn al-Anbari said:
3465-427: The struggle are questions about the way in which Muslims should practice their faith. The scholars assert that the majority seems to prefer to remain on the moderate, tolerant course that Islam has historically followed. However, a relatively small, but growing group would like to establish a stricter form of the religion, one that informs and controls all aspects of society. The Sharīʿah of Islam broadly influences
3528-463: The teachings and practices attributed to Muhammad ( sunnah ) as recorded in traditional accounts ( hadith ). With an estimated population of almost 1.9 billion followers as of 2020 year estimation, Muslims comprise around 25% of the world's total population. In descending order, the percentage of people who identify as Muslims on each continental landmass stands at: 45% of Africa , 25% of Asia and Oceania collectively, 6% of Europe , and 1% of
3591-432: The world average of (2.5). According to the same study, religious switching has no impact on Muslim population, since the number of people who embrace Islam and those who leave Islam are roughly equal. As of 2010, 49 countries countries in the world had Muslim majorities, in which Muslims comprised more than 50% of the population. In 2010, 74.1% of the world's Muslim population lived in countries where Muslims are in
3654-403: The world's Muslims live in the Middle East and North Africa. Non-majority India contains 10.9% of the world's Muslims. Arab Muslims form the largest ethnic group among Muslims in the world, followed by Bengalis , and Punjabis . Over 75–90% of Muslims are Sunni . The second and third largest sects, Shia and Ahmadiyya , make up 10–20%, and 1% respectively. While the majority of
3717-469: The world. Muslims have experienced persecution of varying severity, especially in China, India, some parts of Africa, and Southeast Asia. The word muslim ( Arabic : مسلم , IPA: [ˈmʊslɪm] ; English: / ˈ m ʌ z l ɪ m / , / ˈ m ʊ z l ɪ m / , / ˈ m ʊ s l ɪ m / ( MUZZ -lim, MUUZ -lim, MUUSS -lim ) or moslem / ˈ m ɒ z l ə m / , / ˈ m ɒ s l ə m / ( MOZ -ləm, MOSS -ləm ) )
3780-438: Was estimated that Muslims constituted nearly half of the population of Africa (over 40%) with a total population of around 437 million and accounting for over a quarter (about 27%) of the global Muslim population. Islam is the main religion of North Africa , the Horn of Africa , Sahel , the Swahili Coast , and West Africa , with minority immigrant populations in South Africa . The presence of Islam in Africa can be traced to
3843-409: Was impossible to find a place to sit. In the 16th century, the Ouaddai Empire and the Kingdom of Kano embraced Islam, and later toward the 18th century, the Nigeria based Sokoto Caliphate led by Usman dan Fodio exerted considerable effort in spreading Islam in the Fulani Jihad . Today, Islam is the predominant religion of the northern half of Africa, mainly concentrated in North Africa ,
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#17328453871363906-505: Was motivated by the desire to enhance trade, as Islam provided a moral code of conduct to regulate commercial activities, especially with respect to credit and security. Similarly, in the Swahili coast , Islam made its way inland – spreading at the expense of traditional African religions . This expansion of Islam in Africa not only led to the formation of new communities in Africa, but it also reconfigured existing African communities and empires to be based on Islamic models. Indeed, in
3969-413: Was not a Jew, nor a Christian, but he was a true Muslim [مُّسۡلِمࣰا], and he was not a polytheist." -- Quran 3:67 "Then when Jesus perceived their disbelief he said, 'Who will be my helpers of God.' The disciples said 'We will be the helpers of God; we believe in God and bear witness that we are Muslims [مُسۡلِمُونَ].'" -- Quran 3:52 To become a Muslim and to convert to Islam, it is essential to utter
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