Spread of Islam in West Africa by Professor Abdur-Rahman I Doi

Islam’s spread throughout 630-1600 CE was extremely rapid and sudden; however, it led to many favorable aspects. Over the span of 630-1600 CE, Islam managed to spread throughout Arabia, Mesopotamia, Persia, North Africa, Spain, and parts of Central Asia. Women and education were on a rise, socially. Also, flourishing trade contributed to Islam’s economic wealth. Furthermore, political and legal reforms were also established during its spread. Overall, the spread of Islam brought forth many positive social, political, and economic impacts.

There were hundreds of religions in the sixth century. However, only one became the fastest growing religion in the world today. Islam was started by a man named Muhammad. Muhammad was an ordinary man with and extraordinary purpose. In 610 C.E., Muhammad went into a cave in Mecca to pray.

“African societies developed diverse forms, from large centralized states to stateless societies organized around kinship or age sets rather than central authority. Within this diversity were many shared aspects of language and beliefs. Universalistic faiths penetrated the continent and served as the basis for important cultural development in Nubia and Ethiopia.

In the beginning, Muhammad started to preach his teachings, called Islam, in a populous trade center known as Mecca. Though, at first, his preachings were resisted as the people worried that idol worship and pilgrimages, or journeys to a sacred place, would end. This, in fact, proved to be true as with enough support, Muhammad ordered that the idols be destroyed and that a shrine dedicated to Allah be built instead, making Mecca the birthplace and foundation of Islam. However, within 100 years of Muhammad’s death in 632 CE, Islam had spread to multiple other countries including Europe, North Africa, and Asia. The question is, how did Islam spread so rapidly over the course of 100 years? Briefly put, Islam spread rapidly due to trade routes, military campaigns, and non-Muslim converts.

Beginning with Muhammad’s age from the start of 7th century Islam, Islamic culture and politics have gone a great many events and occurrences. Throughout all of its years, it has boasted both a rich culture and technological/intellectual advancements. The preservation of the Quran, developments in mathematics, and the continued emphasis on respect and charitable nature are just some examples of Islamic achievement. However, as with any growing civilization, Islam has evolved beyond what it originated as. The cultural and political life of Islamic civilization beginning in the 7th century to the end of the Abbasids of the 13th century underwent many changes such as the deteriorating view of women in society and the shift from elected caliphates to dynastical caliphate. But, one aspect that persisted were the religious beliefs and traditions followed by the Islamic people.

Mecca was known as a trading city, for its camel caravans that would constantly visit, and an important religious shrine known as the Ka’ba which was economically beneficial since traders would pay to visit it and its other idols. Islam would begin with the teachings of Muhammad: monotheism, support for the weak and the poor, and that Muhammad was allah’s prophet. Muhammad would be unaccepted by the people of Mecca because his teachings threatened their economy and he wanted to eliminate idol worship. Muhammad fled to Medina and began to create a following known as the Ulma and later developed into a political leader. Eventually, Muhammad would return and conquer the city of Mecca, establishing Islam and destroying everything but the Ka’ba.

In its Golden Age, Islam’s influence reached all the way to Spain, Anatolia, West Africa, and India, among other regions. While these regions were all, in a way, united under a common religion, each of them both altered and were altered by Islam in their own unique ways. Although there were similarities that existed with the spread of Islam to each of those places, many more differences prevailed. Differences and similarities existed in the forms of the role of migration, role of trade, role of cultural exchange, methods of conversion to Islam, and the unique cultural developments in each region.

Ibn Battuta’s 1331 journey to West Africa provides a contrast of two worlds: Battuta’s pre-modern Islamic culture conflicting with African societies’ interpretation of Muslim beliefs and tribal traditions. He is especially critical of the various roles of women he observes—thus, allowing us insight into his own judgments formed by his culture and society.

In the 7th and 8th centuries, Islam spread from its beginnings in Arabia to cover the entire Middle East and parts of Africa, Asia, and Europe. As (Document 8) shows, by the year 750, Islam stretched from Eastern Persia in the Middle East, all the way to the westernmost edges of Spain and North Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. Islam expanded so rapidly because of its techniques on conquering unstable areas and converting people to Islam, preventing setbacks and obstructions. Islam had three main reasons for its eminent prosperity. The way that Muslims treated the conquered people allowed for peace throughout the empire. Tolerance, combined with the military power, a disciplined army, and an overall appealing religion of Islam, provided the template that allowed the empire to expand to encompass an enormous amount of area.

Mali: Gold and Salt trade; reached its peak in 14th century; Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage to Mecca; Islam

Changes in political and cultural traditions during the post-classical period occurred in Africa because of intensive Islamic contact. When Arab conquerors introduced the Islamic faith into northern Africa, they expanded the region of commerce. Muslim merchants established trading centers for copper, iron, salts, and cotton textiles. The newly established trade affected traditional social and religious beliefs. After 1000 C.E., the kin-based social structure experienced difficult challenges. Increased conflict between peoples led to the creation of military forces for both offensive and defensive use. This led to the formation of chiefdoms exhibiting more formal structures of governing such as in the kingdoms of Kongo, Ghana, and Mali. Because most traders were Muslim, many African societies converted to Islam to improve their relations with the

One journey, thousands of pounds of gold, thousands of slaves and servants, a hundred camels, and one man spread the Islamic religion for a hajj of four thousand miles. The journey of Mansa Musa was a famous trip that stretched from the ancient city of Mali to Mecca, the birthplace of Islam. Mansa Musa, a rich, prosperous man who took advantage of situations to benefit himself, not only wanted to spread Islam throughout his hajj, but to show off his wealth, to give compulsorily, and accumulate trade partners.

The Spirit World (pg 25): Some West Africans who lived immediately south of the Sahara the Fulani’s in Senegal, the Mande-speakers in Mali, and the Hausas in northern Nigeria learned about Islam from Arab merchants and Muslim leaders called imams.

Islam is a major world religion. Its origin can be traced back to 610 CE in Arabia. The basis of this religion is the revelations to the prophet Mohammad. Dissatisfied with his life, he traveled to deserts, hills, and the wilderness surrounding Mecca, where he lived, to meditate and reflect. He became a new man through his revelations, which many of his followers believe Allah transmitted to him through his angel Gabriel. Islam was originally an Arab religion, but many different beliefs and practices were added to it, making it extremely popular and aiding in its rapid spread. This new religion spread to many different areas surrounding Arabia, both under Mohammad and after his death. The Muslim Empire grew to encompass Spain and

Using specific illustrations from Maryse Conde's novel Segu, this is an essay that discusses how the coming of Islam to Bambar society affected that people's traditional, political, social and economic practices as well as challenging the Bambaras' religious beliefs.