The nickname boko haram was given by local communities to. Sea to the eastern coastal areas, up the nile valley to the sudan, and across the. Christianity and islam have in turn been influenced by traditional religion muzorewa 1985. Engage your students during remote learning with video readalouds. Subsaharan africa traditionally was home to a rather moderate form of islam, for example, sufism. After the death of the prophet, 100 years after, between the 8th and 9th centuries arab traders and travelers began to spread the religion along the eastern coast of africa. 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. The spread of islam, from its beginning to the 14th century sh. What was africa like before the introduction of islam. During muhammads lifetime a group of muslims escaped meccan persecution 615 by fleeing to ethiopia, where the negus king gave them protection.
Consequently, egypt was the first country to come under islamic influence and provided the arabs with an important gateway into the rest of africa. The impact of islam on christianity political islam. 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. Chapter five islamic challenges in african christianity. Islam spread over a large portion of africa through trade with arabs and the people in the interior of africa, the sufi brotherhoods that helped to solidify the beliefs in people, and arab settlers in africa. The historical impact of islam and its future prospects in africa. In west africa arabic became the language of region, but west africa they use their own language in every speech. Islam in africa is often adapted to local cultural contexts and belief systems, thereby forming the continents own orthodoxies. Although christianity and islam have added distinct elements to african religions, each has been and continued to be adapted to and shaped by. 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. The occupants of these areas had been nomadic tribes for a very long time.
It was not imported into africa neither was it preached to africans rather each person in africa was born into it, lives it, practices, and is proud to make it his own awolalu and dopamu, 1979. Islam was introduced into east africa as early as the 7 th century by successive waves of refugees from arabia. The africans consider the impact of colonization on them to be perhaps the most important factor in understanding the present condition of the african continent and of the african. The spread of islam in africa began in the 7th and 8th cent. Part of theafrican languages and societies commons,african studies commons,economics commons, and thepolitical science commons. 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. The history of islam in africa ohio university press. The famous scholar ibn munabbah wrote as early as 738 c. 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.
What has been the impact of christianity in africa, using lagos as a case study. This has tremendous impact on human relations in view of the resurgence of religion and its growing role in both public and private life. Many christians and muslims in subsaharan africa describe members of the other faith as tolerant and honest. Although the majority of muslims in africa are 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. Introduction of islam in africa contributed by prof. The swahili language remains central to many east african muslims, hence the occasionally heard phrase, swahili islam. Spread of islam in west africa all parts the religion. Islams history on the african continent is rich, more than a millenium of expansion, scholarship, conquest, empire and theological development. East african muslims are mostly shafiites and some. The histom1 ofls1am il1 africa ohio university press. Mansour leghaei the present text presents in a short and succinct manner the historical and geographical spread of the religion of islam. I believe you will have to look at the history of the continent of africa itself. 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 empire later fell due to wrong political ruleing. What is the history and impact of islam in africa anyone. The negative aspects of the impact of islam on indian society discussed as under. Impact of islam on west africa islam impacted west africa in many ways. For the african, to live is to be caught up in a religious drama mbiti 1999. Since independence, religions has also played a role in various armed con. In 1501 their emperor, bayazid had changed its main religon to islam. One source of power for african rulers was the religion of islam. Spread of islam to north africa essay 582 words bartleby.
General history of africa unesco journal of pan african. The great mosque of djenne is an islamic landmark in mali. 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. In most countries, relatively few see evidence of widespread antimuslim or antichristian hostility, and on the whole they give their governments high marks for treating both. Africa changed culturally when the impacts of islam spurred a rise in education. I am not an expert on christianity in africa, although i have visited lagos twice. Islam became the quasi state religion of the songhai kingdom, the last powerful empire before european expansion began, allowing it to create a highlyorganized and literate culture. At first, muslim traders and merchants lived side by side with the nonmuslims of west africa. Despite all of these changes, west africa maintained some continuity as well.
Other aspects stayed the same, like the beliefs of the pagan people and how they lived. In the final section, the authors discuss important themes that have had an impact on muslim communities in africa. What impact did islam have an asia and africia by katlyn. 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 reached the savannah region in the 8th century c. The ottoman empire was the first great islamic empire.
General history of africa unesco in 1964, the united nations educational, scientific and cultural organization unesco launched an unprecedented task. Religions of africa 1985 that one of the most fascinating aspects of our history is the richness and varieties of its religious traditions. Some of the history of these countries, however, is naturally mentioned in this history of the rest of africa but is kept to the minimum needed to make the rest comprehensible. What has been the impact of christianity in africa. Islam and cultural changes in modern africa medcrave. The origins of islam in the country is linked with the development of islam in the wider west africa. 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. The most important connection that islam made globally was the establishment of.
The impact of islam on european civilization alhassanain. Spread of islam in west africa islam reached the savannah region in the 8th century c. As a result, there are declining numbers of followers of traditional indigenous religions and very few atheists or agnostics. The history of islam in east africa stretches back to around ce. As islam spread across the arabian peninsula and later across north africa and the middle east, it had an aggregating effect. While subsaharan africa has almost twice as many christians as muslims, on the african continent as a whole the two faiths are roughly balanced, with 400 million to 500 million followers each. Boko haram and the islamic states west africa province. In west africa, these movements were in the same direction, from north to south, as that taken by islam. The impact of african traditional religious beliefs and. In subsaharan africa, some of the kingdoms had several different religions, including islamic and christian beliefs olwig 29.
Africa did not become a full part of islamic civilization as north africa did, but islam was increasingly accepted, and a mixed belief system was established in many areas dunn, hamdum and king 271. 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. African religion and its influence on christianity and. Traders bring islam to ghana between the years 639 and 708 c. Islam was introduced to nigeria through two geographical routes. They were polytheistic and reaped all the political problems associated with polytheism. The legacy of christianmuslim encounter in africa is well established. Almost onethird of the worlds muslim population resides today in the. 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. Christianity and islam are leading religious traditions each has in excess of 250 million followers in africa. Trade was the major connecting link that brought islam into nigeriaerinle oluwashola idris 2020. Western impact on africa s economic development and the progress of democracy jiaxu liu iowa state university follow this and additional works at. American evangelical christianity as well as the arab cultural package of islam.
Muslim societies in africa provides a concise overview of muslim societies in africa in light of their role in african history and the history of the islamic world. Essay on the impact of islam on indian society 1548 words. The influence of islam on west africa medieval africa. 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. But although islam has influenced a wide range of artistic practices in africa since its introduction, monumental architecture is the bestpreserved legacy of its early history on the continent. Following asia, including the middle east, africa has the largest number of muslims in the world. The impact of islam on european civilization, islam, western society, western civilization, muslims, mohammad fanaei eshkevari. African religion and its influence on christianity and islam.
Colonialism and the african experience chapter 4 introduction colonization of africa by european countries was a monumental milestone in the development of africa. Western impact on africas economic development and the. So, islam impacted the continent very greatly, from the establishment of mosques to many other different factors. Remember, although tribes or regions may share the same pantheon of gods, they tend. African christianity african studies oxford bibliographies. 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. Many theories might explain why africa has been the poorest continent despite its many valuable resources and vast amount of land. University of south africa, pretoria, south africa abstract the aim of this article is to describe the impact of christianity on subsaharan africa. Islam in subsaharan africa islam entered africa within decades of its inception in the seventh century ce. Christianity and islam also coexist with each other. 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. The influence of islamic values and ideas on indigenous african.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The study aimed to gain familiarity and new insight into social capital among university students. In the empire of mali, in west africa, a city known as timbuktu rose up as a place of culture, learning, and enterprise. 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. The following people presented papers and participated in the discussion at the workshop.
The spread of islam, from its beginning to the 14th century. Material in this training manual is largely based on information from the impact of religion on womens rights in africa workshop, held in zimbabwe, 1. During what is known as the golden age of islam, which lasted roughly between the mideighth century until the th century, the muslim world was the center of intellectual activity, with baghdad serving as the capital for philosophers, mathematicians and scientists. Islam brought to india a conception of human equality, pride in ones religion, a legal system which was in many ways an advance on the codes of the time hindu rulers were influenced to work as. List of books and articles about islam in africa online. Religious conflicts on the rise in africa africa dw. Impact of islam and muslims in india expansion of trade islams impact was the most notable in the expansion of trade. Every muslim should read quran and remember the parts. Islam has had a profound global impact since it was founded in the seventh 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. In african traditional life, the individual is immersed in religious participation that starts before birth and continues after death.
Africa gave the islamic world its first muezzin, bilal ibn rabah. Shortly thereafter, a second group arrived, led by the kharijites sulayman and saeed, whose revolt against the caliph. African religion and its influence on christianity and islam traditional african religion has been the basis of spirituality for the people of africa. The impact of social media usage on the cognitive social. Africa was the first continent, that islam spread into out of arabia in the early seventh century. In writing about muslims in east africa, randall pouwels claims in the history of islam in africa, the spread of islam took place within a wider contextone of cultural influences and migrations. Islam spread throughout west africa and arabic language as well. Sep 19, 20 impact of islam on west africa islam impacted west africa in many ways.
Pdf presented at the dept of theology, jordan university, 18th february 2016 find, read and cite all the research you need on. Assess the respective impact of christianity and islam through the eyes of african. Islam spread over a large portion of africa 898 words 4 pages. Nazeer ahmed, phd africa, alone among the continents, has a majority muslim population. Id like to talk to you about the effects of islam upon christianity.
Egypt was also the starting point of the arab conquest of the maghreb, which led to the. The manual was tested at a workshop of african journalists convened by ips in july 2001. Africa was the first continent, outside of arabia that islam spread into in the early 7th century. It changed the peoples views of their rulers, and in some people, even the way they viewed the world. Africa, islamic culture and shariah in nigeria and conclusion. Margari hill, stanford university january 2009 available in pdf format 1. Hence, the volumes show that many techniques and technologies of today originated in africa. The first contact of muslims with india, was the arab attack on a nest of pirates near modernday bombay, to safeguard their trade in the arabian sea. The first group arrived in the year 698 fleeing the persecution of the omayyad governor of iraq, hajjaj ibn yusuf. Designed as both a reference and a text, the history of islam in africa will be an essential tool for libraries, scholars, and students of this growing field.
In many areas of africa, the coexistence of islam with representational art forms continues today. The purpose of the research was to investigate the impact of facebook and twitter usage on the cognitive social capital of university students within the western cape province of south africa. Spread of islam in africa javad haghnavaz department of islamic thoughts faculty, jolfa branch, islamic azad university, jolfa, iran abstract. 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. Islam registered its initial impact on east africa at approximately. Islam has had a lasting impact on africa, affecting its languages, architecture, and culture. The islamization of w africa began when the ancient kingdom of ghana c. Get out your ibn battuta reading for a quick hw check.
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