From the 8th century islam spreads gradually south in the oases of the sahara trade. Walter rodney 1973 preface this book derives from a concern with the contemporary african situation. West africa, islam and the arab world by john hunwick. This book is a major contribution to the social, political and intellectual history of the largest colonial state in africa, the french west african federation.
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. But the early penetration of islam is even more effective down the caravan routes of west africa. Article is composed of three parts, which 1how 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. This led many africans to resent christianity and the west. This conference will examine those issues but place them within a. Trade and commerce paved the way for the introduction of.
They were the first negro people who accepted islam. By focusing on the specific subject of the development of french policy towards islam, it sheds light on a wide range of issues, from the grand strategy of french imperialism to the. The europeans arrive 265 portugal in west african history 265. The series will take up issues of religious and intellectual traditions, social significance and organization, and other aspects of. Islamic education, embodied knowledge and history in. Over the last 1400 years, from origins in arabia, a succession of muslim polities and later empires expanded to control territories and peoples that ultimately stretched from southern france, to east africa to south east asia.
This move became a crucial event in the history of islam and came to be known as hijra. Islam reached the savannah region in the 8th century c. This book is not an attempt to write a history of west africa, but to show the way in which islam spread and moulded the history of the western sudan. Muslim societies in african history new approaches to african history book 2. The introduction to the author, the headings and accentuation of some.
West africa, was a timely contribution to the direction of the discussion. Pdf islam and west african anthropology researchgate. Dr triminghams conclusion is that a fundamental among the great facts in the history of west africa prior to the age of european penetration has been the propagation of islam and the way it has. The spread of islam in africa began in the 7th and 8th cent. An intellectual history of muslim west africa by ousmane kane. The journal of african history the historiography of islam in. Certificate examination wassce history paper 1, west africa and the wider. Islam, the west, and the future by arnold j toynbee this is a chapter of a book by arnold j toynbee, civilization on trial, published by oxford university press 1948. Margari hill, stanford university january 2009 available in pdf format 1. Pouwels ohio university press 2000 pdf the history of the islamic faith on the continent of africa spans fourteen centuries.
The history of islam in africa is almost as old as islam itself, stretching back to the 7th century. Almost onethird of the worlds muslim population resides today in the. Islam and muslim societies and the history of religious life in africa more generally. Western africa the islamic revolution in the western sudan. Learn west africa history islam western with free interactive flashcards. 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. Islam has been one of the most powerful religious, social, and political forces in history. Includes bibliographical references and index introduction.
It fostered literacy in arabic, the spread of islamic learning, and the construction of mosques in the cities of west africa. The history of west africa has been commonly divided into its prehistory, the iron age in africa, the major polities flourishing, the colonial period, and finally the postindependence era, in. Islam and west african anthropology article pdf available in africa today 531. It delves into the past only because otherwise it would be impossible to understand how the present came into being and what the trends are for the near future. Following napoleons conquest of egypt in 1798 and the. West african history books cultures of west africa. First published between 1832 and 1994, this 6 volume set examines the history of islam in a variety of regions across the world. They claim that modern christianity brought only oppression. The following two parts present overviews of islamic history in west africa and the sudanic. The immense scale of the horror inflicted on black africans by islamic slavery over 1400 years is stunning, and make no mistake, the practice continues today.
Islam in west africa today 261 conclusions 261 chapter 10 first contact. In contrast to depictions that emphasize the importance of international networks and antimodern reaction in twentiethcentury islamic reform, this book claims that, in west africa, such movements were driven by local forces and constituted only the most recent round in a set of centuriesold debates about the best way for pious people to. 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. The book offers a nuanced examination of west african history in the postabolition and colonial periods, including a critical look at the slave trade after 1807, the era of steamboat commerce, and.
The history of west africa can be divided into five major periods. Many people were impressed by verses of the quran and converted to islam out of their free will. Mar 31, 2000 the history of the islamic faith on the continent of africa spans fourteen centuries. The aims and objectives is to find out the factors responsible for the spread of islam in west africa.
By focusing on islam in the making of krio society in sierra leone, this book also helps recontextualize creolization in west africa and elsewhere. France and islam in west africa, 18601960 by christopher. Islam reaches west africa, and a history of the islamic empire of ghana. We discuss intellectual history, the curricula of madrasas and a day in the life of a 16thcentury student in sankore. How europe underdeveloped africa abahlali basemjondolo. Islam was the religion of merchants and bureaucrats. The series will take up issues of religious and intellectual traditions, social significance and organization, and other aspects of the islamic presence in africa. West africa is defined as the area south of the sahara between the atlantic and lake chad, encompassing the sahel zone, tropical forests, and pasturelands. Below, mustafa briggs lists 11 books that highlight different aspects of this deeprooted tradition, the achievements at times even existence of which are often overlooked. This is a short history of africa excluding egypt, ethiopia and dutch and british south africa, which are the subjects of separate histories.
By carefully extracting the threads of ancient arab sources, oral traditions and archaeological studies, michael gomez weaves the early west african empires of ghana, mali and songhay together and inextricably binds them to the rest of the world in a groundbreaking way. But interestingly, islam does not get the same a ttention as christianity. Spanning continents from africa, to asia, north america and europe, and ranging from 19 th century ethnographical studies to modern day historical research, these titles not only show the diversity within this global religion, but also how the study of islam has. The moroccan occupation of the niger bend in 1591 meant that the domination of the western sudan by mande or mandeinspired empiresghana, mali, songhaiwhich had persisted for at least five centuries, was at last ended. The histom1 ofls1am il1 africa ohio university press. Pdf west african anthropology carries the burden of a chasm between what is considered. Toynbees chapter is reproduced in its entirety below. Using a conceptual framework derived from contemporary political theories on social cleavages and individual interests. Almurabids who intended to open the cities of andulus but later. The history of west africa has been commonly divided into its prehistory, the iron age in africa, the major polities flourishing, the colonial period, and finally the postindependence era, in which the current nations were formed. Islam has a large presence in north africa, the horn of africa, the swahili coast, and much of west africa, with minority but significant immigrant populations in south africa. Doi published on 10 apr 2006 last modified on 16 oct 2011 category. Introduction of christianity and islam into african traditional society have slighted.
Spread of islam in west africa all parts the religion of. List of books and articles about islam in africa online. Articles islamic history in detail muslim geographers and historians have provided excellent records of muslim rulers and peoples in africa. 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. Some thoughts on west african history 231 the great sudanic states ghana 240. Spread of islam in west africa all parts the religion. Because islam spread to west africa from north africa, muslims there fol lowed the maliki school of law dominant in north africa. You will find often west african manual workers, laborers and farm workers. 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. Trade and commerce paved the way for the introduction of new.
The famous scholar ibn munabbah wrote as early as 738 c. Choose from 500 different sets of west africa history islam western flashcards on quizlet. This conference will examine those issues but place them within a much broader. The songhai kings were pushed southeast into their original homeland of dendi, farther down. West africa is west of an imagined northsouth axis lying close to 10 east longitude, bordered by the atlantic ocean and sahara desert.
Western africa western africa the islamic revolution in the western sudan. London, new york, published for the university of glasgow by the oxford university press 1962 ocolc646844043. Pearson islam in the bilad alsudan to 1800 nehemia levtzion the juula and the expansion of islam into the. Islam and social change in french west africa by sean hanretta.
Nimtz opens this book with a historical account of islam in east africa, and in subsequent chapters analyzes the role of tariqas in tanzania and, more specifically, in the coastal city of bagamoyo. Before the 1960s, very few efforts were made to relate theology to the african context. Yet islam is younger than christianity by six centuries. Before reading this book, i thought that i was reasonably wellinformed on the history of islam, and i was wrong. The history of the islamic faith on the continent of africa spans fourteen centuries. Aug 01, 2001 before reading this book, i thought that i was reasonably wellinformed on the history of islam, and i was wrong. The history of islam in west africa can be explained in three stages, containment, mixing, and reform. 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. Brills islam in africa is designed to present the results of scholarly research into the many aspects of the history and presentday features of islam in subsaharan africa. Walter rodney 1973 how europe underdeveloped africa. Islam, islamic history, islamic civilization, islam in africa, islam in south africa.
In this article, i focus on the historiography of islam in west africa. In the 20th century muslims remain either a majority or a significant minority in most regions of the east african coast. Aug 22, 2017 in this interview, we explore the early history of islam in west africa with professor ousmane kane, who has mapped out the networks of islamic learning in the region. Bringing together two dozen leading scholars, this.
History textbook west african senior school certificate. West africas indigenous religions remained strongest in the forest region. At interplay throughout the book are the crisscrossing fibers of religion, slavery, caste, ethnicity, race, and gender, the. Using a conceptual framework derived from contemporary political theories on. Introduction abbul hassan ali, assammaniy proclaimed that islam spread in west africa through the activities and efforts of al murabidun strugglers i. However, since the growing popularity of islam jeopardized muhammads and his disciples lives, the entire community moved from mecca to medina circa 622 ce. In this interview, we explore the early history of islam in west africa with professor ousmane kane, who has mapped out the networks of islamic learning in the region. Africa was the first continent, that islam spread into out of arabia in the early seventh century. Abuabdullah adelabu has written in his movements of islam in face of the empires and kingdoms in yorubaland claims about the early arrival of islam in. Articles islamic history in detail muslim geographers and historians have provided excellent records of muslim rulers and peoples 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. 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.
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