Africa and Islam

Rahi Patel, Daniel Pham

Key Terms

• Islam – a religion based on the Qur’an, a book believed to be the verbatim word of god, and the teachings of Islam Prophet, Muhammad

• Ifriqiya – Arabic name for north eastern Africa• Maghrib – Arabic name for western Africa• Jihad – a holy war to purify, spread, and protect the

Islam faith• Muslim – a follower of Islam• Berbers – people of the desert in classical Africa• Almoravids - members of an Islamic purifying reform

movement among Berbers

Spread of Islam

Maghrib

Maghrib – the western region of Africa

Important Islam Figures

Qur’an - the holy book

Muhammad – the prophet of Islam

Almoravid Movement

The Almoravids initiated a jihad and spread Islam into sub-Saharan Africa and north into Spain and Portugal

Outline/Summary

• From 640-700 C.E., followers of Muhammad spread across northern Africa from Suez in the north east to Morocco in the north west, where Islam found many followers. Conversion was rapid and widespread because of the unity provided by the Abbasid dynasty, which ruled the Arabian peninsula and Ifriqiya, although this unity eventually broke down. Islam flourished because African kings saw the tradition of uniting state and religion as a way to reinforce their power and also because the concept of unity put Africans, Arabs, and Bebers on equal grounds. In the 11th century, Almoravids launched a jihad to purify the faith in a reform movement that was directed south and another group, the Almohadis, did the same in the 12th century. These two reform movements would eventually become the thrust for the spread of Islam into sub-Saharan Africa.

Importance in World History

• The spread of Islam into Africa brought with it the workings of cultural diffusion and opened Africa to the global community. Though not isolated before, Islam brought Africa into more intensive contact with the global community and connected many areas in Africa into global trade.

Interesting Fact

• Christianity had a firm hold on Mediterranean Africa, spread from the Roman Empire, before Islam came and the majority converted to Muslims. Christianity still thrived in the Axum kingdom, as well as in Egypt and Nubia, however.