Sub-Saharan Africa

Mansa Musa was the most known African ruler in the fourteenth century. He was an emperor of the Mali empire. He went on a Religious Pilgrimage to the Mecca which is required now by every Muslim at least once during their entire life.

- Wars under the first four caliphs for expansion spread Islam rapidly, along the way, in the Middle East and

Mansa Musa, Mali’s greatest leader, was said to be the richest man alive. He ruled for twenty-five years, from 1312 to 1337. During these times, Mansa Musa gained control of important trade routes and helped spread Islam. However, the question is, what contributed more, Islam or geography, to the wealth and power of the West African Empires. Most people would say that Islam was the main factor. But others would argue and say that geography was the main factor. It was proven, however, that geography was the main factor for creating the wealth and power in the West African Empires. The reason to why this is true is because of the salt and gold trade, when caravans from Djenne came to Timbuktu, and the trade routes.

When Mansa Musa was ruling over Mali, he wanted to attract more scholars from Eurasia to Mali so that his empire would have a bigger reputation. So Mansa Musa decided to build multiple universities and mosques, most notably the University of Timbuktu, to draw many scholars to Mali to learn about Islam. The plan proved to be successful, and many scholars flocked to these universities to learn facts about Science, Astronomy, and so on. After a few years of these universities being built, word spread to all of Europe and almost all of Asia of how much knowledge Mali knew. Their reputation grew so big, that many scholars from around the world converted to Islam, even though it wasn’t the religion they were familiar with. Soon, many people came to Mali’s cultural exchanges to learn more about Islam, Literature, and any sort of knowledge they could get. Because of this reason, the Empire of Mali had its cultural exchanges expanded even further.

Between 1000 AD and 1750 AD, Islam made many social, political, and economic changes to West Africa.

Africa is known as the origin of the human race. Since that is the case, Africa has had the most opportunities to impress the modern world. Africa has done just that. Africa had three major kingdoms, each of which were major successes. Throughout history, Africa’s kingdoms have utilized their natural resources to become some of the most prosperous kingdoms the world has ever seen. Also, the rulers of said kingdoms have used no nonsense policies, both domestic and foreign, to decrease crime rates and peacefully trade. And, lastly, Africa’s natural geography has helped the African people be some of the most successful. Whether it’s the desert or the densely vegetated areas, Africa’s geography has helped it’s people. Before the arrival of the

Islam was spread in Africa in the 8th century from the east. Nearly half of African population is Muslim (about 55 percent). It is the most popular religion in Africa. Islam is a part of Africa an over of 1438 years. Islam is a relationship between god, humankind and environment, a way of life and culture. It supports Africa in the development of culture and it’s economy. It became the largest religion in the country since the 10th century mostly in the Northern Africa and in the Mauritanians. The history of Islam in Africa can be put into three heading: How did it spread, where are they most located and what is its world population.

By 630 CE, paganism successfully ended by the Prophet Muhammad, which unified Bedouin. After the prophet’s death, the Islamic civilization expand rapidly in Asia, Africa, and Europe. A new era was created by the Muslims who contributed many resources, intellectual and cultural achievements. The Islamic faith transformed the Post Classical period. The prophet Muhammad shaped Bedouin culture by unifying them, religiously, politically and intellectually, which made expansion possible through the feuding divisions of Islam and fragmenting powerful empires, the growth of Islam created more intellectual and cultural achievements that shaped the Muslim world.

Why did trade thrive in Muslim lands? In 600 C.E., Muhammad created a religion called Islam. Islam inspired the Arab people, which united as an army and was on the rise to an empire. During 1000 c.e., the Muslims had conquered an area stretching from northern Afghanistan to parts southern Spain. Trade, ideas, and culture thrived in this Islamic empire. Islam brought a sense of unity and purpose to the traders and people of the Arabian Peninsula. Arab armies spread Islam through the Middle East and beyond. Muslim traders also spread Islam.

The axial age shifted religious beliefs that were solely dependent on nature for security into religions that focused on individual advancement. As a result of this transition, certain religions became universal because they were open to all, appealed to every social classes, and took advantage of times of unrest and religious uncertainty in favor of conversion. Islam,

Foltz states that “the expansion of a particular religions rule is not identical with the spread of faith” (Foltz 91). The Islamic faith did not originally spread through proselytization, but through economic and political power. After the 8th century, Muslims controlled almost all of the trans-Asian trade (Foltz 91) Due to the growing religion of Islam, people began to convert for not only spiritual reasons, but economic reasons as well. Being Muslim at the time would have brought new advantages, such as being part of the “ruling group”, and better commercial activity. One might convert to Islam to better his commercial activity. For example by accepting Islamic norms a merchant would have better interactions with Muslim officials and Islamic laws governing the city (Foltz

First, animistic beliefs still played an incredibly large role in many Sub-Saharan African societies. Leaders such as Sundiata of the Mali Empire tried to keep the amount of old animistic beliefs and newer religions such as Islam the same. Traditional practices such as the Khweta Ceremony continue to this present day. The reason for this continuity is that the location for Sub-Saharan Africa causes it to become not completely isolated from the rest of the modern world, but rather just incredibly difficult to get to. Many societies inside of Sub-Saharan Africa would have no particular or compelling reason for them to switch to Christianity or Islam. Another continuity is the practice of some religions that started outside of Sub-Saharan Africa that were brought into Sub-Saharan Africa by european explorers, particularly on the east coast. Societies such as Great Zimbabwe and Mozambique had influences from many other religions such as Islam and Buddhism, and still practice those religions to this

Dr. Amer Ahmed’s discussion educated me about the history of Islam and how it has influenced hip-hop throughout the years. Islam was prevalent in Africa through trade prior to the start of the transatlantic slave trade in the 15th century. Arabs migrated to North Africa, specifically Somalia and Ethiopia, seeking refuge, and along the way, began trading and sharing ideas with the natives. Over the next century, 44.7 percent of Muslims ruled Africa, and Islam began to spread into western parts of Africa. When slaves were brought to America from West Africa, the practice of Islam was carried on through oral tradition. Nevertheless, slaves were forced by their owners to practice Christianity as a means to exemplify civilization. Churches

The modern use of the word "Coptic" categorizes Egyptian Christians, as well as the last ancient Egyptian language that was spoken. Christianity began in Egypt about 55 A.D. making it one of the five oldest Christian churches in the world. Copts were established by John Mark, who was one of the 72 apostles that was sent by Jesus. He is author of the Gospel of Mark, also he was the founder and served as the first bishop. One of Mark's accomplishments was founding a school in Alexandria to spread the word about orthodox Christianity. By 180 A.D., this school was an established center of secular learning but also taught theology and spirituality. The church's theological school in Alexandria was restored in 1893. Since then, it has established

He brought a lot of gold via camels. He caused inflation in Alexandria because of the amount of gold he put into the economy. This story leads us to know of Western Africa 's affairs with India. This story also tells us that Islam was one of the most active religion at the time. Timbuktu was one of the most important cities among them in Africa. Traders were among the first to convert to Islam in Western Africa because of the social connection they can obtain through it. They would convert other people along the routes and bring back scholars and many well -educated people to increase their power over the people. Ibn batuta was one of the most famous of the scholars and he instituted Islam also. Overall, the trade route was mostly used for spread of wealth and power, from scholars and educated from Swahilis Bantu collection of