1.
Islam by country
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Adherents of Islam constitute the worlds second largest religious group. According to a 2010 study that was released in January 2011, Islam has 1.6 billion adherents, according to another study in 2015 Islam has 1.7 billion adherents. Most Muslims are either of two denominations, Sunni or Shia, Islam is the dominant religion in the Middle East, North Africa, the Sahel, Central Asia and some other parts of Asia. Large communities of Muslims are also found in China, the Balkans, India, historically, Islam was divided into three major religious denominations well known as Sunni, Khawarij and Shī‘ah. In the modern era, Sunnis constitute more than 70% of the overall Muslim population while the Shias are slightly more than 20%, today, many of the Shia sects are extinct. The major surviving Imamah-Muslim Sects are Usulism, Nizari Ismailism and Alevism, on the other hand, new Muslim sects like the Nation of Islam, Ahmadi Muslims, non-denominational Muslims, Quranist Muslims and Wahhabis were later independently developed. According to the Pew Research Center in 2010, there were 50 Muslim-majority countries, around 62% of the worlds Muslims live in the Asia-Pacific region, with over 1 billion adherents. The largest Muslim population in a country is in Indonesia, a home to 12. 7% of the worlds Muslims, followed by Pakistan. About 20% of Muslims live in Arab countries, in the Middle East, the non-Arab countries of Turkey, Pakistan and Iran are the largest Muslim-majority countries, in Africa, Egypt and Nigeria have the most populous Muslim communities. The study found more Muslims in the United Kingdom than in Lebanon, other studies show variance with Pew figures. The percentage of Muslims in Egypt is given as 93. 7%, however, the figure for Christians in Egypt is usually estimated at 12-15%, but in truth nobody knows since there has been no religious census
2.
Islam in Africa
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Africa was the first continent into which Islam spread from Asia in the early 7th century. Almost one-third of the worlds Muslim population resides in the continent, Muslims crossed current Djibouti, Somalia and Eritrea to seek refuge in present-day Ethiopia during the Hijarat. Most Muslims in Africa are Sunni, the complexity of Islam in Africa is revealed in the schools of thought, traditions. African Islam is not static and is constantly being reshaped by prevalent social, economic, generally Islam in Africa often adapted to African cultural contexts and belief systems forming Africas own orthodoxies. It was estimated in 2002 that Muslims constitute 48% of the population of Africa, 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. However, Islam has encountered criticism and resistance in several nations of Sub-Saharan Africa, on the advice of Muhammad, in Rajab 8BH, or May 614AD, twenty three Muslims migrated to Abyssinia where they were protected by its king, Al-Najashi, who may have accepted Islam later. They were followed by 101 Muslims later in the same year, most of those Muslims returned to Medina in 7H/628AD but some settled in the neighboring Zeila which was at that time part of Bilad al-Barbar. Those that settled there later built Masjid al-Qiblatayn, in 20H/641AD during the reign of Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab, Muslim troops took over current Egypt and conquered current Libya the following year. Muslims then expanded to current Tunisia in 27H/647AD during the reign of the third Muslim Caliph, the conquest of North Africa continued under the Umayyad dynasty, taking Algeria by 61H/680AD, and Morocco the following year. From the latter Muslim troops crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to Europe in 92H/711AD, Islam gained momentum during the 10th century in West Africa with the start of the Almoravids movement on the Senegal River and as rulers and kings embraced Islam. Islam then spread slowly in much of the continent through trade, by the 9th century Muslim Sultanates started being established in the Horn of Africa, and by the 12th century the Kilwa Sultanate had spread as far south as Mozambique. Islam only crossed deeper into Malawi and Congo in the half of the 19th century under the Zanzibar Sultanate. Then the British brought their labor force from India, including some Muslim-Indian nationals, to their African colonies towards the end of the nineteenth, in the Muslim tradition, this event is known as the first hijrah, or migration. During this first Hijra some Muslims settled in the city of Zeila and this mosque has two Qiblas because it was built before the Prophet switched the Qibla from Jerusalem to Mecca. The coastline of The Horn of Africa became the first safe haven for Muslims, seven years after the death of Muhammad, the Arabs advanced toward Africa and within two generations, Islam had expanded across the Horn of Africa and North Africa. During the reign of Umar II, the governor of Africa. Other early notable missionaries include Abdallah ibn Yasin, who started a movement which caused thousands of Berbers to accept Islam, similarly, in the Swahili coast, Islam made its way inland - spreading at the expense of traditional African religions. This expansion of Islam in Africa not only led to the formation of new communities in Africa, indeed, in the middle of the 11th century, the Kanem Empire, whose influence extended into Sudan, converted to Islam
3.
Islam in Algeria
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Islam is the majority religion in Algeria. The vast majority of citizens are Sunni Muslims belonging to Maliki school of jurisprudence, with a minority of Ibadi, Islam provides the society with its central social and cultural identity and gives most individuals their basic ethical and attitudinal orientation. Orthodox observance of the faith is much less widespread and steadfast than is identification with Islam, there are also Sufi philosophies which arose as a reaction to theoretical perspectives of some scholars. The native Berbers were rapidly converted in large numbers, although some Christian, however, as in the Middle East itself, they sought to combine their new Islam with resistance to the Caliphates foreign rule - a niche which the Kharijite and Shiite heresies filled perfectly. By the late 8th century, most of Algeria was ruled by the Rustamids, with the political threat of the Abbasid Caliphate gone, these soon reverted to Sunni Islam - specifically, the Maliki branch, whose popularity had spread widely in the Maghreb. The Almohads were zealously orthodox, and under their rule Algeria gradually acquired its notable religious homogeneity, Sunni Islam and the Maliki madhhab became virtually universal, apart from the Ibadhis of the Mzab and small Jewish communities. When the Ottomans ruled Algeria, they brought the Hanafi madhhab with them, however, they accepted the local custom of Maliki law, during these centuries Sufi brotherhoods were widespread, and marabouts and saint cults - still testified to by the many Algerian towns named Sidi. Islam took longer to spread to the far south of Algeria, whose history is to a large extent separate, in 1830, the French conquered Algiers. Their attempts to rule the rest of the country met stiff opposition, often religiously inspired, the Sufi warrior Amir Abd al-Qadir was particularly notable for his campaign to keep the French out. Even after his defeat, rebellions continued to be mounted until at least 1870, notably that of Cheikh Mokrani, again, soon after arriving in Algeria, the French colonial regime set about undermining traditional Muslim Algerian culture. By French law Muslims could not hold meetings, carry firearms. Legally, they were French subjects, but to become French citizens, with full rights, the land of Islamic charitable trusts was regarded as government property and confiscated. Much of the network of traditional Quranic schools and zaouias - regarded with suspicion as centers of potential resistance - collapsed, however, the emergence of the religious scholar and reformer Abdelhamid Ben Badis would go some way to reversing these trends. After independence the Algerian government asserted state control over religious activities for purposes of national consolidation, Islam became the religion of the state in the new constitution, and was the religion of its leaders. The state monopolized the building of mosques, and the Ministry of Religious Affairs controlled an estimated 5,000 public mosques by the mid-1980s. Imams were trained, appointed, and paid by the state, and that ministry also administered religious property, provided for religious education and training in schools, and created special institutes for Islamic learning. Those measures, however, did not satisfy everyone, as early as 1964 a militant Islamic movement, called Al Qiyam, emerged and became the precursor of the Islamic Salvation Front of the 1990s. Al Qiyam called for a dominant role for Islam in Algerias legal and political systems
4.
Islam in Angola
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Islam in Angola is a minority religion. Most sources estimate the population at 90,000, although some give a higher figure, most Muslims in Angola are Sunni. They are generally migrants from West Africa and the Middle East. There exist several Islamic organizations that run mosques, schools and community centers, the Association of the Development of Islam in Angola is the primary proselytizing organization. Muslim Angolans are represented by the Supreme Council of Angolan Muslims of Luanda, the government requires religious groups to petition for legal status. Upon recognition, these groups are allowed to build schools and places of worship, in order to be recognized, a group must have more than 100,000 and be present in 12 out of 18 provinces. The population of Muslims, however, is estimated at only 90,000, while the government has given legal status to 83 religious groups, it has not given legal status to any Muslim groups. The president of the Islamic Community of Angola has criticized Angolas threshold for recognition by stating, the US State Department reports that the government often permits non-registered groups to exist and function, but notes of instances of Angolan authorities shutting down mosques. Chikoti states that some Muslim groups had not registered their mosques officially, historically, Angola did not have a significant Muslim population. During the 21st century, Angolas Muslim community has grown, most Muslims in Angola are businessmen and migrants from West Africa and the Middle East, especially Lebanon. Very few Angolans have converted to Islam as a result of Muslim missionary activity in Angola, most of these conversions occurred during the Angolan Civil War, when many Angolans fled to countries with a significant Muslim presence and came into contact with Islam there. Adebayo Oyebade estimates that Muslims make up 1 to 2.5 percent of Angolas population, the US State Department states that the estimated Muslim population is 80, 000-90,000, but notes that some sources put the population size closer to 500,000. Which appears to be highly unrealistic, around 1% of the Muslim population of Angola adheres to Shia Islam. The International Religious Freedom Report stated that the Angolan government selectively shut down mosques, schools, Angolan officials denied that a government had a policy to close mosques, there were reports of local authorities closing mosques or preventing their construction on several occasions. In July 2010, unidentified arsonists set fire to a mosque in Huambo, a Muslim leader later said the mosque was burned a day after authorities had warned us that we should not have built the mosque where we had and that it had to be built somewhere else. On September 4,2010, authorities closed a mosque in Cazenga without prior notice or justification, the mosque reopened a month later. In November 2011, Angolan authorities tore down a structure being used as a mosque in Cacuaco without notice, in December 2011, a Muslim group in the Malanje Province purchased some land, and applied to obtain permission to build a mosque. The Muslim group repeatedly asked the authorities to grant or deny the application
5.
Religion in Benin
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Christianity is the most widely professed religion in Benin, with 42. 8% of the nations total population being members of various Christian denominations. According to the 2002 census, the population of Benin is 27. 1% Catholic,24. 4% Muslim,17. 3% Vodoun,10. 4% Protestant,5. 3% of other Christian denominations, and 15. 5% of other religions. There are Christians, Muslims, and adherents of African Traditional Religion throughout the country, however, most adherents of the traditional Yoruba religious group are in the south, while other African Traditional Religion beliefs are followed in the north. Muslims are represented most heavily in the north and southeast, Christians are prevalent in the south, particularly in Cotonou, the economic capital. It is not unusual for members of the family to practice Christianity, Islam, African Traditional Religion. Among the most practiced African Traditional Religions in Benin is the Vodun system of belief which originated in this area of Africa. Other African Traditional Religions are practiced in the Atakora and Vodun and Orisha or Orisa veneration among the Yoruba and Tado peoples is prevalent in the center, the town of Ouidah on the central coast is the spiritual center of Beninese Vodun. The deity of thunder and lightning, known as Shango, can also be spelt as Sango, also known as Jakuta, Chango, the deity of war and iron, known as Ogun, also known as Ogoun or Gu. Christianity first reached Benin in 1680, gaining more permanent footing in the 19th century, english Methodists arrived in 1843, operating amongst the coastal Gun people. More than half of all Christians in Benin are Roman Catholic, the Catholic hierarchy in Benin consists of the Archdiocese of Cotonou and the Parakou. There are 440 priests and 900 men and women in religious orders, many nominal Christians also practice traditional local religious beliefs. Islam, which accounts for more than 24. 4% of the population, was brought to Benin from the north by Hausa. Nearly all Muslims adhere to the Sunni branch of Islam, the few Shia Muslims are primarily Middle Eastern expatriates. Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is also present, who inaugurated a mosque in Benin. Many nominal Muslims also practice traditional religious beliefs. Other religious groups in Benin include Eckankar and Bahais, the Constitution of Benin provides for freedom of religion, and the government generally respects this right in practice
6.
Islam in Burkina Faso
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Islam in Burkina Faso has a long and varied history. According to the 2006 census, the population of the country is 60. 53% Muslim, although the vast majority of Muslims are Sunni belonging to Maliki madhhab, Shia Islam and Ahmadiyya movement also have some following. Until the end of the 19th century, the Upper Volta was dominated by the Mossi Kingdoms, the Mossi initially defended their religious beliefs and social structure against Islamic influences from Muslims from the northwest. In the 15th century the Upper Volta region attracted Muslim merchants and settlements by the opening of the Akan gold fields, and the opportunity to trade in gold, kola nuts, and salt. Some of these merchants were Soninke-speaking peoples from Timbuktu and Djenné who later adopted Malinke dialect and they settled in the towns of Bobo-Dyulasso, Kong, Bunduku, and other places leading to the goldfields. Other traders came from Kanem, Bornu, and the Hausa city-states and moved into Gonja, Dagomba, Muslims married local women and raised families, which were tied to the Muslim community through the father and to the local pagan community through the mother. The offspring of these marriages often inherited chieftainships and brought about the conversion of local peoples and they organized festivals, offered prayers and divination at local courts, distributed talismans, and participated in anti-witchcraft rituals. As a result, Muslims in the region were not a language group. Throughout the region, the Dyula communities maintained a standard of Muslim education. A Dyula family enterprise based on the lu, a unit consisting of a father, his sons. Thus there emerged a class known as karamokos, who were educated in Quran, tafsir, hadith. A student read these works with a teacher over a period varying from five to thirty years. Having completed his studies, a karamoko obtained a turban and an ijazah, his license to teach, certain families provided scholars generation after generation. During the great Senegambian jihad led by Ma Ba Islam spread in the region of the Upper Volta. French colonial rule was imposed on Upper Volta in 1919, but it was divided among the Ivory Coast, Niger, and the Sudan, french rule was characterized by a promotion of secular elites selected from the indigenous population, but it also aided the peaceful spread of Islam. Colonial administration indirectly favored the spread of Islam by creating peace and order and they also tended to regard Muslims as culturally and educationally more advanced than non-Muslim Africans, and appointed Muslim chiefs and clerks as administrators in non-Muslim areas. In Upper Volta at the end of the 19th century there were only some 30,000 Muslims, in 1984, Upper Volta was renamed Burkina Faso. After a succession of coups, a constitutional republic was established in 1991
7.
Islam in Burundi
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Islam is a minority religion in Burundi. According to a 2010 United States Department of State estimate, between 2–5 percent of the population identifies as Muslim. Islam first arrived in Burundi from East African coast as part of the Arab slave trade in the late 19th century, resistance by the Kingdom of Burundi, led by mwami Mwezi IV Gisabo, succeeded in preventing the country from being occupied. The Arabs did, however, establish settlements at Ujiji and Uvira close to the current borders. The number of Muslims is Burundi increased under German colonial rule, by the outbreak of World War I, Bujumbura was a majority Muslim city. The religion declined under Belgian colonial rule as a result of the spread of Catholicism, today the Muslim population is strongly urbanised and focused in the cities of Bujumbura, Gitega, Rumonge, Nyanza, Muyinga, and Makamba. The great majority are Sunni while a minority are Shia. Most are Swahili speakers although they may speak other national languages, a significant proportion of the Muslim community are recent immigrants to the country from West Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Middle East, and Pakistan. Native Burundian Muslims belong to both of the ethnic groups and successfully managed to avoid become involved in the Burundian genocides. The Republic of Burundi is officially secular but several Muslim festivals, including Eid ul-Fitr, despite being only a small proportion of the national population, Muslims are represented in senior positions in Burundian politics and society, especially since the end of the Burundian Civil War. Religion in Burundi Islam in Africa Union for Peace and Democracy Luffin, Muslims in Burundi, Discretion and Neutrality. Media related to Islam in Burundi at Wikimedia Commons
8.
Islam in Cameroon
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Muslims comprise roughly 24 percent of the 21 million inhabitants in Cameroon. Approximately 27% identify themselves as Sunni, 12% Ahmadi and 3% Shia while the majority of the rest do not associate themselves with a particular group, in Cameroon, 48% of Muslims belong to a Sufi Tariqah. The Fulani, a nomadic group, spread Islam in early 19th century West Africa largely through commercial activity. In the northern provinces, the locally dominant Fulani overwhelmingly is Muslim, other ethnic groups, known collectively as the Kirdi, generally practice some form of Islam. The Bamoun ethnic group of the West Province is also largely Muslim, in the rush to claim African territories Germany first entered Cameroon in 1884 and established rule in northern Cameroon by 1902. Throughout the German colonial period, the Adamawa and Lake Chad regions were governed by combining heavy military presence with indirect rule, existing political and legal institutions, together with Muslim and native law and customs, were kept intact. Contrary to British rule in Northern Nigeria, German indirect rule did not involve immediate taxes or land reforms before 1913, when such reforms were proposed but, due to the war, never implemented
9.
Islam in the Central African Republic
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Islam accounts for approximately 10% of the population of the Central African Republic, making it the second most followed organized religion in the country after Christianity. The vast majority of Muslims are Sunni of Maliki school of jurisprudence, most Central African Muslims live in the north-east, near the border with predominantly Muslim Chad and Sudan. Islam arrived in Central African Republic in the 17th Century as part of the expansion of the Saharan, in February 2014, tens of thousands of Muslims fled the Central African Republic for Chad as they felt they were no longer safe in the country
10.
Islam in Chad
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The earliest presence of Islam in Chad can be traced back to the legendary Uqba ibn Nafi, whose descendants can be found settled in the Lake Chad region to this day. By the time Arab migrants began arriving from the east in the century in sizeable numbers. Islamization in Chad was gradual, the effect of the spread of Islamic civilization beyond its political frontiers. Today the majority of Chadians are Muslims, the vast majority of whom are Sunni of Maliki madhhab, in Chad, 55% of Muslims belong to a Sufi Tariqah. Islam in Chad was not influenced much by the great movements of the Islamic Middle Ages. Consistent contact with West African Muslim traders and pilgrims may be the reason Chadian Muslims identify with the Tijaniyya order, similarly, in the mid-nineteenth century, the Sanusiyya brotherhood was founded in Libya, which benefited from economic and political influence in the Lake Chad Basin around 1900. An Islamic revival movement, feared by some French, led by Sanusi fanatics, Chadian adherents, limited to the Awlad Sulayman Arabs, higher Islamic education in Chad is sparse, thus, serious Islamic students and scholars must travel to other countries. Scholars travel abroad to such as Khartoum and Cairo, where Chadians attend Al Azhar. Chadians observe the five pillars of the faith differently than the orthodox version, prayer, both public and communal, occur more than once a week, but often not in a mosque. Chadian Muslims likely make the pilgrimage less often than Hausans in northern Nigeria, some Chadian Muslims follow the Ramadan fast stricter than typical, with some refusing to swallow their saliva during the day. Islam by country Religion in Chad This article incorporates public domain material from the Library of Congress Country Studies website http, //lcweb2. loc. gov/frd/cs/
11.
Islam in Comoros
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According to the 2006 estimate by the U. S. Department of State, roughly 98% of the population in the Comoros are Muslim. Virtually all Muslims in the Comoros are Sunni belonging to Shafii school of jurisprudence, most adherents are Arab-Swahili, but there are also people of Indian, largely Gujarati, descent. Local legend claims Islam was brought to the islands during Muhammad’s lifetime, historical evidence suggests Arab merchants and exiled Zayidi Persian Shirazi princes first introduced the religion. Islam has long played a role in the Comoros. Ruling families learned Arabic, performed Hajj, and maintained ties with other Muslim communities, such as Kilwa, Zanzibar, several Sufi tariqa, including the Shadhili, the Qadiriya, and the Rifai, are also active. Hassan ibn Issa, a 16th-century Shirazi chief who claimed descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad, encouraged conversion, in the 19th century, Sheikh Abdalah Darwesh initiated the Shadiliya tariqa in the Comoros. Born in Grande Comore, Sheikh Darwesh traveled throughout the Middle East and later converted Said Muhammad Al-Maarouf, Sheikh Al-Ami ibn Ali al-Mazruwi was the first of the regions ulama to author Islamic literature in Swahili. Ahmed Bin Sumeit studied in Arab countries before serving as teacher and qadi in Madagascar, Zanzibar, and, after 1967, hundreds of mosques are scattered throughout the islands, as well as numerous madrassah. Practically all children attend Quranic School for two or three years, usually starting around the age of five, there they learn the rudiments of Islam, when rural children attend these schools, they sometimes move away from home and assist their teacher in working his land. In 1998, a new Grand Mosque, financed by the emir of Sharjah, was inaugurated in Moroni, the tombs of Islamic holy men and founders of ṭarīqah are frequently visited on religious occasions. Comorians follow religious observances conscientiously and strictly adhere to religious orthodoxy, during colonization, the French did not attempt to supplant Islamic practices and were careful to respect the precedents of sharia as interpreted by the Shafii school of thought. All Muslim holidays are observed, including Id al-Adha, Muharram, Ashura, Mawlid, Laylat al-Miraj, Mawlid is marked by celebrations culminating in a feast prepared for the ulama. Many women wear the chirumani, a cloth worn around the body. Comorians often consult mwalimus or fundi and marabouts for healing and protection from jinn, mwalimus activate jinn to determine propitious days for feasts, have a successful marriage, conduct healing ceremonies, and prepare amulets containing Quranic ayat. The chaotic economic and political climate since independence in 1975 has been detrimental to the development of human rights, rival factions have sought to mobilize religious support both to uphold and contest political power and social inequality. Political opponents have relied on their own interpretation of the Quran and hadith, competing Islamic views have entered politics, both to justify and challenge the government. European trained government officials have adopted Western political ideologies and secularism while continuing to support leaders of Islamic brotherhoods, islamism and Wahhabism has become increasingly as students returned from Islamic studies abroad. In response to perceived injustice and chaos within the Comorian government, suspected al-Qaeda member Fazul Abdullah Mohammed was born in Moroni in the Comoros and has Kenyan as well as Comorian citizenship
12.
Islam in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
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Islam is a major religion within the Democratic Republic of the Congo where it is estimated that around 10 percent of the national population identifies as Muslim. In 2012, the Pew Research Center estimated the figure at 12 percent, one 2007 estimate put the figure at just 1.4 percent. Islam is particularly prominent in the east of the country where it has been present since the 18th century, the highest concentration of Muslims is in the Province of Maniema and especially the cities of Kasongo and Kindu where they represent 80–90 percent and 25 percent of the population respectively. Islam was spread to the Congo by Arab traders of Swahili origin, such as Tippo Tip, drawn into the Congo from the east-coast of Africa, although the Arabs did not expressly intend to spread religion or culture, many African peoples adopted the ideas they brought. With the expansion of European colonial rule into the eastern Congo under the auspices of the Congo Free State, European colonists came into conflict, under Belgian colonial rule, Muslims were distrusted and considered a potential source of sedition. The arrival of Qadiriyya, a branch of Sufism, from Tanganyika in the 1920s was particularly repressed by the colonial government, the independence of the Congo in 1960 brought legal freedom of religion and allowed the Muslim community to publicly organise for the first time. Since the end of the Second Congo War, the Congos Muslim community has been united with the emergence of a national leadership. The vast majority of Muslims in the country identify themselves as Sunni, following the Maliki school of jurisprudence,10 percent are Shia, congolese Muslims are frequently divided between conservative Sufis and Reformists as well as along local ethnic, geographical, and generational lines. Islam in Africa Religion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Christianity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Leinweber, the Muslim Minority of the Democratic Republic of Congo, From Historic Marginalization and Internal Division to Collective Action
13.
Islam in the Republic of the Congo
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Islam spread to the Republic of the Congo from North Africa in the mid-19th century. The Muslim community in the country is estimated at 1.3 percent of the population, in 2005 a large new mosque was constructed in Brazzaville. Most workers in the centers were immigrants from West Africa and Lebanon. The West African immigrants arrived mostly from Mali, Benin, Togo, Mauritania, the Lebanese were primarily Sunni Muslims. There was also a large Chadian Muslim population, Muslim holy days are not nationally observed, however, they are respected. Employers grant leave for those who wish to observe holy days not on the national calendar, religion in the Republic of the Congo
14.
Islam in Ivory Coast
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Muslims make up about 38. 6% of the population of Ivory Coast. In Ivory Coast, Muslims pray, fast, and give alms as required by tenets of Islam, most Ivoirian Muslims are Sunni, following the Maliki version of Islamic law. Sufism, involving the organization of mystical brotherhoods for the purification and spread of Islam, is widespread, laced with indigenous beliefs. The four major Sufi brotherhoods are all represented in Ivory Coast, although the Qadiriya, founded in the century. The Qadiriya is prevalent in the west, and the Tidjaniya, the other two major Islamic brotherhoods have few adherents in Ivory Coast. The Senoussiya is identified with Libya, where its influence is substantial, ahmadiyya movement is also present in Ivory Coast. The significant religious authority is the marabout and he is believed to be a miracle worker, a physician, and a mystic, who exercises both magical and moral authority. He is also respected as a dispenser of amulets, which protect the wearer—Muslim or non-Muslim—against evil, the influence of marabouts has produced a number of reactions in Ivoirian society, among them a series of reformist movements. These reform movements often condemn Sufism and marabouts as un-Islamic, hamallism began as an Islamic reform movement in the French Sudan early in the twentieth century and has provided a channel for expressing political and religious discontent. Its founder, Hamallah, was exiled from the French Sudan to Ivory Coast during the 1930s and he preached Islamic reform tempered by tolerance of many local practices, but he condemned many aspects of Sufism. Orthodox brotherhoods were able to convince the French authorities in Ivory Coast that Hamallah had been responsible for earlier political uprisings in the French Sudan, authorities then expelled Hamallah from Ivory Coast and banned his teachings. The massive immigration of Muslims from the Muslim majority countries Burkina Faso, Islam by country This article incorporates public domain material from the Library of Congress Country Studies website http, //lcweb2. loc. gov/frd/cs/
15.
Islam in Djibouti
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Islam in Djibouti has a long history, first appearing in the Horn of Africa during the lifetime of Muhammad. Today, 94% of Djiboutis 490,000 inhabitants are Sunni Muslims, after independence, the nascent republic constructed a legal system based in part on Islamic law. Islam was introduced to the Horn region early on from the Arabian peninsula, zeila, in adjacent Somalias two-mihrab Masjid al-Qiblatayn, dates to the 7th century and is the oldest mosque in the city. In the late 9th century, Al-Yaqubi wrote that Muslims were living along the northern Somali seaboard and he also mentioned that the Adal kingdom had its capital in the city, suggesting that the Adal Sultanate dates back to at least the 9th or 10th century. According to I. M. Lewis, the polity was governed by local dynasties who ruled over the similarly-established Sultanate of Mogadishu in the Benadir region to the south. Adals history from this founding period forth would be characterized by a succession of battles with neighbouring Abyssinia, Djiboutis population is predominantly Sunni Muslim. The non-Muslim population consists generally of foreign-born citizens and mostly live in Djibouti City, Article 1 of the Constitution of Djibouti names Islam as the sole state religion, and Article 11 provides for the equality of citizens of all faiths and freedom of religious practice. Although Islam is the religion, the constitution does not allow for religious based political parties. Most local Muslims adhere to the Sunni denomination, following the Shafii school, the non-denominational Muslims largely belong to Sufi orders of varying schools. In 2012, a law was passed that grants the Ministry of Religious Affairs increased oversight of Djibouti’s mosques, the Ministry of Islamic Affairs reportedly used the new law that regulated mosques to replace imams and temporarily close some mosques. Some imams reported being questioned by security services following sermons with strong political and social justice themes, there were also reports of plainclothes officers monitoring the content of Friday sermons and the activities of people attending mosque services. Government officials also indicated the law was designed to counter perceived foreign influence in mosques, according to article 23 of the Family Code, a non-Muslim man may marry a Muslim woman only after converting to Islam. Non-Islamic marriages are not legally recognized by the government, which only recognizes marriages performed in accordance with the Ministry of Islamic Affairs or the Ministry of the Interior. There are approximately 40 private Islamic schools nationwide, which are managed by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, religion in Djibouti Christianity in Djibouti
16.
Islam in Egypt
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Islam in Egypt is the dominant religion with around an estimated 85% of the population. Almost the entirety of Egypts Muslims are Sunnis, with a minority of Shia. The latter, however, are not recognized by Egypt, Islam has been recognized as the state religion since 1980. Prior to Napoleons invasion in 1798, almost all of Egypts educational, legal, public health, during the 19th and 20th centuries, successive governments made extensive efforts to limit the role of the ulama in public life and to bring religious institutions under closer state control. After the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, the government assumed responsibility for appointing officials to mosques, the government mandated reform of Al-Azhar University beginning in 1961. These reforms permitted department heads to be drawn from outside the ranks of the traditionally trained orthodox ulama, in the late 10th century, the Shia Ismaili caliphate of the Fatimids made Egypt their center and Cairo their capital. Egypt flourished and the Fatimids developed a trade network in both the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. Their trade and diplomatic ties extended all the way to China and its Song Dynasty, many traces of Fatimid architecture exist in Cairo today, the most defining examples include the Al Azhar University and the Al Hakim mosque. The Fatimid palace in Cairo had two parts and it stood in the Khan el-Khalili area at Bin El-Qasryn street. In the early 20th century, Egyptian Islam was a complex, although Muslims agreed on the faiths basic tenets, the countrys various social groups and classes applied Islam differently in their daily lives. The literate theologians of Al-Azhar University generally rejected the version of Islam practiced by illiterate religious preachers, most upper- and upper-middle-class Muslims believed either that religious expression was a private matter for each individual or that Islam should play a more dominant role in public life. Islamic religious revival movements, whose appeal cut across lines, were present in most cities. This put an end to the independence of the Ulama. Awqaf, traditionally independent endowments for mosques and Islamic schools, became a ministry of the government, in 1961, Gamal Abdel Nasser made Al Azhar part of the Ministry of Awqaf or Religious Endowments. He also made the appointment of the grand sheikh the prerogative of the Egyptian president, in time the school became responsible for assigning imams to all major mosques, and all these imams were required to be graduates of the school. Orthodox ulama or the establishment found themselves in a difficult position during the wave of Islamic activism that swept through Egypt in the 1970s and 1980s. Most Ulama, including those of Al-Azhar University, are employees of the Egyptian state who recognize the primacy, support its stability. Radical Islamists viewed them as puppets of the status quo, to maintain their influence in the country, the ulama espoused more conservative stances
17.
Religion in Eritrea
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Religion in Eritrea mainly consists of Abrahamic faiths. Since May 2002, the Eritrean government has recognized the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the Eritrean Catholic Church, the Evangelical Lutheran church. All other faiths and denominations are in principle required to undergo a registration process, among other things, the governments registration system requires religious groups to submit personal information on their membership to be allowed to worship. There are two religions in Eritrea, Christianity and Islam. However, the number of adherents is subject to debate, in 2010, the United States Department of State estimated that 50% of the population was Muslim and around 48% was Christian. According to the Pew Research Center, around 62. 9% of Eritreas population in 2010 adhered to Christianity, the remaining 0. 9% of residents practiced other religions, including traditional faiths and animism. The Kingdom of Aksum, covering much of modern-day Eritrea and northern Ethiopia, the Aksumites erected a number of large stelae, which served a religious purpose in pre-Christian times. Over 200 years after the formation, it adopted Christianity under King Ezana. Eritrea was also one of the first Islamic settlements in Africa, as a group of Muslims facing persecution in Mecca migrated to Abyssinia, the denominations of the religions in Eritrea also differ from source to source. Eritrea, Religious Distribution gives 58% Orthodox, 5% Roman Catholic, the United States Department of State indicates that 50% of the population are Sunni Muslims but gives no figures for Shias, while a 2009 Pew Research Center report says that less than 1% are Shia. Around 0. 9% of local residents follow traditional religions or other faiths, atheism is low, while participation in religion is high among all ethnicities. The government has refused to register any religious group despite some of them meeting the requirements, Judaism is thought to have existed as an important religion in Eritrea and Ethiopia before Christianity became the official religion of the Kingdom of Aksum in the early 4th century AD. Islam spread to Ethiopia and Eritrea around 615 AD with the arrival of Uthman ibn Affan, Uthman had been driven out of Saudi Arabia and found shelter at Axum in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia under the protection of the Axumite king, Aṣḥama ibn Abjar. Another great power came in the person of the Imam of Harar in Ethiopia, Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi, also known as Ahmad Gurey or Gragn. Al-Ghazi led Muslim forces consisting of Somali, Harari, Oromo, Afar, Saho, Argobba, Hadiya, Silte and Gurage soldiers from present-day Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, the Ethiopian Christians are the Tigray-Tigrinya and the Amhara, while the Eritrean Christians are the Tigray-Tigrinya. In 1530 he began to attack the plateau, within four years he laid waste to the majority of the Christian highlands, including the Tigray Region of Ethiopia and Eritrea. He converted hundreds of thousands of Christians to Islam by force, only by surrender and conversion could people save their lives. Only the intervention of the Portuguese transformed the flow of events and they landed at Massawa in 1541 and helped the Eritreans and Ethiopians to drive the Imams forces from the plateau
18.
Islam in Ethiopia
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Islam in Ethiopia is the second-most widely practised religion after Christianity. According to the latest 2007 national census, there are over 25 million Muslim adherents, the faith arrived in Ethiopia at an early date, shortly before the hijira. Muslims arrived in the Axumite Empire during the Hijarat as early disciples from Mecca and they were received by the Christian ruler of Axum, whom Arabic tradition has named Ashama ibn Abjar, and he settled them in Negash. On the other hand, the center of Islamic culture, learning. The Quraysh sent emissaries to bring back to Arabia. The Prophet himself instructed his followers who came to the Axumite empire, Islam developed more rapidly in the eastern part of the Horn region, particularly among the Somali and Harari. This was challenged by the mostly Christian northern people of Abyssinia, including Amhara, Tigray, however the north and northeastern expansion of the Oromo, who practiced mainstream traditional Waaqa, affected the growth of Islam in its early days. Historian Ulrich Braukamper says, the expansion of the non-Muslim Oromo people during subsequent centuries mostly eliminated Islam in those areas, however, following the centralization of some Oromo communities, some of them adopted Islam and today constitutes over 50% of their population. In the 16th century, Muslims from the Adal Sultanate embarked on a Conquest of Abyssinia under the command of Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi, however, many Muslims dealt with such matters in terms of customary law. For example, the Somali and other pastoralists tended not to follow the requirement that daughters inherit half as much property as sons, particularly when livestock was at issue. In parts of Eritrea, the tendency to land as the corporate property of a descent group precluded following the Islamic principle of division of property among ones heirs. It was the first hijra in Islam history, according to UNESCO, it is regarded as the fourth holy city of Islam. It has 82 mosques, three of which date from the 10th century, as well as 102 shrines, much as the rest of the Muslim world, the beliefs and practices of the Muslims in Ethiopia are basically the same, embodied in the Quran and the Sunnah. There are also Sufi brotherhoods present in Ethiopia such as the Qadiriyyah order in Wello, numerous Muslims in Ethiopia perform the pilgrimage to Mecca every year. In Ethiopias Muslim communities, as in neighboring Sudan and Somalia, many of the faithful are associated with, nevertheless, formal and informal attachment to Sufi practices is widespread. loc. gov/frd/cs/. 109–124 Dickson, David, Political Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa, The Need for a new Research and Diplomatic Agenda, United States Institute of Peace, Special Report 140, May 2005
19.
Islam in Gabon
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Six percent of the population of Gabon practice Islam, according to a 2012 estimate. Eighty to ninety percent of the Muslims are foreigners, Islamic, Catholic and Protestant denominations operate primary and secondary schools in Gabon. These schools are required to register with the Ministry of Education, the government does not contribute funds to private schools, whether religious or secular. The Gabonese Government celebrates some Christian and Muslim holy days as national holidays and these include Easter Sunday and Monday, Ascension Day, Assumption Day, All Saints Day, Christmas, Eid al-Kebir, and Eid al-Fitr. The government television stations accorded free transmission time to the Catholic Church, some Protestant congregations, some Protestant denominations alleged that the government television station does not accord free airtime to minority religious groups. Protestants have alleged in the past that the armed forces favor Catholics and Muslims in hiring, gabons executive branch was controlled by a Muslim, Omar Bongo, from 1973 to 2009. Bongo converted to Islam in 1973 and changed his name from Albert-Bernard Bongo to its current form, Gabon is a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, having joined under Bongos leadership in 1974. In 2004 a first national conference for the Muslims of Gabon was held in the city of the country, Libreville, on the theme ‘United for the sake of a flourishing. During the conference, heads of some 34 Islamic societies of Gabon signed an agreement for undertaking coordinated Islamic works on the sidelines of the event
20.
Islam in the Gambia
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Islam is the majority religion of the Gambia, with around 90% of the population being Muslims. Other religious societies are made up of Catholics, Protestants, Islam in the Gambia is characterized by its coexistence with other religions. The majority of its Muslims are Sunni belonging to Maliki school of jurisprudence, the Ahmadiyya movement is also present. However, some religious and tribal practices diverge from mainstream Islam. Ahmadiyya in the Gambia Christianity in the Gambia Religion in the Gambia
21.
Islam in Ghana
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Islam is one of the major religions practiced widely in Ghana. Its presence in modern-day Ghana dates back to the 10th century to coincide with the demise of the Ghana Empire, the population of Muslims in Ghana is about 24%. The majority of Muslims in Ghana are followers of Sunni Islam, with approximately 16% belonging to the Ahmadiyya movement, the Maliki school of jurisprudence was the most common until Afa Ajuras reformist activities in the 1960s saw an overwhelming shift toward Hanbali doctrine. Sufism, once widespread, has waned considerably over the years, the Tijaniyah, despite tensions in the Middle East and North Africa since the mid-1970s, Muslims and Christians in Ghana have had excellent relations. Guided by the authority of the Muslim Representative Council, religious, social, the Muslim Council observes the responsibility of arranging pilgrimages to Mecca for believers who can afford the journey. The National Chief Imam of Ghana is the highest authority on Muslim affairs in Ghana, Islam made a momentous entry into the Northern Territories of Ghana at the beginning of the fifteenth century, mainly due to commercial activities of sahelian tribes of West Africa. Prior to that, Dawah workers had made contact and written extensively about the people including inhabitants of Bonoman states located in the hinterlands of contemporary Ghana, furthermore, the British colonial government in the nineteenth century enlisted people from various northern predominantly Muslim communities into the colonial army. Muslim population is concentrated in Northern Ghana and in Zongo communities scattered across the country, Zongo communities are settlements predominated by immigrants from Sahelian areas of West Africa who have adopted Hausa language as a lingua franca. Members of the Zongo community are mistakenly but commonly regarded as Northerners, however, the two communities are distinct, having different cultures and languages. The official Ghana Statistical Service census reports 30% as being Muslims although that figure is being protested by independent organizations, CIA statistics put the population of Muslims in Ghana at 30 percent. Other accounts place the figure at 45 percent, the government of Ghanas allocation of funds for national development is heavily influenced by population demographics. The Ahmadiyya Muslim community, formally established in 1921, is the oldest continuous Muslim community in Ghana, Ahmadi Muslims were among the earliest Muslim missionaries in Ghana, and by 1957, they had converted over 100,000 people to Islam. The first Ahmadi missionary to Ghana, Maulvi Abdul Rahim Nayyar, at 16%, Ghana hosts the largest proportion of Ahmadis to Muslims by major country. Prominent Sufi orders represented in Ghana are the Tijaniyya and Qadiriyya, sufism is common among the immigrant Muslim population of Ghana, also known as the Zongos. Sufis make up 27 percent of Muslims in Ghana, Sunni Islam was introduced into Ghana as part of the 1940s reformist activities of late Ghanaian Mujaddid, Afa Ajura, since the 1940s predate the tenth century. Afa Ajuras campaign challenged the status quo of the Sufi doctrine and it was not until the 1970s that his message gained wide acceptance, resulting in a majority of Muslims,51 percent, now affiliating with the Anbariyya Sunni Community. For most of its time in Ghana, Sunni Islam was propagated across the country in Dagbanli - the mother tongue of Afa Ajura. Recently Sunni adherents in Zongo communities in southern Ghana have formed the Ahlusunnah wal Jamaa organization in order to reach the Hausa-speaking population, aSWaJ still draws inspiration from their parent Anbariyya leadership, headed by Afa Seidu in Tamale
22.
Islam in Guinea
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Islam is the main religion in Guinea, followed by an estimated 85% of the population. Most are Sunnis who follow the Maliki legal tradition and Qadiri, Islam spread from its birthplace in the Arabian Peninsula to Africa. Sundiata Keita, the founder of the Mali Empire, was not a Muslim, the tenth ruler of the empire, Musa I, made it the state religion. Fouta Djallon, a region of Guinea, has been a stronghold of Islam since the late 17th century. The Imamate of Futa Jallon, a Muslim theocratic state ruled by the almami, was founded around 1725, eventually, the area of present-day Guinea came under colonial rule, and French Guinea was established in 1891, but that had little effect on the spread of the religion. In the 20th century, the Ahmadiyya movement was introduced into the country from Pakistan, touré had the Grand Mosque built in the capital city of Conakry, with funding from Saudi King Fahd, it opened in 1982. It is the largest mosque in West Africa, with a hall that can hold 10,000. The compulsory education curriculum does not include religious studies, but there are numerous Islamic schools throughout the country, some madrasas are financially supported by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other Gulf states
23.
Islam in Kenya
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Islam is the religion of approximately 11.1 percent of the Kenyan population, or approximately 4.3 million people. The Kenyan coast is mostly populated by Muslims, Nairobi has several mosques and a notable Muslim population. The vast majority of Muslims in Kenya follow the Sunni Islam of Shafi school of jurisprudence, there are also sizeable populations of Shia and Ahmadi adherents. In large part, Shias are Ismailis descended from or influenced by oceanic traders from the Middle East and these Shia Muslims include the Dawoodi Bohra, who number some 6, 000-8,000 in the country. Pioneer Muslim traders arrived on the Swahili Coast around the eighth century, archaeological evidence attests to a thriving Muslim town on Manda Island by the Tenth Century AD. The Moroccan Muslim traveller, Ibn Battuta, visiting the Swahili Coast in 1331 AD, Ibn Battuta said, The inhabitants are pious, honourable, and upright, and they have well-built wooden mosques. On arrival, the Muslims settled along the coast, engaging in trade, the Shirazi intermarried with the local Bantu people resulting in the Swahili people, most of who converted to Islam. Swahili, structurally a Bantu Language with heavy borrowings from Arabic, was born, primarily, Islam spread through the interactions of individuals, with the Arab Muslims who had settled in small groups maintaining their culture, and religious practices. Despite encountering local communities, Islam was not ‘indigenized’ along the patterns of the local Bantu communities, nevertheless, Islam grew through absorption of individuals into the newly established Afro-Arabic Muslim communities. This resulted in more ‘Swahilization’ than Islamization, there was strong resistance toward Islam by the majority of communities living in the interior. The resistance was because conversion was an act, leading to detribalization and integration into the Muslim community going against the socially acceptable communal life. Islam on the Swahili Coast was different from the rest of Africa, unlike West Africa where Islam was integrated to the local communities, the local Islam was ‘foreign’, the Arab-Muslims lived as if they were in the Middle East. The primary concern for the early Muslims was trade with a few interested in propagating Islam, the arrival of the Portuguese in the 15th Century interrupted the small work in progress. On the other hand, the quarrels that ensued meant that much effort was now directed towards restoring normality. Islam remained an urban and coastal phenomenon, the Spread of Islam was low-keyed with no impact amongst the local non-Swahili African Community. There were no intermediary Africans to demonstrate that, adoption of a few Islamic institutions would not disrupt society, the spread of Islam to the interior was hampered by several factors, for instance, the nature of the Bantu society’s varied beliefs, and scattered settlements affected interior advancement. Other factors included, harsh conditions, the fierce tribes like the Maasai, tribal laws restricting passage through their land, health factors. For Trimingham, the brand of Islam introduced to the region was equally to blame, Muslim traders were not welcome in the social structures thereby impeding any meaningful progress until the beginning of European occupation
24.
Islam in Lesotho
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The Muslim population of Lesotho in 2013 is about 3000 plus throughout the country. Most of the population are from South Asia, but there is also a significant population from the Middle East, South Asian Muslims, being a more prominent and established community, settled in the country to conduct business and trade. Their presence has been noted since the early 1900s, when a few families migrated from Durban. There are various mosques and prayer halls in Lesotho at the Capital City Maseru to Butha-Buthe, Jamaat Khana at Jackpot Market, Bus Stop Jamaat Khana and Thabong are the places where people offer their Friday Prayer in Maseru City. The vast majority of Muslims are Sunni, the Ahmadiyya Muslim community claims 350 members in the country
25.
Islam in Liberia
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Islam in Liberia is practiced by an estimated 12. 2% of the population. The vast majority of Liberian Muslims are Malikite Sunni, with sizeable Shia, the primary Muslim ethnic groups are the Vai and Mandingo but also Gbandi, Kpelle and other ethnic groups. Islamic religious practices vary in cities and towns across the country, younger Liberian Muslims, particularly in the cities along the coast, tend to be more secular but still practice Islam in everyday life. In rural areas, Liberian Muslims are more conservative in dressing modestly, performing prayers, the practice of Islam in Liberia has been compared to Sufi Islam common in Senegal and Gambia. The major Islamic holidays, Eid el Fitr, Ramadan and Eid al Adha, people have begun to go on Hajj to Mecca in recent years. Joint English-Arabic language, Quranic, and Muslim universities and Islamic studies schools have opened and been rebuilt in the capital Monrovia, rural towns, Islam appears to be experiencing revival alongside Christianity in the country as a result of the Liberian Civil War. America-Liberian Methodists, the first Christians in Liberia, arrived on January 7,1822, President Charles Taylor promulgated Islam for political reasons. Taylor, an ally of Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi, trained in Libya before returning to Liberia, a consequence of the civil war in Liberia was destruction of religious buildings, schools and places of worship across the country. In both urban and rural areas, government and opposition rebel forces destroyed numerous mosques belonging to Liberian Muslims from what the government considered enemy ethnic groups, several massacres were also committed near mosques and schools. One of the most well known, barbaric and gruesome was the Bakerdu Massacre in the mainly Mandingo/Muslim Quardu Gboni District Lofa County on July 12,1990, over 400 civilians were killed by Charles Taylors National Patriotic Front of Liberia. Destroyed buildings still stand on foundations, raddled with bullet holes. Countries such as Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, etc. have created Diplomatic relations with Liberia, Islamic organizations provide help to Liberian Muslims wanting to go on Hajj to Mecca. Laurence K. Bropleh, Liberias Information Minister and a reverend, Minister Bropleh called on the nations legislature to designate non-Christian holidays as national holidays, specifically Hajj. He also suggested establishing an advisory board, representing all of the major religions practiced in Liberia. Methodist leaders condemned Broplehs comments and accused him of fueling inter-religious tension
26.
Islam in Libya
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Most Libyans adhere to the Sunni branch of Islam, which provides both a spiritual guide for individuals and a keystone for government policy. Libya has a presence of Ahmadis and Shias consisting of Pakistani immigrants. During the seventh century, Muslims, who were spreading their faith, a residue of pre-Islamic beliefs blended with the Islam of the Arabs. The educated of the cities and towns served as the primary bearers, Islam as practiced in North Africa is interlaced with indigenous Berber beliefs. The power is known as Barakah, a quality of personal blessedness. The true Islamic way of saints became widespread in areas, in urban localities. Saints were present in Tripolitania, but they were numerous in Cyrenaica. Their baraka continued to reside in their tombs after their deaths, the number of venerated tombs varied from tribe to tribe, although there tended to be fewer among the camel herders of the desert than among the sedentary and nomadic tribes of the plateau area. In one village, a visitor in the late 1960s counted sixteen still-venerated tombs, coteries of disciples frequently clustered around particular saints, especially those who preached an original tariqa. Brotherhoods of the followers of such mystical teachers appeared in North Africa at least as early as the eleventh century, the founder ruled an order of followers, who were organized under the frequently absolute authority of a leader, or shaykh. The brotherhood was centered on a zawiya, because of Islams austere rational and intellectual qualities, many people have felt drawn toward the more emotional and personal ways of knowing God practiced by mystical Islam, or Sufism. Found in many parts of the Muslim world, Sufism endeavored to produce a personal experience of the divine through mystic and ascetic discipline, Sufi adherents gathered into brotherhoods, and Sufi orders became extremely popular, particularly in rural areas. Sufi brotherhoods exercised great influence and ultimately played an important part in the revival that swept through North Africa during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In Libya, when the Ottoman Empire proved unable to mount effective resistance to the encroachment of Christian missionaries, among these, the most forceful and effective was that of the Senussi, which extended into numerous parts of North Africa. The Senussi movement was a religious revival adapted to desert life and its zawaayaa could be found in Tripolitania and Fezzan, but Senussi influence was strongest in Cyrenaica. The Senussis first theocracy was in the city of Bayda, located in Cyrenaica, the arrival of Muammar Gaddafis rule changed the course of the university. It is now known as the Omar Al-Mukhtar University, rescuing the region from unrest and anarchy, the Senussi movement gave the Cyrenaican tribal people a religious attachment and feelings of unity and purpose. The Senussis formed a nucleus of resistance to the Italian colonial regime, despite its momentary political prominence, the Senussi movement never regained its strength as a religious force after its zawaayaa were destroyed by the Italians
27.
Islam in Madagascar
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Islam has been well established in what is now known as Madagascar for centuries and today Muslims represent 7% of the population. Almost all Muslims in Madagascar practice Sunni Islam of the Shafi school of jurisprudence, beginning in the 10th or 11th century, Arabic and Zanzibari ivory merchants working their way down the east coast of Africa in their dhows and established settlements on the west coast of Madagascar. The most noteworthy of these were the Zafiraminia, traditional ancestors of the Antemoro, Antanosy, the last wave of Arab immigrants would be the Antalaotra who immigrated from eastern African colonies. They settled the north-west of the island and were the first to actually bring Islam to the island, Arab immigrants were few in total number compared to the Indonesians and Bantus, but they left a lasting impression. The Malagasy names for seasons, months, days, and coins are Arabic in origin, as is the practice of circumcision, the communal grain pool, the Arab magicians, known as the ombiasy, established themselves in the courts of many Malagasy tribal kingdoms. Sorabe is an based on Arabic used to transcribe the Malagasy language. The Arabs were also the first to identify the origin of most Malagasy by suggesting that the island was colonized by the Indonesians. Upon independence from France in 1960, Madagascar began developing close ties with staunchly secular power the Soviet Union and this stifled the development of all religion in Madagascar. However, in the 1980s, Madagascar drifted away from the Soviet Union and back towards France
28.
Islam in Malawi
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Islam is the second largest religion in Malawi after Christianity. Nearly all of Malawis Muslims adhere to Sunni Islam, according to the Malawi Religion Project run by the University of Pennsylvania, in 2010 approximately 25% of the population was Muslim, concentrated mostly in the Southern Region. Islam arrived in Malawi with the Arab and Swahili traders who traded in ivory, gold and it is also argued that Islam first arrived in Malawi through traders from the Kilwa Sultanate. Two Muslim teachers, Shayhks Abdallah Mkwanda and Sabiti Ngaunje, also played an important role in the spread of Islam, according to UNESCO, the first mosque was built by Swahili-Arab ivory traders. During the colonial era, the authorities in the country feared that Islam posed the greatest threat, as an ideology of resistance and this view was shared by Christian missionaries, who greatly feared that Islam could unite Africans in hostilities and uprisings against colonial rule. The 1970s witnessed the start of an Islamic revival among Muslims in Malawi, recently, Muslim groups have engaged in missionary work in Malawi. Much of this is performed by the African Muslim Agency, based in Kuwait, the Kuwait-sponsored AMA has translated the Quran into Chichewa, one of the official languages of Malawi, and has engaged in other missionary work in the country. There are thought to be about 800 jumuah mosques in the country, there are also several Islamic schools and a broadcasting station called Radio Islam. A major Muslim center of learning exists in Mpemba, outside of Blantyre, funded mainly by money from Saudi Arabia, a large number of Muslims in Malawi come from the Yao people, who are described as the most important source of Islam in the country. Even before their conversion to Islam, many Yao chiefs used Swahili Muslims as scribes, as a result of their strong trading contacts with Swahili-Arabs, many Yao adopted Islam and the two groups often intermarried. The Yao form the largest majority south and east of Lake Malawi, Muslims can also be found among other groups, such as the lakeside Chewa people and Indian and other Asian Malawians. Muslims in the country have been described as a vocal and powerful community, an important Malawian Muslim is Bakili Muluzi, the first freely elected President of Malawi from 1994 to 2004. Islam in Africa Demographics of Malawi Ian D. Dicks, an African Worldview, The Muslim Amacinga Yawo of Southern Malaŵi
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Islam in Mali
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Muslims currently make up approximately 95 percent of the population of Mali. The majority of Muslims in Mali are Malikite Sunni, influenced with Sufism, ahmadiyya and Shia branches are also present. During the 9th century, Muslim Berber and Tuareg merchants brought Islam southward into West Africa, Islam also spread in the region by the founders of Sufi brotherhoods. Conversion to Islam linked the West African savannah through belief in one God and similar new forms of political, social, cities including Timbuktu, Gao and Kano soon became international centers of Islamic learning. The most significant of the Mali kings was Mansa Musa, who expanded Mali influence over the large Niger city-states of Timbuktu, Gao and it was under Mansa Musa that Timbuktu became one of Africas and the worlds major cultural centers. Islam as practiced in the country until recently was reported to be relatively tolerant, women participated in economic and political activity, engaged in social interaction, and generally did not wear veils. Islam in Mali has absorbed mystical elements, ancestor veneration and the African Traditional Religion that still thrive and it is relatively common to find adherents of a variety of faiths within the same family. Many followers of one religion usually attend religious ceremonies of other religions, especially weddings, baptisms, in 2012, several Islamic sites in Mali were destroyed or damaged by vigilante activists linked to Al Qaeda which claimed that the sites represented idol worship. There are foreign Islamic preachers that operate in the north of the country, while associated with Dawa are located in Kidal, Mopti. The organization Dawa has gained adherents among the Bellah, who were once the slaves of the Tuareg nobles, the interest these groups have in Dawa is based on a desire to dissociate themselves from their former masters, and to find a source of income for the youth. The Dawa sect has an influence in Kidal, while the Wahabi movement has been reported to be steadily growing in Timbuktu. The countrys traditional approach to Islam is relatively moderate, as reflected in the ancient manuscripts from the former University of Timbuktu. In August 2003, a conflict erupted in the village of Yerere in Western Mali when traditional Sunni practitioners attacked Wahhabi Sunnis, other foreign missionary groups are Christian groups that are based in Europe and engaged in development work, primarily the provision of health care and education. The constitution provides for freedom of religion and does not permit any form of discrimination or intolerance by the government or individual persons. There is no religion as the constitution defines the country as a secular state and allows for religious practices that do not pose a threat to social stability. The government requires all public associations, including religious associations. However, registration confers no tax preference and no other legal benefits, Traditional indigenous religions are not required to register. A number of missionary groups operate in the country without government interference
30.
Islam in Mauritania
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Virtually all Mauritanians are Sunni Muslims. They adhere to the Maliki madhhab, one of the four Sunni schools of law, since independence in 1960, Mauritania has been an Islamic republic. The Constitutional Charter of 1985 declares Islam the state religion and sharia the law of the land, Islam first spread southward into West Africa, including Mauritania, with the movement of Muslim traders and craftsmen and later with the founders of Islamic brotherhoods. The relative peace brought to the area by French administration and the resentment of colonial rule contributed to the rapid rise in the power. In recent decades, these orders have opposed tribalism and have been an element in the growth of nationalist sentiment. In the 1980s, two brotherhoods, the Qadiriyyah and the Tijaniyyah, accounted for all the brotherhood membership in Mauritania. The Qadiriyyah and Tijaniyyah were essentially parallel ways, differing primarily in their methods of reciting the litanies and their Islamic doctrines and their religious obligations were basically similar. Two smaller brotherhoods also existed — the Shadhiliyyah, centered in Boumdeït in Tagant Region, and the Goudfiya, found in the regions of Tagant, Adrar, Hodh ech Chargui, and Hodh el Gharbi. As Islam spread westward and southward in Africa, various elements of religious systems became absorbed into. For example, the Islamic tradition in Mauritania began to include a variety of spirits and supernatural beings, Muslims in Mauritania believe in various lesser spirits apparently transformed from pre-Islamic faiths into Islamic spirits. Islam by country This article incorporates public domain material from the Library of Congress Country Studies website http, //lcweb2. loc. gov/frd/cs/
31.
Islam in Mauritius
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Muslims constitute over 17.3 per cent of Mauritius population. Muslims of Mauritius are mostly of Indian descent, Muslims arrived to Mauritius during the British regime starting from 1810 as large scale indentured slaves from India. Mauritius got independence during 1968 and there was no religion in Mauritius defined in the constitution. The largest group of Muslims are the Sunnis, comprising around 80 per cent of the population with sub-sect of Salafis, the Sufis, the Tawhidis and the Tabligh jamaat. Some scholars believed that Muslims arrived in Mauritius with Dutch from Arabia as slaves, Muslims arrived to Mauritius during the British regime starting from 1810. Large scale indentured slaves from India mostly from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Bengal, Mumbai, there were a total of 450,000 immigrants during the period of 1835 to 1907 and after 1909, the immigration was stopped. They were sent from India for a period of five years after which they were returned, till 1922, only 160,000 returned to India, while other settled down in Mauritius. There were wealthy Muslim traders from Gujarat and Chettiars from South India, the population of Muslims was 33% of the total population during 1835, 64% during 1861, but reduced to less than 25% by 1909. Traditionally Sunnis remained a majority, while groups like Sunni Shafia, Shia. Cocknies, Kodjas, Bohras and Aga-khanities are believed to have arrived in Maurtius during 1910 from East Africa, tawheed idealogy, which was commonly followed in Mauritius was replaced by Islamic Circle Religious Group which culled out religious practices from India. The trend was changed after the evolution of oil-rich Arab countries in 1970s, the largest group of Muslims are the Sunnis, comprising around 80 per cent of the population. Sunnis are divided among various factions such as the Salafis, the Sufis, the Tawhidis, while the majority adheres to the Hanafi school of thoughts, there are other factions that follow the Shafei school of thought. There are also Muslims who follow the Ahmadism or Shiism, meimons are a small aristocratic group, who control the Jummah Mosque in Port Louis. Shiaties form a community of around 3 per cent of the total population. One of the subgroups are called Cocknies, who are believed to have arrived as boat builders from Cochin in India, creole Lascars are a new subgroup, who have intermarried with Cocknies or other communities. Within the Muslim community, there are three ethnic groups that exist, notably the Memons and the Surtees, then the Hindi Calcattias who came to Mauritius as indentured labourer from Bihar. Creole is the most used language among Muslims other than Arabic and Urdu, while other languages spoken include Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Mauritius got independence during 1968 and there was no state religion in Mauritius defined in the constitution. The nation had no indigenous population nor any indigenous tribes or religion, the constitution and other laws protect freedom of religion
32.
Islam in Morocco
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Islam is the largest religion in Morocco, with more than 99% of the population adhering to it. The vast majority of Muslims in Morocco are Sunni belonging to the Maliki school of jurisprudence, Islam was first brought to Morocco in 680 by an Arab invasion under Uqba ibn Nafi, who was a general serving under the Umayyads of Damascus. In 788, The Zaydi Shia Idrisids ruled large parts of Morocco and their contemporaries included the heretical Barghawata state and the Khariji state of Sijilmasa. Later, several Berbers formed more powerful Islamic dynasties that reigned over the country, among them were the Almoravids, who were the first to unite Morocco, as well as significant regions in West Africa, Spain and Algeria. The Almoravids were responsible for making the Maliki school of Islamic jurisprudence the most prominent in Morocco and it was later under Almohad rule that smaller Muslim sects were persecuted and orthodox Sunni Islam became prevalent across the country. Muslims in Morocco are predominantly of the Maliki madhab, or school of thought, Morocco has a large Salafi movement, notable figures among it include Omar al-Haddouchi and Hassan Kettani. Islam by country Christianity in Morocco Baháí Faith in Morocco History of the Jews in Morocco
33.
Islam in Mozambique
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Islam in Mozambique is the religion of approximately 17. 9% of the total population. The vast majority of Mozambican Muslims are Sunni belonging to Shafi school of jurisprudence, the Muslims consists primarily of indigenous Mozambicans, citizens of South Asian descent, and a very small number of North African and Middle Eastern immigrants. Mozambique has long ties with the Muslim world. The arrival of the Arab trade in Mozambique dates to the fourth Hijri century when Muslims established small emirates on the coast of East Africa. Since the founding of the Kilwa Sultanate in the 10th CE century by Ali ibn al-Hassan Shirazi, Sofala and much of the rest of coastal Mozambique was part of the Kilwa Sultanate from Arab arrival until the Portuguese conquest in 1505. During the subsequent period of the Omani Al Bu Said dynasty and it is believed that nearly all of the cities inhabitants were Muslim before the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century. Islam faced serious challenges in Mozambique during the colonial era, during the Estado Novo period, Roman Catholicism became the dominant religion following a formal alliance between the Church and the government. Since the end of the socialist period, Muslims have been able to proselytise freely, Muslims have also made their way into the parliament. Several South African, Kuwaiti and other Muslim agencies are active in Mozambique, an Islamic University has been set up in Nampula, with a branch in Inhambane. Mozambique is also a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Realizing the social importance of group, FRELIMO gradually reinstated traditional authority. Because of this they are able to access benefits or gain socio-political influence through Islamic platforms or organizations. Whereas Sudan, for instance, has made sharia the law of the land, amade Camal, MP from Nampula Province Shaykh Aminuddin Mohamad, head of the Islamic Council Religion in Mozambique Bonate, Liazzat J. K. “Divergent Patterns of Islamic Education in Northern Mozambique, Qur’anic Schools of Angoche. ”In Robert Launay, ed. Islamic Education in Africa, bloomington and Indianapolis, Indiana University Press,2016, 95-118. Bonate, Liazzat J. K. “Islam and Literacy in Northern Mozambique, Historical Records on the Secular Uses of the Arabic Script. ”Islamic Africa, Vol.7,2016, “The Advent and Schisms of Sufi Orders in Mozambique, 1896–1964”. Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations, Vol.26, No, Bonate, Liazzat J. K. “Muslim Memories of the Liberation War in Cabo Delgado. ”Kronos, Southern African Histories, Vol.39, November 2013, 230-256. Bonate, Liazzat J. K. “Islam in Northern Mozambique, A Historical Overview. ”Bonate, Liazzat J. K. “Muslims of Northern Mozambique, social Dynamics, Vol.35, No 2, September,2009, 280-294. Bonate, Liazzat J. K. “L’Agence des musulmans d’Afrique, les transformations de l’islam à Pemba au Mozambique”
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Islam in Namibia
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Namibia is home to a small but sizable Muslim community. Islam in Namibia constitutes of about 9,000 Muslims, many of whom are Nama, Islam along with Judaism, Buddhism, and the Bahai Faith who make up the largest minority religions in Namibia combined account less then 1% of the population of Namibia. Most of Namibias Muslim community are members of the Namaqua ethnic group and it is believed that this is mostly as a result of the efforts of a prominent politician among the Nama, Jacobs Salmaan Dhameer, who converted to Islam in 1980. The first mosque in the country, called the Soweto Islamic Centre, was established 1986 and is located in Katutura, as of May 2009, there were twelve mosques in the country, six of which were in Windhoek. Twenty-four Namibians are currently studying in Saudi Arabia while others have sent for long term Islamic training in institutions in South Africa. The Namibia Islamic Judicial Council is based on Ondobe, Ohangwena Region, NIHA is Namibias oldest and most well known Halaal Certifying body. Recognised by Halaal Certification body in South Africa and in many other Islamic states, NIHA established in 2001 and before known as the Namibia Halaal Slaughterers Association. NIHA is under the leadership of Faroek Nazier the founder of the organisation, NIHA certifies majority of Food outlets and is highly trusted for its quality assurance to the Halaal consumer
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Islam in Niger
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Islam in Niger accounts for the vast majority of the nations religious adherents. The faith is practiced by more than 94% of the population, although this varies by source. The vast majority of Muslims in Niger are Malikite Sunni with Sufi influences, many of the communities who continue to practice elements of traditional religions do so within a framework of syncretic Islamic belief, making agreed statistics difficult. Sufi brotherhoods have become the dominant Muslim organization, like much of West Africa, despite this, a variety of interpretations of Islam coexist—largely in peace—with one another as well as with minorities of other faiths. The government of Niger is secular in law while recognising the importance of Islam to the vast majority of its citizens, majority of Muslims are Sunni with many of those being linked to the Tijaniya Sufi brotherhoods. Approximately 7% are Shia and 6% Ahmadi, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is also present, established in the country in 1956. Tuareg expansion from the north, culminating in their seizure of the far eastern oases from the Kanem-Bornu Empire in the 17th centuries, both Zarma and Hausa areas were greatly influenced by the 18th and 19th century Fula led Sufi brotherhoods, most notably the Sokoto Caliphate. The region around Say, on the Niger River was a center of Sufi religious instruction and Maliki legal interpretation, imported by Fulani clerics in the 1800s. Militantly anti-colonial Hammallism spread from Mali in the northwest in the 1920s, the government has made three Muslim feasts national holidays, as well as two Christian holidays. Tensions culminated in a series of November 2000 riots surrounding a French run Niamey based fashion show which they deemed immoral, violence in Niamey and Maradi, the center for most fundamentalist groups, spread to attacks on government, western, and Christian missionaries. Niger maintains its status as a secular state enshrined in the constitution of the Fifth Republic, divorce and Polygyny are unremarkable, women are not secluded, and headcoverings are not mandatory—they are often a rarity in urban areas. Alcohol, such as the locally produced Bière Niger, is openly in most of the country. Despite a long history in what is today Niger, Islam did not become the dominant faith of many areas until the 20th century. The continuation of some elements of traditional beliefs continue both is small isolated pockets, and in practices of groups of nominal Muslim Nigeriens. Communities who continue to practice elements of religions are often marked out as ethnic sub groups of the Songhay. The distinction between groups and their Muslim neighbors is often a gradient. As well, elements of some Muslim communities continue to practice traditional spirit possession cults and these include the holey cults of the Djerma and the Bori cult of the Hausa. Scarecrow Press, Boston & Folkestone, ISBN 0-8108-3136-8 Islam and Niger
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Islam in Nigeria
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Nigeria has the largest Muslim population in West Africa, with the Pew Research Center estimating that it is between 48. 5% and 50. 4%. The CIA estimates 50% while the BBC estimates slightly over 50%, Muslims in Nigeria are predominantly Sunni in the Maliki school, which is also the governing Sharia law. However, there is a significant Shia minority, primarily in Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, a smaller minority follow the Ahmadiyya, a reformatory sect originating in 19th century India. In particular Pew Forum on religious diversity identifies 3% as Ahmadi Muslims and 12 percent as Shia Muslims, Islam was first documented in Nigeria in the 9th century. Alooma furthered the cause of Islam in the country by introducing Islamic courts, establishing mosques, and setting up a hostel in Makkah, the Islamic pilgrimage destination, for Kanuris. It had spread to the cities of the northern part of the country by the 16th century, later moving into the countryside. However, there are some claims for an earlier arrival, the Nigeria-born Muslim scholar Sheikh Dr. Islam also came to the southwestern Yoruba-speaking areas during the time of the Mali Empire. Large-scale conversion to Islam happened in the 17th century, Islam came to Yoruba land centuries before Christianity and before churches were built, Yoruba came in contact with Islam around the 14th century during the reign of Mansa Kankan Musa of Mali Empire. According to Al-Aluri, the first Mosque was built in Ọyọ-Ile in 1550 A. D. although, there were no Yoruba Muslims, the Mosque only served the spiritual needs of foreign Muslims living in Ọyọ. Progressively, Islam came to Yoruba land, and Muslims started building Mosques, Iwo town led, its first Mosque built in 1655 followed by Iṣẹyin, in 1760, Lagos,1774, Ṣaki,1790, and Oṣogbo,1889. In time, Islam spread to towns like Oyo, Ibadan, Abẹokuta, Ijẹbu-Ode, Ikirun. Several factors contributed to the rise of Islam in Yoruba land by mid 19th century, second, there was a mass movement of people at this time into Yoruba land, many of these immigrants were Muslims who introduced Islam to their host. Islam came to Lagos at about the time like other Yoruba towns, however, it received royal support from Ọba Kosọkọ. Islamic religion no doubt, impacted Yoruba culture significantly, according to Ahmad Faosy Ogunbado, celebration of oriṣa festival is transformed or replaced with celebrating eid-el-fitri and eid-el-kabir. Women and men outlook is modified as polygamy is curtailed or modified into four at a time while prefixed oriṣa names were changed to Olu plus Bunmi, traditional shrines and ritual sites were replaced with Central Mosques in major Yoruba town and cities. In the early 19th century, Islamic scholar Usman dan Fodio launched a jihad and he was victorious, and established the Fulani Empire with its capital at Sokoto. A fringe group, led by Mohammed Marwa Maitatsine, started in Kano in the late 1970s, Maitatsine was from Cameroon, and claimed to have had divine revelations superseding those of the Prophet Muhammad. These disaffected adherents ultimately lashed out at the traditional mosques and congregations
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Islam in Rwanda
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Islam is the largest minority religion in Rwanda, practiced by 4. 6% of the total population according to 2006 census. Virtually all Muslims in Rwanda are Sunni, Islam was first introduced into Rwanda by Muslim traders from the East Coast of Africa in the 18th century. For the first time in its history in Rwanda, Islam is accorded the same rights, estimates show that there are equal numbers of Muslims among the Hutus as there are among the Tutsis. The estimates cannot be verified since in the wake of the genocide, compared to east African countries like Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda, the history of Islam in Rwanda is relatively modern. While a few sources are available regarding its origins, it is claimed that Islam came through Arab merchants who first entered the country in 1901. Others say that Islam came when Europeans brought in Muslim clerks, administrative assistants, Islam was also bolstered by Muslim merchants from India, who married local Rwandans. Rwandans built their first mosque in 1913 and this mosque is known as the al-Fatah mosque. During its history, many efforts were made to impede the spread of Islam in Rwanda and these efforts generally exploited anti-Arab sentiment, and presented Muslims as foreigners. Catholic missionaries often went to lengths to counter what they perceived influence of rival religions, such as Islam. Muslims were further marginalized by the fact that most Muslims settled in areas, whereas 90 percent of the population was rural. As neither Arab nor Indian merchants ever attempted to further their faith, only a few conversions took place, mostly among the marginalized urban population, women who had married foreigners, illegitimate children and orphans. Even these conversion were sometimes superficial, motivated by desire for social and economic security that Muslims provided, under the Belgian administration, Muslims in Rwanda were to some extent marginalized. Since Muslims had no place in the Catholic church, which maintained great influence over the state, Muslims were often excluded from education, as a result, Muslim employment was largely confined to engaging in petty trade, and taking up jobs as drivers. In 1960, the government minister Sebazungu ordered the burning of the Muslim quarter. Following this event, Muslims were terrified and many of them fled to neighbouring countries and it is alleged that the Catholic Church was involved in these events, which aggravated the bitterness between Muslims and Christians. Before the 1994 Genocide, Muslims were held in low regard, because they were seen as traders, the Muslim population before the genocide was 4% which was unusually low compared to that of neighbouring countries. During the Rwandan genocide, Islam as a faith was not the target of the genocide. There were only a few incidents in which Tutsis in mosques were attacked, the most widely known example occurred at Nyamirambo Main Mosque, where hundreds of Tutsi had gathered to take refuge
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Islam in Senegal
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Islam is the predominant religion in Senegal. 92 percent of the population is estimated to be Muslim. Islam has had a presence in Senegal since the 11th century, Sufi brotherhoods expanded with French colonization, as people turned to religious authority rather than the colonial administration. The main Sufi orders are the Tijaniyyah, the Muridiyyah or Mourides, and to an extent, the pan-Islamic Qadiriyyah. Approximately 1% of the Muslims follow the Ahmadiyya thought, for nearly a millennium, there has been an Islamic presence in Senegal. Islam’s influence in the area began with the conversion of King of Takrur, War Jabi in 1040, the King attempted to convert his subjects, who are now referred to as Tukulors or the Toucouleur people, in the first attempt to convert an entire region in this area. Other empires, such as the Jolof empire, were resistant to Islam in favor of their traditional religion. Even in areas where an Islamic presence was found, many continued traditional animist practices, during the 17th and 18th centuries, Islam was used as a structure of power and militarism. In the 17th century, Islam became the religion of the elite, in 1776, the Tukulors overthrew the Denianke Dynasty and constructed a theocratic ogliarchy. Influenced by other Islamic movements throughout West Africa, they worked militaristically to convert pagan regions and this expansion ceased temporarily when the Tukulors failed to convert the pagan state of Serer. One such movement from Western Sudan was the Qadiriyya Sufi brotherhood and this movement was eclipsed by the Tijaniyyah brotherhood. During the 18th century, the French began to colonize the nation, Senegalese Muslims took a variety of responses to French colonization. Especially in the countryside, the Senegalese joined Sufi brotherhoods to unite against colonization, the popularity of the Tijaniyyah brotherhood marks this shift, Islam became “a rallying point for African resistance to the French. El Hadj Umar Tall first created a Tijani brotherhood in West Africa after he was initiated into the Tijaniyya during his hajj to Mecca, in his attempt to create a Tijani Islamic empire in Senegal, Tall is described as the “most eminent of the Muslim clerical warriors. The marabouts, leaders and sources of guidance in Sufi brotherhoods, later, the Mouride brotherhood would serve this same role of resistance for the Senegalese. Many Mourides were former political authorities who lost their positions as the French took over, the French felt threatened and targeted the leaders of these movements. The founder of the Mourides, Cheikh Amadou Bamba was arrested twice by the colonial administration and this injustice only furthered his popularity and the Mourides’ extreme veneration of their leader. To this day, Cheikh Bamba is honored as an important leader of resistance in Senegal, other Muslims chose to cooperate with the French, and even gain positions of power within the French government
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Islam in Seychelles
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Islam in the Indian Ocean was established by Muslim sea merchants well before the European discovery of Seychelles. However, unlike in other states including the Comoros and Maldives. Today, the Muslim population of the islands is reported to be only 1. 1%, mauritius also has a much higher Muslim population due to the importation of labour from British India on a scale not seen in Seychelles. The government of Seychelles allows 15 minutes of religious broadcasting every Friday for the Muslim community, US Government report in Religious Freedom in Seychelles
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Islam in Sierra Leone
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Sierra Leone last conducted a census in 2009 and estimates there are 4,059,000 Muslims in Sierra Leone. This suggests 71. 3% of the total population is Muslim. There are 18 ethnic groups in Sierra Leone, the two largest being the Temne and Mende, the Temnes are the main tribe in the north and are predominantly Muslim. At least nine of Sierra Leones sixteen ethnic groups are predominantly Muslim, the vast majority of Sierra Leonean Muslims are Malikite Sunni, while small minorities are Shia and Ahmadiyya. Though small in numbers, the Ahmadiyya has one of the largest Islamic institutions across country, the majority of Sierra Leonean Muslims are adherent to Sunni Islam. Significant portions of Sierra Leonean Muslims are Ahmadis, Shia, most mosques in Sierra Leone are non-denominational. The largest mosque in Sierra Leone is the Freetown Central Mosque, sitting Sierra Leonean Heads of State, regardless of their religions, have traditionally made occasional visits to the Freetown Central Mosque, especially during Friday jummah prayer. The chief imam of the Freetown Central Mosque is Sheikh Ahmad Tejan Sillah, a Shia Muslim and this is an Islamic organisation made up of imams from across Sierra Leone The head of the Ahmadiyya branch of Islam in Sierra Leone is sheikh Mauvi Sadeeur Rahman. In the early 18th century Fulani and Mande-speaking tribesmen from the Fouta Djallon region of present-day Guinea converted many Temne of northern Sierra Leone to Islam, during the period of British colonization, attempts to spread Christianity were mostly ineffective. Islam continued to spread after independence in 1961, in 1960 the Muslim population was 35 percent and grew to 60 percent by 2000, the current Ebola crisis has also made it impossible for them to obtain Visas to Saudi Arabia. The recent Sierra Leone Civil War was secular in nature featuring members of Christian, Muslim, Ahmadiyya in Sierra Leone Christianity in Sierra Leone Hinduism in Sierra Leone
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Islam in Somalia
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Nearly all people in Somalia are Sunni Muslims. For more than 1400 years, Islam made a part of Somali society. Practicing Islam reinforces distinctions that further set Somalis apart from their immediate neighbors, for generations, Islam in Somalia followed the Ash’ariyah theology, Shafi’i jurisprudence, and Sufism, until recent decades when Salafism has made inroads. Influence of Islamic religious leaders has varied by region, being greater in the north than some groups in the settled regions of the south. Among nomads, the exigencies of pastoral life gave greater weight to the warriors role, the role of religious functionaries began to shrink in the 1950s and 1960s as some of their legal and educational powers and responsibilities were transferred to secular authorities. The position of religious leaders changed substantially after the 1969 revolution, Siad Barre insisted that his version of socialism was compatible with Quranic principles, and he condemned atheism. Religious leaders, however, were warned not to meddle in politics, the new government instituted legal changes that some religious figures saw as contrary to Islamic precepts. The regime reacted sharply to criticism, executing some of the protesters, subsequently, religious leaders seemed to accommodate themselves to the government. Islam was introduced to the northern Somali coast early on from the Arabian peninsula, zeilas two-mihrab Masjid al-Qiblatayn although not dated, is said to have been built back in the 7th century, and is the oldest mosque in the city. In the late 9th century, Al-Yaqubi wrote that Muslims were living along the northern Somali seaboard. He also mentioned that the Adal kingdom had its capital in the city, according to I. M. Lewis, the polity was governed by local dynasties, who also ruled over the similarly-established Sultanate of Mogadishu in the littoral Benadir region to the south. Adals history from this founding period forth would be characterized by a succession of battles with neighbouring Abyssinia, in 1332, the Zeila-based King of Adal was slain in a military campaign aimed at halting the Abyssinian Emperor Amda Seyon Is march toward the city. When the last Sultan of Ifat, Saad ad-Din II, was killed by Emperor Dawit I in Zeila in 1410, his children escaped to Yemen. In the early 15th century, Adals capital was moved inland to the town of Dakkar, where Sabr ad-Din II. Adals headquarters were relocated the following century, this time to Harar. From this new capital, Adal organised an army led by Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi that invaded the Abyssinian empire. This 16th century campaign is known as the Conquest of Abyssinia. Some scholars argue that this conflict proved, through their use on both sides, the value of firearms like the musket, cannons and the arquebus over traditional weapons
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Islam in South Africa
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Islam in South Africa is a minority religion, practised by less than 1. 5% of the total population, according to estimates. Islam in South Africa has grown in three phases, the second phase was the arrival of Indians as indentured labourers to work in the sugar-cane fields in Natal between 1860 and 1868, and again from 1874 to 1911. Of the approximately 176,000 Indians of all faiths who were transported to the Natal province, the third phase has been marked - post apartheid – by the wave of African Muslims that have arrived on the shores and borders of South Africa. Recent figures put the number at approximately at 75-100000, added to this are a considerable number of Muslims from the Indo-Pak subcontinent that have arrived as economic migrants. Although, the majority of Muslims are Sunni, smaller numbers are Ahmadi, in the 17th century the Dutch controlled East Indies and the Cape. Muslims were brought from Dutch East Indies, etc. as slaves including those who waged Jihad in the Dutch colonies, the first recorded arrival of free Muslims known as Mardyckers is in 1658. Jan Van Riebeeck had requested that the Mardyckers be sent to the Cape as a labour force, the Mardyckers were prohibited from openly practising their religion, Islam. Offenders to be punished with death, but should there be amongst them those who had drawn to God to become Christians. The same Placaat was re-issued on 23 August 1657 by Governor John Maetsuycker probably in anticipation of the advent of the Mardyckers to the Cape of Good Hope, the Placaat governed the Cape as part of the Dutch Colonial Empire. During the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century the Dutch continued to exile Muslim leaders from Dutch East Indies to the Cape,1667 saw the arrival of first Muslim political exiles banished by the Dutch to the Cape. The first political exiles were the rulers of Sumatra and they were Sheikh Abdurahman Matabe Shah and Sheikh Mahmood. From the very outset the Cape authorities accommodated the exiles away from Cape Town as they feared the exiles would escape, a tomb for these political exiles has been erected on Islam Hill in Constantia in the Cape. Sheikh Abdurahman Matebe Shah used his exile to consolidate the teaching of Islam among slaves in the Cape, the next Orang Cayen was Sheikh Yusuf of Bantam who arrived on board De Voetboog on 2 April 1694 along with his family and followers. They were housed on a farm in Zandvleit, near the mouth of the Eerste River in the Cape, far from Cape Town, the Companys attempt to isolate Shaykh Yusuf at Zandvleit did not succeed. On the contrary, Zandvleit turned out to be the point for fugitive slaves. It was here that the first cohesive Muslim community in South Africa was established, since the Sheikh and his followers hailed from Macassar, the district around Zandvleit is still known today as Macassar. Sa‘id Alowie, popularly known as Tuan Sa‘id, of Mocca in Yemen, Arabia and they were banished to the Cape by the Dutch and were incarcerated on Robben Island. On his release from Robben Island Tuan Said settled at the Cape where he worked as a police constable - an occupation which gave him opportunities for visiting slave quarters at night to teach
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Islam in Sudan
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Islam is the largest religion in Sudan, and Muslims have dominated national government institutions since independence in 1956. According to UNDP Sudan, the Muslim population is 97%, including numerous Arab and non-Arab groups, the remaining 3% ascribe to either Christianity or traditional animist religions. Muslims predominate in all but Nuba Mountains region, there are also some Shia communities in Khartoum, the capital. The most significant divisions occur along the lines of the Sufi brotherhoods, two popular brotherhoods, the Ansar and the Khatmia, are associated with the opposition Umma and Democratic Unionist Parties respectively. Only the Darfur region is lacking the presence of Sufi brotherhoods found in the rest of the country. In states or regions where a majority hold different religious or customary beliefs than those on which the system is based. Sudan has had three democratic governments since 1956, all of which abolished Sharia law, there had been cultural contact between Nubians and Arabs long before the rise of Islam. Islam spread to Sudan from the north, after the Islamic conquest of Egypt, nubia had already been Christianized, also from Egypt, hence the old Nubian church followed Coptic Christianity. The Nubian Christian kingdoms of Nobatia, Makuria and Alodia fell to the Islamic invasions in 650,1312 and 1504, from 1504, northern Sudan was ruled by the Muslim Funj Sultanate. South Kordofan and what is now South Sudan, is part of Sub-Saharan Africa and was neither Christianized nor Islamized until the 19th century, in the early 1990s, the largest single category among the Muslim peoples of Sudan consisted of those speaking some form of Arabic. Excluded were a number of Arabic speakers originating in Egypt. In 1983 the people identified as Arabs constituted nearly 70% of the total Sudanese population, in some of these provinces, they were overwhelmingly dominant. In others, they were less so but made up a majority, by 1990 Ash Sharqi State was probably largely Arab. It should be emphasized, however, that the acquisition of Arabic as a second language did not necessarily lead to the assumption of Arab identity, despite common language, religion, and self-identification, Arabs did not constitute a cohesive group. They were highly differentiated in their modes of livelihood and ways of life, besides the major distinction dividing Arabs into sedentary and nomadic, there was an old tradition that assigned them to tribes, each said to have a common ancestor. The two largest of the categories in the early 1990s were the Juhayna and the Jaali. The Juhayna category consisted of tribes considered nomadic, although many had become fully settled, the Jaali encompassed the riverine, sedentary peoples from Dunqulah to just north of Khartoum and members of this group who had moved elsewhere. Some of its groups had become sedentary only in the twentieth century, Sudanese saw the Jaali as primarily indigenous peoples who were gradually arabized
