History Alive Chapter 14. 639 C.E. - 708 C.E. Arab Muslims conquered North Africa. Conquering West African kingdoms was not practical. What geographic.

THE INFLUENCE OF ISLAM ON WEST AFRICA

History Alive Chapter 14

THE SPREAD OF ISLAM TO GHANA 639 C.E. - 708 C.E. Arab Muslims

conquered North Africa. Conquering West African kingdoms was

not practical. What geographic feature was in the way?

Islam first reached Ghana through Muslim traders and missionaries. Most people didn’t convert! Muslims then built settlements inside

of the Empire. This community grew, with cities having

multiple mosques and imams (spiritual leaders.)

1076 C.E. the Almoravids conquered Ghana’s capital Koumbi Saleh. These North Africans were Muslim and

made Islam the dominant religion.

Almoravid Empire

THE SPREAD OF ISLAM TO MALI Before the empire of Mali, the

Mande people tolerated Islam, and often blended Islam with their own indigenous religion. Man Mande still prayed to spirits of

their ancestors.

Early Mali rulers accepted Islam, but did not follow all of the teachings.

Mansa Musa took power in 1312 C.E., becoming the first West African ruler to practice Islam devoutly. He made Mali an important partner for

Muslim traders and scholarship. He went on a Hajj to demonstrate

Mali’s wealth, power, and his piety.

Mansa Musa’s Hajj

THE SPREAD OF ISLAM TO SONGHAI Although Songhai had

conquered Mali; when it was founded in the 1460s, ti’s rulers did not practice Islam.

In 1490, Muslims rebelled and placed Askia Mohmmed Toure on the throne. He created laws to make sure

Islam was practiced correctly. He also waged wars to

convert non-Muslims. Askia’s Tomb

Askia Mohammed Toure

INFLUENCE ON RELIGIOUS PRACTICES

Often Islam, even went being strictly practiced retained traditional African practices. They did learn the 5 pillars of

Islam. They did pray in Arabic. They did study the Quran. They did worship in Mosques.

They also continued to show respect for spirits of dead ancestors. They also kept the belief that

spirits could help them. They used amulets (charms) to

protect themselves.

An African Mosque

INFLUENCE ON GOVERNMENT AND LAW

Kingdoms started developing Islamic forms of government. Traditionally succession was

matrilineal. The son of the king’s sister would be the

next king. After Islam, succession became

patrilineal. The king’s son would be the next king.

Before Islam, local leaders had more self-autonomy (self rule). Islam made the central government

more powerful. Leaders would get names such as sultan

or emir.

Shari’ah law also replaced customary law. This removed “trail by wood.”

Patrilineal succession came with Islam

INFLUENCE ON EDUCATION Muslims value education

very much. You had to know how to read

Arabic in order to read the Qur’an.

Timbuktu becomes a center for learning and trade. Contained many universities. Studies focused on Islam, but

also had all other areas of learning.

Many libraries were also created.

One man had over 700 books!

Remember books were copied by hand

INFLUENCE ON LANGUAGE Arabic becomes the language of

religion, learning, commerce, and government. Native languages were used for

everyday speech. Africans have an oral tradition, so

using Arabic for things that required writing made sense.

All Muslims had to be able to read in Arabic to read the Qur’an.

Using Arabic for trade and government allowed for people who spoke different native languages to communicate easier.

INFLUENCE ON ARCHITECTURE Traditionally Africans had

built shrines to nature, but these were then converted to mosques. These buildings were built

with mud and wood.

Mansa Musa convinced a Spanish architect to built many mosques and homes in Mali. Introduced scaffolding,

rectangular houses with flat roofs, and drain pipes.

Scaffolding makes building and repairs easier

INFLUENCE ON ART Africans, like Arabs had

developed geometric patterns, this flourished even more after Islam. This was often used on textiles.

Calligraphy was also used to decorate objects with words from the Qur’an.

Often the word “Allah” was used to decorate costumes, fans, and even weapons.

Arabic robes were also being used as an outer layer of clothing. This is still worn today.

African Art

WORK CITED http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/images/isl

am_spread.jpg http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/wp-content/uplo

ads/2008/07/islam-arrival-africa.jpg http://images.encyclopedia.com/getimage.aspx

?id=2783583&hero=yes http://us-africa.tripod.com/mansamusa.jpg http://www.wbur.org/special/specialcoverage/im

ages/1121mansa2.jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons

/a/ab/Askia.jpg http://www.ibrahimadrame.com/uploads/1/9/0/6/

1906287/9686591.png?186x197 http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/tcics/african%20mosq

ue.jpg http://blog.aluka.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/0

4/timbuktu_15.jpg http://www.ancientscripts.com/images/arabic.gif http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20090

805/ml-lebanon-synagogue/images/5a2c7045-86b6-48be-8001-f1ac489267fc.jpg

History Alive Chapter 14