Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading: Umar F. Abd-Allah, A Muslim in 

Victorian America: The Life of Alexander Russell Webb

(New York: Oxford University Press, 2006); Moham-

med Alexander Russell Webb, Yankee Muslim: The 

Asian Travels of Mohammed Alexander Russell Webb

(Rockville, Md.: Wildside Press, 2006); Mohammed 

Alexander Russell Webb, Islam in America: A Brief 

Statement of Mohammedanism and an Outline of the 

American Islamic Propaganda (New York: Oriental 

Publishing, 1893).

West Africa

i

slam

 entered West Africa within the first decade 

after the death of the prophet m

Uhammad

 (d. 

632), when Muslim armies set out westward 

from  e

gypt

. The first a

rab

 expeditions were 

launched across the Sahara in the eighth century, 

although no permanent Muslim presence seems 

to have been established in sub-Saharan Africa 

until 200 years later. That presence was brought 

about through the efforts of Muslim traders, who 

engaged in business along the lucrative Saharan 

caravan routes, and who introduced their 

Faith

 to 

West African businessmen and tribal chiefs.

In the late 11th century, the West African king-

dom of Ghana is said to have converted to Islam 

through the influence of the Berber a

lmoravid

dynasty

. By the 14th century Muslim chiefs ruled 

over the Kingdom of Mali, the best known of whom, 

Mansa Musa (r. 1307–32), made the pilgrimage to 

m

ecca

 in 1324. The rise of Islamic influence in West 

Africa continued under the Songhay dynasty, which 

ruled over vast domains centered on the Niger River 

during the 15th and 16th centuries. The Songhay 

(Songhai) Empire included t

imbUktU

, known as the 

“city of scholars,” a location renowned throughout 

the region for Islamic jurisprudence.

By the 18th century, West Africa was impacted 

by European colonial expansion. European pur-

suit of raw materials, gold, and slaves stimulated 

Islamic revival movements that resulted in the 

“

Jihad

 states” of West Africa during the 18th and 

19th centuries. The leaders of these states empha-

sized Islamic education and sought to purify 

society, replacing non-Islamic practices with laws 

and cultural norms deemed to be more faithful to 

Islam. During this period, Islam was transformed 

from the religion of the political and religious elite 

to becoming the faith of the masses. s

UFi

 orders 

such as the Qadiriyya and the Tijaniyya were also 

instrumental in popularizing the Islamic faith 

by creating a synthesis between African cultural 

practices and Islamic principles.

Ironically, European colonial rule instituted 

changes during the late 19th and early 20th cen-

turies that also aided the spread of Islam. The 

influence of Muslim religious leaders expanded as 

they gained credibility for their heroic resistance to 

colonial repression. In addition, the creation of new 

urban centers consisting of people uprooted from 

traditional tribal life caused many seekers to turn 

to Islam for identity and comfort. During the post-

colonial era, the m

aliki

  l

egal

  s

chool

  continues 

to dominate West African Islam and the many Sufi 

orders are also very influential. Revivalist move-

ments originating in the Middle East have increas-

ingly influenced West Africans. Such influences 

have frequently heightened tensions with Christian