Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading: Robert Brenton Betts, The Druze (New 

Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1988); Talal Fandi 

and Ziyad Abi-Shakra, eds., The Druze Heritage: An 

Annotated Bibliography (Amman: Royal Institute for 

Inter-Faith Studies; London: Druze Heritage Founda-

tion, 2001); Marshall G. S. Hodgson, “Al-Darazi and 

Hamza in the Origin of the Druze Religion.” Journal of 

the American Oriental Society 82 (1962): 5–20.

dua

  See 

prayer

.

dua

  

205  J

---

206

AF

J:

East Africa

The Islamic religion first appeared in East Africa 

during the lifetime of m

Uhammad

 (ca. 510–632), 

when he sent some of his followers to Abyssinia 

(in modern Ethiopia) in order to escape Meccan 

persecution. By the 10th century, Muslim mer-

chants had introduced their faith into Somalia. 

During the next 500 years, Muslims carried their 

religion down the East African coast along the 

trade routes. Muslim communities were estab-

lished in many of the trading towns along the 

coast and on several nearby islands. Because of 

their involvement in international trade, coastal 

Islamic communities often included Muslims 

of Arab, Persian, and South Asian origin who 

belonged to Shafii, Ibadi, Shii, and several other 

Islamic groups.

Prior to the modern era, East African Islam 

was mostly limited to the coast due to its associa-

tion with Muslim merchants, who did not tend to 

travel inland. This limitation did not apply to the 

northeastern regions, where small Muslim prin-

cipalities arose as buffer states between Muslim 

Egypt and Christian Ethiopia, and in the region 

of the modern nation of s

Udan

, where the sultan-

ates of Wadai, Dar Fur, and Sinnar held sway. In 

these areas, Islam became the religion of the rul-

ing class but spread more slowly among common 

people, who also clung to pre-Islamic practices. 

Increasing ties with the Middle East and the rising 

influence of Sufi orders led to a more widespread 

Islamic adherence by people of the region between 

the 16th and 18th centuries.

European colonial powers began to exert their 

influence with the arrival of the Portuguese on the 

East African coast during the 16th century. Portu-

guese support for Christians in the region led to 

increased tensions with the Muslims. This situa-

tion was exacerbated by the triumph of European 

colonialism

 at the end of the 19th century. Colo-

nial rule actually served to spread Islam through-

out societies in which Muslim communities had 

predated colonialism. Europeans extended trade 

into the interior, opening new fields for Islamic 

expansion. They also promoted Muslims into 

positions of influence and created urban condi-

tions that favored the spread of Islam. However, 

in areas that had been largely untouched by Islam 

prior to the colonial era, Christian missionaries 

experienced considerable success.

As a result, East Africa entered the era of inde-

pendent states as a region divided among Muslim, 

Christian, and “traditional,” or indigenous, reli-

gious communities. This has often led to tension 

E

---

between the different religious communities, as 

evidenced by the long-standing civil war in Sudan 

between the Islamic north and non-Muslim reb-

els in the south. In other countries, interfaith 

relations have been more peaceful. For example, 

Muslims in Kenya, Tanzania, and Malawi have 

used a variety of nonviolent means to advance 

their interests as minority religious communities 

within secular nation-states. Tensions between 

Sufi orders and various revivalist groups have also 

affected the development of East African Islam, 

with revivalists accusing Sufis of promoting non-

Islamic practices. In summary, Islamic communi-

ties in East Africa are marked by their diversity 

and include Muslims from a wide variety of ethnic 

backgrounds, sectarian loyalties, educational lev-

els, economic statuses, and political viewpoints.

See also c

hristianity

 

and

 i

slam

; W

est

 a

Frica

.

Stephen Cory