1. Islam in Africa Chapter 8

2. Prior to Islam Lack of political unity Secret societies handle disputes No need to tax b/c don’t have to support a bureaucracy Social—organized by lineage and age Unifying force – Religion—animism and ancestors – Language--Bantu

3. A Satellite View

4. Vegetation Zones

5. Natural Resources

6. Bantu Migration

7. 1000 different languages; 1000+ different tribes Unifying aspect Bantu-speaking peoples provided a linguistic base across Africa

8. An African’s “Search for Identity” 1. Nuclear Family 2. Extended Family 3. Age-Set 4. Clan 5. Lineage (ancestry) TRIBE (communal living)

9. Traditional African Religion ANIMISM 1. Belief in one remote Supreme Being. 3. Ancestor veneration. 4. Belief in magic, charms, and fetishes. 5. Diviner  mediator between the tribe and God. 2. A world of spirits (good & bad) in all things.

10. African Diviner (Shaman)

11. Ancestors

12. Prior to the Arrival of Islam North of the Sahara had been part of classical civilizations (Phoenician, Greek outpost, Carthage Roman province)

13. Arrival of Islam 640-700 CE Attraction Abbasid’s provided some political stability Equality within a community of believers made it easier to accept new conquerors and rulers  egalitarian Unite state & religion under 1 helped reinforce the authority of African kings— caliph BUT locally divided by social, ethnic and gender

14. Divisions Berbers—North Africa into Spain stopped from taking over France by Charles Martel in 711 CE Almoravids—puritanical reformers launched jihads (purify, spread or protect faith) into the South and West Almahadis—also puritanical reformist

15. Christian: Nubia & Ethiopia Reached Africa before Rome’s conversion Coptic (Egypt & Nubia) translated the gospels into their language & were tolerated Ethiopia—Remained isolated and independent King Lalibela—11 churches carved from stone Later Dynasty—traced lineage back to Solomon & Sheba

16. Bet Giorgis, a 12th century Rock- Hewn church in Ethiopia

17. Kingdom of Grasslands Camel caravans couldn’t survive in the forests so the Sahel became a point of exchange Sudanic State—Mali Mansa Musa 1312-1337 *pilgrimage *brought back scholars *trade protection *cosmopolitan court life *tolerant *gold, salt, dates— The hoe and the bow— symbols of the common

18. Mosque of Jenne a “port” city on the Niger River

19. Matrilineal & patrilineal Arab slave trade—women and children

20. Ibn Battuta & Mansa Musa

21. Sundiata, Lion Prince of Mali as told by griots

22. Sudanic Grasslands Daily Life 80% farmers: millet, rice, sorghum, wheat Polygamy Crop rotation

23. Swahili Coast of East Africa Indian Ocean trade Contact with China, India, SE Asia, Middle East Class Division Merchants tended to be Muslim Rulers tended to speak Arabic

24. Peoples of the Forest & Plains Zimbabwe