Islams Spread Through the Sub Saharan Desert
Islam and the Sub-Saharan Gold Trade in Africa Islam’s hold on much of Africa can be attributed to a number of factors. ... The cross cultural contact greatly increased as a result of the Islamic and African participation in the trans-Saharan gold trade and that this increased contact led not only to the spread of Islam among the indigenous peoples of Africa, but also a diversity of positive and negative impacts to those peoples. ... Islam’s fundamental beliefs are expressed through the Quran, which was composed by Muhammad after God communicated divine revelations to him in Arabic (Martin and O’Meara 97). ... The dispersing of Islam into Africa took two basic courses: “one for the northern Africa, where Arabs established themselves as a ruling elite and settled in garrisons throughout the region, and another for sub-Saharan Africa, where Muslim traders introduced Islam and resided in commercial enclaves” (Martin and O’Meara 99). ... The trans-Saharan gold trade flourished between 800 and 1100 AD, which was a time of great change in many aspects of African culture. ... African Arabs became more closely integrated in the gold trade during the eight and ninth centuries and Islamic towns such as Sijilmasa acted as important northern bases for the trans-Saharan trade. ... One of the most fundamental roles played in the gold trade and the forthcoming spread of Islam, was the camel. The camel was the major form of transport in the desert by the 5th century and is “said to have revolutionized the scope and scale of the trans-Saharan trade” (Shillington 79). Their ability to carry approximately 130 kilos and travel large distances in a single day made them an essential commodity, particularly to cross the Sahara desert. By revolutionizing transportation in the desert, the camel played an integral role in the expansion of trade for West African gold (Shillington 80) The North African states of Almoravid and Almohad provided a significant boost to the trans-Saharan gold trade, for these two groups minted their own gold coins. ... The “spread of Islam among west African rulers did much to stabilize and expand the trans-Saharan trade in Gold” (Shillington 94). ... One of the most significant impacts of the sub-Saharan gold trade was the emergence of many great African empires, and gave “rise of new west African states, and in particular the rise of Mali” (Shillington 94). ... With such a large spread diffusion of religion and culture in Africa, there are both positive and negative effects.