This book examines a series of processes (Islamization, Arabization, Africanization) and case studies from the Muslim societies of Africa over the last thousand years. In contrast to traditions suggesting that Islam did not take root in Africa, David Robinson depicts the complex struggles of Muslims throughout the continent: in Morocco and the Hausaland region of Nigeria; the "pagan" societies of Ashanti (Ghana) and Buganda (Uganda); and the ostensibly Christian state of Ethiopia. "Further reading" sections suggest how undergraduate readers can pursue research, and illustrations and maps supplement the text.

Inhalt
Part I. Introduction: the Foundations: 1. Muhammad and the birth of Islam; 2. The basic institutions of the faith; Part II. Explorations in the Islamic Identities of Africa: 3. The Islamization of Africa; 4. The Africanization of Islam; 5. Muslim identity and the Slave Trades; 6. Western views of Africa and Islam; Part III. Extended Case Studies: Muslim Societies in Old Nation-States of Africa: 7. Morocco: Muslims in a Muslim nation; 8. Ethiopia Muslims in a Christian nation; Part IV. Muslim Societies in Pre-Colonial Africa: 9. Asante and Kumasi: a Muslim minority in a sea of Paganism; 10. Sokoto and Hausaland: Jihad within the Dar al-Islam; Part V. Muslim Societies in Colonial Africa: 11. Buganda: religious competition for the Kingdom; 12. The Mahdi and competing imperialisms; 13. The Muridiyya: a Sufi Brotherhood under French Colonial rule; Conclusion.