Early Swahili Mosques: The Role of Ibadi and Ismaili Communities, Ninth to Twelfth Centuries
Book Chapter in "Muslim Cultures of the Indian Ocean"
“The role of trade has been crutial in the process of Islamisation in sub-Saharan Africa. Arab, Berber, Persian and Indian merchants spread Islam across the vast geographic areas of the Sahara and the Indian Ocean. The first African converts were among the elite, most often merchants and local leaders. Islamised cities and kingdoms quickly took advantage of this new religion by strengthening their administration and legitimacy through the use of Arabic script. Indeed, Islam was much more than a new religion, it was a revolution which changed eating habits, architecture and also social relations, in particular a system of jurisprudence based on the shariʿa. The historical mosques built in East Africa can be considered as true pieces of Islamic art and they reflect the diversity and unity of Indian Ocean cultures.
One of the problems of early mosques in East Africa is their identification and chronology. What was the impact of early Muslim communities, especially the Ibadi and the Ismaili, in the Islamisation of the East African coast? Why was the thirteenth century a time of change in mosque architecture and what was the role of Sunni communities in Africa? The responses to these questions must be investigated through the links between migrations, diaspora and trading networks in the Indian Ocean.” (Stéphane Pradines)
Author: Dr. Stéphane Pradines
Link to Full Chapter: Muslim Cultures of the Indian Ocean