The history of Islam in East Africa stretches back to around 1000 CE. Until the mid-20th century, it remained largely confined to the coast and closely bound up with the history of the Swahili towns situated on it. The Swahili language remains central to many East African Muslims, hence the occasionally heard phrase, “Swahili Islam.” East African Muslims are mostly Shafiites and some belong to Sufi orders, especially Qadiriyya and Shadhiliyya. Since c. 1850, Islam, with many variations in ritual, has become the religion of speakers of a multitude of languages across the region, second only to Christianity. The region’s independent nation-states initially promised equality for all religions within a secular order. Since c. 1990, though, the minority status of East African Muslims has fed into a multitude of grievances related to the region’s economic and political impasses. This situation has led to growing movements of Islamic preaching and activism, supported by increased contacts with congregations elsewhere in the Indian Ocean. At times, they have influenced electoral politics, especially in Zanzibar, where Islamic activism resonates with fear of marginalization by the mainland. In Kenya, Somali-influenced Islamist terrorists committed a series of atrocities in the 2010s. East African governments, in turn, have been proactive in tracking and disrupting such networks, and in Kenya, the government engaged in targeted assassination. Nevertheless, peaceful coexistence between Muslims and adherents of other religions remains the norm in East Africa, and its dynamics are often poorly understood.
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The History of Islam in East Africa
Felicitas Becker
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Islam in Kenya
Hassan Juma Ndzovu
According to archeological studies, the presence of Islam in Kenya can be traced back to the 10th century, confirming its long tenure. The majority of Kenyan Muslims identify with the Shafi’i jurisprudence, with the minority among the community subscribing to Shi’a Islam. Although Islam has historically been associated with communities residing in the coastal and northern regions, the composition of Muslims in the country cut across geographical, ethnic, and racial boundaries. Before the 18th century, Islam was mostly associated with the coastal Arab and Swahili communities together with the Somalis of northern Kenya. However, after 1830, there was a steady conversion of other communities to Islam. It is not possible to point to a single factor for the spread and development of Islam in Kenya since the process of Islamization has been long and complex, varying from one community to the other. This explains why there exists a range of forms of religiosity, manifested in a contestation between Sufi-oriented and Salafi-oriented forms of Islam. As a minority religious group in the country vis-à-vis their Christian compatriots, some Muslims have been critical of the postcolonial state, culminating in the radicalization of sections of the community since the 1990s. Informing this criticism is the claim of marginalization and discrimination perpetrated by the Christian-dominated state. Despite this seeming tension between Muslims and the state, there has not been a large-scale religious conflict between Muslims and members of other religions. Nevertheless, there have been reports of isolated cases of attacks targeting symbols of Christianity by jihadi groups affiliated with al-Shabaab of Somalia.
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The Indian Ocean and Africa
Edward A. Alpers
The Indian Ocean has occupied an important place in the history of Africa for millennia, linking the continental land mass to the peoples, products, and ideas of the wider Indian Ocean world (IOW). Central to this relationship are environmental factors, including the biannual operation of monsoon winds, which determined the maritime movement of people, things, and ideas. The earliest of these connections involve the movement of food crops, domestic animals, and commensals both from and into Africa and its offshore islands. From the beginnings of the Current Era, Africa was an important Indian Ocean source of valuable commodities, such as ivory and gold; in more recent times, hardwood products like mangrove poles, and agricultural products like cloves, coconuts, and copra gained economic prominence. Enslaved African labor also had a long history in the IOW, the sources and destinations for the export trade varying over time. In addition, for centuries many different Indian Ocean immigrant communities played important roles as settlers, merchants, sailors, and soldiers. In the realm of culture and ideas, African music, dance, and spiritual concepts accompanied those Africans who were forcibly removed from the continent to the different Indian Ocean lands where they were enslaved. A further indicator of Indian Ocean connectivity is Islam, the introduction of which marks an important watershed in African history. The human settlement of Madagascar marks another significant Indian Ocean connection for Africa. At different times and in different ways, colonial rule—Portuguese, Dutch, Omani, French, and British—tied eastern African territories to India, Arabia, and Southeast Asia. Since regaining independence, African nation-states have established a variety of new linkages to other Indian Ocean states.
