Browse Hierarchy HST6034U: Islam in African History

From medieval female-initiated coups to anti-colonial leaders, Africans have engaged with Islam in a variety of historically significant ways. Rather than a continent on the periphery of the Islamic world, this module foregrounds African agency in the formation of Islamic societies and thought on the continent. It examines a vibrant part of global history that has garnered increasing scholarly attention and produced some exciting arguments. We start with the first migration of Muslims to the eastern African empire of Axum in the 7th century, before the community relocated to Madinah, and move through time to end with the emergence of some of the first modern Islamic reformist movements and their leaders, such as Abubakar Gumi in Nigeria and Cheikh Touré in Senegal, in the 20th century. Lectures will provide a chronological perspective, while seminars will focus on a range of thematic primary sources such as: Sufi poetry, historical chronicles, religious literature, letters, archaeological evidence, art and material history.