The first influx of Muslims into Africa was during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad in which a group of citizens from Mecca fled to Ethiopia to escape prosecution. Islam swept across North Africa very early after the death of Muhammad, spreading from Egypt in the 7th century reaching all the way to the Atlantic by the 8th. The spread of Islam in North Africa is similar to the way Europeans colonized America in that it was a westward spread across the continent. However, unlike the colonizing powers of America who strived to dissociate themselves from their European origins, the Arabs were in pursuit of establishing an Islamic identity throughout North Africa.
The Arabs did not underplay its link to the Arabian Peninsula but put pressure on the Copts, Berbers and other people of North Africa to join their new form government. Their conquest of North Africa was not for the sake of converting people to Islam but to control the body of politics and it was their ability to control the government that gradually converted people to Islam. For this is what essentially played the biggest role in the spread of Islam in North Africa. The Muslims were the privileged members of society in North Africa and for this reason many people joined Islam. The ruling power set up a system in which a religious submission was a key to being an elite member in the emerging Islamic culture. My goal in this paper is to point out Islam’s rapid spread in North Africa is largely due to the conquering of land and the establishment of an Islamic state that favoured those of the Muslim faith.
Considering the several reasons for the astonishing spread of Islam in North Africa, one could not look over the significant role the Arab conquests played in spreading Islam from Egypt to the Maghreb. With the permission of Umar ibn Al-Khattab, the Muslim caliph at the time, Arab forces led by Amr ibn al-‘As headed for Egypt with 4,000 soldiers to invade Egypt. In 642AD, the Arab forces successfully invaded Egypt against the Byzantine rule. With only 12,000 men, Amr was successful in his attacks largely due to the warm welcome the majority of Coptic Egyptians gave him. In exchange for a tax, Amr made an alliance with the Coptic leaders to take the Byzantines out of power and agreed to allow the Coptic people to practice their religion in peace.
After taking hold of Egypt, the Arabs instated their rule and did not continue to proceed west under the direct orders of the Caliph. The establishment of Muslim rule in Egypt provided the Arabs with a steady source of income, enough to build an army that would continue proceeding west towards the Maghrib. Eventually the Arabs, now under the Umayyad state, advanced into Maghreb decades after the fall of Alexandria. It was difficult for the Arab forces to gain complete control of the Maghrib because they were challenged with naval fleets of the Byzantines along the coast. They were also challenged by groups such as the Berbers and Zenata who posed a threat because they were well versed in using camels in warfare (Currey & Philip, 2). It was not until the Arabs were under the leadership of Sidi Ugda ibn Nafi when they successfully swept along the western desert through Libya and into Algeria.
After the Arabs defeated the Numidians and Berbers, who were the last significant force of resistance, the Arabs continued marching westwards to take full control of the Maghrib. The conquest of North Africa by the Arabs was significant because this essentially played a role in transforming a predominantly Christian country to a Muslim state in which the Arab language and culture was adopted by the people of the land. North Africa was instituted a new order under the Arabs, which laid the foundations for the rapid spread of Islam throughout North Africa. Immediately after conquering North Africa, the Arabs established a culture of Islam with a move to new capitals in Qayrawan and Fustat. These capitals served to grow armies that established complete dominance of North Africa for centuries. The ruling parties of North Africa prior to the Arab invasions also played a role in the spread of Islam in North Africa.
With the exception of Tunisia that was occupied by the Byzantines, many parts of North Africa had a weak political and military system. Prior to Islam, North Africa was in the hands of the Romans, Vandal, Berbers and other dominant groups so there was a constant struggle for power in the region. Egyptian Muslim historian, Abd Al-Hakam, wrote Amr convinced Umar to give him permission to proceed in taking Egypt by explaining to Umar the unstable situation in Egypt. Amr made the “…conquest seem easy for him until Umar was convinced” (Christopher, 61) and was finally assigned 4000 men for the taking of Egypt. The spread of Islam in North Africa was also aided by the turmoil situation between the Byzantine and Persian empires. The numerous wars between both empires exhausted the Byzantine and left them vulnerable to conquest (Esposito, 312).
The Byzantine’s attempt to impose their Christianity on the people of Egypt further segregated them from the population. The exploited Coptic Egyptians were quick to join the Arabs because their ruling government treated them poorly. The Arabs liberated the people of Egypt from the rule of the Byzantine, a force who were sought to exploit the people and the land for the increase of wealth for the Roman Empire. Compared to the Byzantine, the Berbers held a resistance that was more sporadic and in a smaller number. There was a lack of leadership amongst the Berbers who had numerous Kings in various localities that were under different administrations (Robinson, 38). When the Arabs began advancing into the heart of North Africa, they used the dispersion of Berber strongholds to their advantage. They allied with some Berbers and used this alliance to turn different Berber kings against one another to continue their conquest westwards.
At one point the influence of Arabs on the Berber was so significant that the number of Berber militants in the conquest of North Africa exceeded that of the Arabs. It was the chaotic situation amongst the opposition and their lack of a stable government that made it easy for the Muslims to conquer North Africa. Although the conquest of these lands did not have a direct impact on the converting people to Islam, it served as a foundation for the ‘islamization’ and ‘arabization’ of North Africa. The spread of Islam was not only carried out by soldiers because this would imply after conquering the lands Islam was violently imposed on them and this was not at all the case. The gradual attraction of the people to both the military and the religion was due to the fact that the Muslims were the ruling class in societies. There was no pressure exerted on to the people of the lands that forced them to convert to Islam. Their protection and rights to practice their religions was ensured as long as they paid a tax.
This was a fair agreement for the Copts as their previous rulers not only burdened them with heavy taxes and other forms of exploitation but also they were also prosecuted for practicing their religion (Hrbek, 25). It is fair to say that at first the governments were hostile to the conversion of Islam by the population because an increase in Muslims would dilute the economic advantages the Muslims yearn for. Nonetheless, the increase of Muslims in North Africa further strengthened their communities. Under the rule of Arabs, Egypt experienced an influx of Arabs who became the privileged members in society. They replaced the non-Muslims in administration to hold high titles in politics. Gradually those of other religions had little to no significant role in governing the state. Eventually those people of other faiths became the minority class and because they were not being represented in politics they were detached from society, pressuring them to adopt Islam as their religion.
This process of conversion to Islam was a slow and gradual one as it took decades and in some cases centuries for the people of North Africa to embrace Islam. It was the Caliphate, the Islamic state, which quickly took hold of political and economic control throughout North Africa. Unlike Christianity and Judaism, the spread of Islam was assisted by the spread of a single common language amongst the people, Arabic. Two processes that are almost interdependent on one another, Islamization and Arabization, subsequently followed the introduction of Islam in North Africa. Islamization refers to the conversion of people to Islam and the spark of Islamic supremacy in society. Arabization is the growth of the Arabic culture and language. Arabization is a phenomenon that is closely related to the spread of Islam all throughout the world. Almost all those who became Muslim adopted the Arabic language because Islam requires some knowledge of Arabic to practice the religion. Because Muslims were required to know some Arabic to fulfil their religious duties many Muslims shared a common language, a language in which merchants of trade spoke.
Arabic in that region has become the dominant language of trade because Muslims were in control of not only the major trade routes of the Sahara but they were also in control of the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Arabs were not completely foreign to North Africa prior to the birth of Islam, as they were well known traders in that region (Sulayman). The Arabs supplied North Africa with spices from India, fabrics and other goods by means of their control of the Red Sea. Pre-existing trade, commerce and travel via of the red sea prior dating back to pre-Islamic times between Africa and the Arabian Peninsula propelled the spread of Islam to North Africa. Not only was Arabic the major language of trade but it was also the official language of the administrative urban capitals of Egypt and Ifriqiya, Fustat and Qayrwan.
New Islamic states were developed in North Africa that established new institutions to replace the older one. For example, when the Arabs came to Egypt they took over the state and allowed it to continue functioning the same way prior to their arrival. The Greek language, their coins, administrative system and subordinate tax systems were kept to continue functioning for the benefit of the new rulers (Hrbek & Muhammad, 89). Gradually with the growth of the Arab population came the incorporation of Arab language and customs into society. The people of Egypt and Maghrib were subjects of their respect Caliphs in Medina, Baghdad and Damascus. The Caliph, who dwelled in a completely different continent, would appoint judges, officers of revenue and taxation, chiefs of police, commanders of armies and other civil titles on his behalf (Sulayman).
The establishment of such institutions facilitated the growth of cities such as Fustat and Qayrawan into the urban centres of North Africa. As trade in North Africa continued to grow, there was an adoption of a currency exchange systems of the Caliphate and the system of using a draft or cheque was known to be used. The establishment of Islamic madrasa or schools for young children taught the teachings of Islam, other areas of study and most importantly these schools propagated the Arabic language. The use of a common language for trade, government affairs and in other institutions accelerated the growth of Islam in North Africa. Conquering the lands and establishing an Islamic government in the capitals initially sparked the Islamization and Arabization of North Africa (Iliffe, 43).
The conquest of North African territories did not result in the immediate conversion of people to Islam. Instead the Arabs held control of the government and put the population under their rule. The Islamic state politically and geographically spread into North Africa as a result of their successful conquers. Rarely did the conquerors of the land impose the religion of Islam on the people. Such motives for converting to Islam in North Africa included an honest desire to accept Islam, to escape the heavy taxes imposed on the non-Muslims (Iliffe, 44), or to identify themselves as Muslims so they could partake in all the privileges of ruling class. Although the increase of Arabs in North Africa resulted in the exclusion of Christians from government, putting social and economic pressure on the non-Muslims to adopt Islam.
The governments of Islamic provinces in North Africa conducted their affairs in the language of the Muslims. Political and economic manners were held in Muslim language and favoured the Muslims. The language of the Muslims was predominantly used for trade in North Africa and this is the reason why merchants had a significant role in spreading Islam throughout North Africa. Through trade, North Africa served as a gateway for Islam to spread into Europe and the Sub-Saharan, home to some of the greatest Islamic empires in history.
