Islam and West African Indigenous Religion - Essay Example

Patricia James Arthur Finkle World History I Islam and West African Indigenous Religion Prior to the eighth century, West Africa was a place of tribal, or pagan, religions practiced autonomously within regional boundaries and cultures.1 One way of describing these beliefs is the word "Animism" which "is the belief that objects of nature, sun, mountains, trees, rivers, and so on, are endowed with souls and so are spiritually alive" (Parrinder 97). Whether the local populations engaged in animism, polytheism, or other cultural heritage-derived beliefs, once Africa was directly invaded by the Turks and subsequently opened up by European traders, the Islamic religion became prevalent. The scope of this paper is to focus on the advent of the Islamic faith within the region and explain some of the factors that contributed to it. These factors can be generalized within three broad areas; geographical, historical, and behavioral. Through the combination of these causes, Islam became prolific and replaced much of the ancient indigenous practices. Geographical Factors Africa is a diverse continent where the geography includes almost every possible landmass variation. From desert, tropical forests, mountains, and the plains of the savannah, the influence of the geography itself impacted how and when Islam spread. As Parrinder points out in his article, the expansion of non-native populations tended to take a vertical shape, almost assuredly due to the use of the coastlines as entry points for foreign traders, but the land itself is stratified horizontally between the major geographical components. "These two ways of viewing the country help to explain the progress of Islam; for it came into the interior plateaus first and long remained almost stationary there, cut off from the coastal regions by the impenetrable forest" (Parrinder 131). It wasn't until the European traders established a transportation infrastructure of roads and railways that Islam began to make inroads from the interior of the country into the coastal regions. Once that was accomplished, however, Islam was able to spread from the central portions of the continent to the outer edges, including West Africa. This specifically points to the first of three historical aspects of the spread of Islam. Historical Factors While it might be inferred that Islam was initially carried into Africa by the Turkish invaders who used the Mediterranean Sea as a conduit for expansion, the fact is that the spread of Islam owes its initial developments to commerce. As Trimingham notes, "Islam was first introduced into West Africa by traders. Their activities in purveying Islam along with their goods have continued ever since" (28). It is intuitive that religion spreads with commerce. As native people interact with merchants, there is a blending of ideas and philosophies that naturally takes place. Given the aggressive proselytization practices of Islam, there is no great mystery as to why the native Africans would convert. Their assimilation into Islamic beliefs was also fostered by the historical imperialism of the religion. By its very structure, Islam is a faith that blends political and economic activities with religious practice. Once the belief system becomes sufficiently popular, it begins to enforce its tenets through more than simple missionary means. The statement that "Islam in power is secularized theocracy and this always leads to forms of religious imperialism" (Trimingham 28) is as true today as it was in the eleventh century. Once entrenched in tribal governance, the more aggressive forms of an imperialistic recruitment would emerge. These practices included everything from forced conversions to the refusal to allow commerce between individuals of the faith and apostates. In many parts of Africa, conversion to Islam was not a voluntary activity, but a political and economic necessity. The next historical fact, that of western development, would simply provide the means for expansion of the imperialistic methodology employed by Islamic adherents. There is no doubt that Islamic expansion into the outer areas of Africa was facilitated by the new developments and infrastructures brought through European colonization. Through both technological and social means, Islam was able to spread: New facilities for communication, security along trade- routes and growth of towns gave traders a formerly unheard- of radius of activity. In towns the detribalized and those temporarily isolated from their religious milieu, feeling the need to link themselves with another social group or to regroup, found their common denominator in Islam. (Trimingham 29) As foreign commerce and Islamic imperialism utilized the new tools of communication and transportation, the religion became a tie that bound the previously-disassociated Africans together. Behavioral Factors In addition to the geographical and historical causes previously noted, the actual behavior of Islam's adherents was a key to the spread of the belief. One of the most effective techniques employed during the post-classical period was the tried-and-true tactic of invasion. "The consequences for West Africa of the invasions of North Africa by large numbers of Arabs in the eleventh and twelfth centuries were even more far-reaching...In fact, the majority [of Africans] were forcibly converted to Islam..." (Fage 15). This fact reflects both the nature of religious imperialism as well as the consequences of invasion. It is not a new idea that if you want to spread your trade, culture, or religion, take over a new part of the world and just enforce it. For the Africans, this is exactly what happened over the course of four centuries of Turkish and Arab practices. During post-invasion reconstruction, traditional institutions would fade and social blending would permit a natural expansion of the Islamic religion. As the previous governmental and social practices wane, the new institutions take their place and during the fourteenth century, this is seen in West Africa. "The importance of Islam in Africa was also growing at this time...indeed, the world's most obvious dynamic in the centuries before Columbus was the expansion of the Islamic faith" (Shaffer 19). The expansion was a natural one, given the fact that an entirely new social and economic structure was being built along with communication and transportation infrastructure. Taken together, the proliferation of Islamic monotheism as a replacement for the ancient tribal religious practices was virtually assured. West Africa had historically been a place where the indigenous people were free to worship whatever they deemed important; trees, rocks, rivers, stars, animals, or any combination of perceived deities. As Turkish and Arab traders began sharing their faith along with their goods, the idea of Islam was introduced to the region. After the invasion of the eight century planted a strong Islamic colony in central Africa, a foothold was gained. The entry of the European traders opened up Africa, providing Islam with the means to spread into all regions of the continent. Given the fundamental philosophy and theology of the religion, specifically its use of political and social institutions as platforms for an imperialistic and aggressive conversion campaign, Islam would surely grow; and grow it did. Supplemented by the subsequent invasions of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the natural expansion of Islam came to replace the traditional cultural beliefs of the African people and remains a major belief system in West Africa to this day. Works Cited Fage, J.D. An Introduction to the History of West Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1961. Parrinder, E.G. What World Religions Teach. London: George G. Harrap, 1963. Parrinder, E.G. "Islam and West African Indigenous Religion." 20 Apr. 2006. State University of New York and Empire State College. 12 Jul. 2006. < http://www.jstor.org.library.esc. edu/view/00295973/sp050016/05x1269u/0currentResult=00295973%2bsp050016%2b05x1269u%2b0%2cFF1F&searchUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jstor.org%2Fsearch%2FBasicResults%3Fhp%3D100%26si%3D1%26Query%3Dafrican%2Bcivi>. 130-141 Shaffer, L. "Southernization." Journal of World History, 5 (1) (1994): 1-21. Trimingham, J.S. A History of Islam in West Africa. London: Oxford University Press, 1970. Read More