AFRICAN HISTORY  AND CULTURE

AFRICAN HISTORY  AND CULTURE

Throughout the history of Africa, religion played a vital role in the transformation of politics, economics and culture. Even though the spread of the Islamic religion across West Africa dates back to 18^th century, the spread of the faith in the region owes to the 19^th century owing to Atlantic Trade in the region (Larkin, 2016). During the 19^th century, both Islam served a primary objective to stimulate social and spiritual interactions. The rapid spread of Islam across the West African region in the 19^th century owed to the fact that most people had accommodated Islamic practices and beliefs as a supplement to the traditional indigenous religion. In simple terms, during the early influences of the religion were widely accepted across the region since its traditions and beliefs substituted the traditional religion(Larkin, 2016). On the other hand, in contrast to Christianity, the Islamic religion spread rapidly across West Africa since the early representatives of the religion including clerics and traders did not present any threats to social values and structures.

The spread of Islam across the Gold Coast region during the period owed to factors like the nature of the religion, trade, Holy wars, the activities of rulers and the activities of the Muslim clerics. The Trans-Saharan trade network was a fundamental factor that influenced the rapid spread of Islam across the region(Larkin, 2016). As early as the 17tth century, through to the 19^th century, Muslim traders from Sahara and Maghreb began to settle in the Sahel market place. This led to the division of some major market places in which one part of the ancient Ghana capital consisted of the King’s Muslim visitors while the other encompassed Muslim traders. Similarly, the spread of Islam in the region originated from the activities of Muslim clerics including mallams, scholars and marabouts.

During the 19^th century, Muslims across the West African Region assumed chiefly roles without undermining the political systems. This contrasted with Christianity in which early Christians in the region significantly affected economic, social and political decisions (Hill, 2019). In other words, members of the clergy assumed important positions in the political systems whereby the clergy relied on the Christian doctrine to rule the region. Similarly, the spread of the Islam religion owed to the idea that the religion was prophetic, hence it was considered by Africans as an exclusive religion. In comparison to Christianity, Islam preserveda symbiotic association with the traditional African religions and in turn, embraced an aspect of open-endness and tolerance(Hill, 2019). Furthermore, Islam’s adaptation to the local environment, especially during the Islamization process strengthened particularistic and narrow-minded elements at the expense of the religion’s universalism. Consequently, during the initial phases of Islamization, the early Islamic representatives emphasized the ritual ad magical facets of the religion, instead of the legal ideologies of the Islamic religion. In other words, in comparison to Christianity, the Islamic religion was renowned with its little or no involvement in the political context of Islam…

On the other hand, the encounter of Islam and Christianity religion was well established especially in how Christians responded to the Islamization process. This resulted in Jihads, Islamic reforms and a Renewal of the Islamic religion, various factorscompelled the religious revivals in the African Islam, particularly across the West African region. The primary factors for the reforms and Jihads were the necessity of safeguarding the concept of Monotheism (one God), how Islamic believers were maltreated in addition to Islamic compromises that most Muslims embraced. The originaljihad arose in the Senegambia and Mauritanian regions during the 17^th and 18^th centuries (Hill, 2019). Whereas the Mauritanian jihad emerged as some form of resistance to the Berbers due to the Arab Banu Ma’qil hegemony, the jihad in Senegambia arose due to the need of oust local leaders and in turn establish independent states.

Alongside the spread of Islam during the 19^th century, Christianity rapidly spread as a result of the evangelizing mission of the African returnees to Liberia and Sierra Leone. The Trans-Atlantic slave trade let to the establishment of the African diaspora in the western world. The Africans in diaspora experienced the Christianity religion and preserved its doctrines (Nana Opare Kwakye, 2018). More so, the Caribbean diaspora life created a viable avenue in which the Africans shared ideas about how they would establish the religion in Africa upon their return. Considerably, the failure of the European missionaries to widely spread Christianity across the West African region propelled the newly converted evangelists in the Caribbean to become representatives of social transformations throughout the region. One important group that contributed to the spread of Christianity in West Africa during the 19^th century was the Caribbean Christians who hailed from Barbados, Jamaica, the Caribbean islands as well as Antigua(Nana Opare Kwakye, 2018).  Nana Opare Kwakye (2018) states that, upon their arrival in Gold Coast region, evangelizing African missionaries who returned from the western world settled around the Akropongarea in which they began building schools and hospitals. As they continued with their evangelizing mission, Christianity spread rapidly to other regions in South Ghana. Subsequently, in the later years of the 19^th century, the vast African interiorremained the prime order for catholic priests, with support from African evangelists(Nana Opare Kwakye, 2018). Moreover, the evangelizing African missionaries in West Africa began to take up ecclesiastical leadership responsibilities which they exercised within the confines of the church. The African returnees had the quest of establishing the Christian lifestyle for Africans.

Significantly, the spread of both Islam and Christianity during the 19^th century led to significant changes in the social, political and economic systems of the African people. The encounters between Christianity and Islam believers during the 19^th century create a fault-line which created conflicts among religious leaders and believers(Arens, 2015). However, despite these conflicts, the role of the religion in offering relief, food and shelter to the affected communities remained profound. This was seen in how churches housed refugees of jihads and conflicts between the two religions. Likewise, although Christianity and Islam continued to be dominant in the period, the traditional Africa religious practices and values continued to prevail. In simple terms, the encounters between Muslims and Christians led to broader implications in politics such as the establishment of diplomatic relations between states, the development of systems of administration as well as unity. For instance, the spread of Islam in the region led to the adoption of the Islamic systems of taxation and justice aimed at promoting an efficient system of administration (Arens, 2015). Equally, the spread of both religions in West Africa enhanced unity among Africans by establishing loyalties, ethnic ties, family ties as well as ties between clans. Consequently, the two religions improved civilization by building schools, increased literacy, enhanced trade in addition to introducing architecture and art.

In conclusion, the fast spread of Islam across the West African region in the 19^th century owed to the various factors including trade, activities of the Muslim leaders and the nature of Islam. In regard to the nature of Islam, the religion spread rapidly due to the idea that most people had accommodated islamic practices and beliefs as a supplement to the traditional indigenous religion. On the contrary, the spread of Christianity in the Gold Coast region was as a result of the evangelizing missions of the African returnees from Sierra Leon and Liberia.

References

Arens, W. (2015). Islam and Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa: Ethnographic Reality or Ideology (Islam et christianismeen Afrique sub-saharienne: réalitéethnologiqueouidéologie?). Cahiers d’etudesafricaines, 443-456.

Hill, M. (2019). The spread of Islam in West Africa: containment, mixing, and reform from the eighth to the twentieth century. SPICE digest.

Larkin, B. (2016). Entangled religions: response to JDY Peel. Africa, 86(4), 633-639.

Nana Opare Kwakye, A. (2018). Returning African Christians in Mission to the Gold Coast. Studies in World Christianity, 24(1), 25-45.