Pre-9th Century–18th Century: (Islam in Western Africa — Introduction via the Trans-Saharan Trade a Millennium Before the Nineteenth Century, Berber Merchant…

Pre-9th Century–18th Century: (Islam in Western Africa — Introduction via the Trans-Saharan Trade a Millennium Before the Nineteenth Century, Berber Merchants Carrying the Faith to the Savannah, Ruling Elites and Urban Populations Converting Before Rural Peasants, the Eclectic Adaptation of Islam to Local Religion, and the Emergence of Scholarly Lineages Like the Kunta and the Qadiriyya Brotherhood): Islam had been introduced to West Africa from the north a millennium before the nineteenth century via the trans-Saharan trade. Berber merchants carried Islam across the Sahara to the states and settlements of the western savannah, where ruling elites, urban populations, and local traders generally embraced the faith before rural populations. The main advantages of Islam to sub-Saharan traders were literacy and the sense of brotherhood it created between merchants north and south of the desert. Rulers and traders who converted had an eclectic approach, adapting Islam to existing features of West African religion — the creator god was approximately compatible with Islamic monotheism, but greater emphasis was placed on a pantheon of deities with occupational functions, ancestral spirits, and diviners. As demand for West African gold expanded between the ninth and eleventh centuries, so did the kingdom of Ghana and so did Islam. The empire of Mali was recognized as a Muslim state by the early fourteenth century, with Mansa Musa (1312–1337) making the pilgrimage to Mecca and patronizing learning at Timbuktu. Religious and economic networks spread across the savannah — scholarly lineages like the Kunta were crucial in spreading Islam, and through the Kunta the Qadiriyya brotherhood spread throughout the region. The Dyula or wangara established Muslim communities along trading routes and spread Islam through marriage with unbelievers. Yet Muslims remained a minority, Islam was primarily urban, and the sharia was not rigorously enforced.