9781422283509

Africa to the 1400s

The Birth of Islam In 622 ce , the Prophet Muhammad founded a new religion in Arabia, called Islam. The people who follow it are called Muslims and they believe in one god whom they call Allah. The first Muslims wanted to convert other peoples who did not believe in their religion. After the Prophet Muhammad died in 632, his followers began to wage wars against people who lived in other countries. They conquered Egypt in 639 and most of North Africa by the 700s. Muslims follow a holy book called the Quran. It contains passages that tell them how to live a good life. Muslims are supposed to pray five times a day, give food or money to the poor, fast during Ramadan and make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetime. There are 1.5 billion Muslims in the world and 300 million of them live in Africa. T he elegant Sultan Haman Mosque in Cairo, Egypt.

A European map dated around 1375, showing the king and kingdom of Mali. Mansa Musa’s Pilgrimage After Sundiata’s death, Mali continued to be powerful. Many good rulers followed Sundiata and enlarged the empire. The next great ruler was Mansa Kankan Musa, who came to power in 1312. He made Mali wealthier by conquering the prosperous cities of Timbuktu and Gao. Mansa Kankan Musa made his famous pilgrimage to Mecca from 1324-1326. Mecca is the holy city in Arabia which every follower of the Muslim faith (see box) is supposed to visit at least once during his lifetime. Mansa’s pilgrimage made Mali known throughout the Mediterranean world. Mansa Musa took sixty thousand servants, one hundred camels and three million pounds worth of gold with him on his trip across the desert. He gave a lot of his money away as gifts. Wherever Mansa stopped on a Friday, the Muslim day of worship, he gave the people who lived there money to build a mosque. Mosques are like churches. Muslims go there to pray to their god, Allah. Mansa Musa was so generous that he ended up having to borrow money from an Egyptian merchant to get back home. Timbuktu, the Islamic Center Mansa Musa brought architects and scholars back with him from Egypt. He asked architects to build Islamic schools in Timbuktu. He also encouraged Muslim scholars from other countries to come and live in the city. By the end of his reign in 1337, Timbuktu had become a famous center of Islamic learning.

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