Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa, c. 1500-2000

This course will examine the various ways in which Islam has shaped political, economic, and cultural history in sub-Saharan Africa for the past 500 years. The course will also emphasize how African Islamic notions of political governance, trade, and social order have been influenced by local conditions and locally held ideas.

The course will outline the spread of Islam in Sub-Saharan African continent from about 1500 to c. 2000. It will then, with reference to historical examples, discuss the ways in which Islam generated new political entities, and how authority came to be constituted in ways that were both Islamic and locally legitimized. The course will also discuss Islam's potential for military and political activism.

Trade was central to the spread of Islam, and the course will present examples of how Islamic regulations of trade created trade networks across vast distances. The course will also examine how the production and consumption of commodities was shaped by local conditions and concerns.

Finally, the course will examine the ways in which African Muslims came to practice their religion and shape their communities. What intellectual impulses formed the different Muslim societies in Africa, and how were these interpreted and adapted locally? Can we even speak about an "African Islam"?

At the end of the course the student should have the following learning outcomes:

Knowlegde

The student

• has an overview of the history of Islam in Africa since c. 1500.
• has an understanding of what processes drove the Islamization of different regions in Africa.
• has an ability to give examples of how Islamization led to new political structures, and how Islam inspired political or military activism.
• has an understanding of the role of Islam in trade.

Skills

The student

• has the ability to discuss the variety found within Islam in Africa and how local conditions form the expression of a global religion.
• is able to independently read and discuss historic literature and place texts within the current research tradition.
• is able to understand the history of Islamic Africa as part of the broader Islamic and global history.

General competence

The student

• is able to reflect on complex processes, such as the relationship between

local and global influences on political, economic or cultural processes.

• is able to recognize different analytical approaches and understand that conclusions are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

Autumn.

The course is offered in the second half of the semester.

The course is not offered every autumn, but alternates with other specialised courses within History of the Middle East (HIM103, HIM105)

HIM104 is offered in the spring semester 2025, in the second half of the semester.