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In episode six, Zara talks to Muazzam Mir about the history of Islam in East Africa. They talk about the history of Muslims in the region, which goes back to the time of the Prophet (saw) himself. Muazzam explains how Islam spread, beginning with the Swahili coast, and the role of traders, travellers, and sufi tariqahs in the process.
WHAT WE TALK ABOUT IN THIS EPISODE
- Differences in Islam and Muslims in Britain and Kenya
- Muslims of Indian decent in Kenya
- Lack of knowledge among a lot of Muslims that Islam has a deep rooted history in East Africa and the continent as a whole
- The existence of a Muslim community in East Africa before Madina
- Cultural cross-over in the time of the Prophet (saw)
- The Swahili coast, Swahili culture and its history (including Persian influence)
- Reason for a lack of Islamic institutes in East Africa
- Myth of a ‘divide’ between the Arab world and Africa, particularly East Africa
- The ‘sidelining’ of African scholars
- Sayid bin Mogadishu, his influence and his meeting Ibn Battuta in India
- Role of traders and travellers in the region in spreading Islam
- Role of the Ba Alawi tariqah in East Africa
- The once powerful Swahili city states
- Refuting idea that any civilisations within Africa ‘must’ have had foreign influence, i.e. that native Africans themselves were not capable
- How Islam spread in the region, and how slavery affected it
Swahili oral tradition - Age of Mombasa – oral traditions v.s textual evidence – and one of the oldest mosques in the world
- Lost city of Gedi: sophisticated, abandoned city in the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest. Built a thousand years ago, it was mysteriously abandoned in the early 17th century
- Importace of preserving history
- Lunatic Express- story of Bagh Ali Shah
- Building of mosques in the late 1800’s
- Social awareness of East African scholars
- Habib Umar Al-Sumayt and the important role he played in the region
- Annual Lamu Mawlid festival
- The need to preserve the Islamic heritage of Lamu
- Manuscript collection of Lamu
PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
- Mustafa Briggs
- Uthman Ibn Ali Zayla’i
- Sa’id bin Maqadishu.
- Syed Abdullah Shah
- Imtiaz Ali Shah
- Bagh Ali Shah
- Habib Umar bin Sumayt
- Al Amin Ali Mazrui
- Ali Mazrui (son of Al Amin Ali Mazrui)
- Habib Ahmed Mashur Al Haddad
- Habib Salih bin Alawi Jamal Al-Layl (Habib Swaleh)
FURTHER READING
- ‘Slavery and Emancipation in Islamic East Africa: From Honour to Respectability’ by Professor Elisabeth McMahon
- ‘Sufis and Scholars of the Sea: Family Networks in East Africa, 1860-1925’ by Anne Bang (Author)
- ‘Islamic Sufi Networks in the Western Indian Ocean (C.1880-1940) by Anne K. Bang
- 8 Books About the History of Islam in Africa by Mustafa Briggs
Lamu Insta Story part 1 and part 2.
You can find Muazzam on Instagram.
