North Africa: Rich Culture, Islamic Stronghold
Oral tradition claims that the Islam entered the African continent by way of Alexandria, Egypt, when Muslims fled persecution in the Arab Peninsula. Islamic conquest soon followed, after the prophet Mohammed’s death in 632. To this day, North Africa is known as an Islamic stronghold.
The seven countries comprising this region are Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia, and Western Sahara. The first four of those contain the continent’s largest overall Muslim populations.
According to the Pew Research Center, Christianity remains the world’s largest religious group, yet Islam is growing faster and its adherents are expected to almost equal the number of Christians by 2060. Pew also points out an interesting difference: The Christian population is more widely dispersed globally, while Muslims are more likely to live highly concentrated in a more limited number of countries.
But what else is true about this area of the world where Allah is revered? Why did Muslims on the Arabian Peninsula choose to invade Egypt? According to a professor of medieval history at Egypt’s Zagazig University, “Those who wanted to control the whole area of the Levant or the eastern Mediterranean must control Egypt. It is a historical must. We know from the time of the Pharaohs."
Islam as a religion and a culture quickly spread west from Egypt into the region known as the Maghreb — the northwest corner of Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The Roman Empire had once controlled much of the same area, leaving behind ports, roads, aquaducts, and other infrastructure.
“By the 1880s, Islam had taken root in one third of the continent,” according to “The Story of Africa,” produced by the BBC World Service.
Later, parts of North Africa would bear the brunt of colonization by France, Italy, Britain, and Spain, before all of the countries in the region declared their independence. But Europe continues to have a strong influence, with North African young people easily making the short trip to find employment across the Strait of Gibraltar that separates Morocco from Spain.
In addition to the Mediterranean Maghreb — with its Atlas Mountains, food diversity, and more recent oil discoveries — North Africa boasts two other unique geographical regions: the Nile River Basin in the East and the African Transition Zone, where the Sahara Desert transitions into the equatorial south of the continent. This zone also divides the Muslim north of the continent from the Christian and animist south.
As one 2017 article pointed out, in referencing a Pew Research Center study, African Christians are “more than twice as likely to have formal schooling than their Muslim counterparts.” This is at least in part due to the emphasis on education during colonization and missionary efforts, which many Muslims rejected for fear of attempts at conversion.
Arabic Media Ministries longs to see the people of North Africa touched with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Through our television programs, digital media platforms, and personal follow-up team, we provide answers, Bible study resources, and prayer ministry to those who are seeking to know the truth.
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Sources: “The Story of Africa: Islam,” BBC World Service; “The Changing Global Religious Landscape,” April 5, 2017, Pew Research Center; Jeff Diamant, “The countries with the 10 largest Christian populations and the 10 largest Muslim populations,” April 1, 2019, Pew Research Center; Dr Kassem Abdou Kassem, Professor of Medieval History at Zagazig University, North of Cairo, as quoted in “The Story of Africa,” bbc.co.uk; Abdi Latif Dahir, "The biggest divide between African Muslims and Christians isn’t their religion," Jan. 10, 2017, QuartzAfrica
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