Muslim Societies in Africa provides a concise overview of Muslim societies in Africa in light of their role in African history and the history of the Islamic world. Roman Loimeier identifies patterns and peculiarities in the historical, social, economic, and political development of Africa, and addresses the impact of Islam over the longue durée. To understand the movements of peoples and how they came into contact, Loimeier considers geography, ecology, and climate as well as religious conversion, trade, and slavery. This comprehensive history offers a balanced view of the complexities of the African Muslim past while looking toward Africa's future role in the globalized Muslim world.

Roman Loimeier is Associate Professor at the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Göttingen. He is author of Between Social Skills and Marketable Skills: The Politics of Islamic Education in Twentieth Century Zanzibar and Islamic Reform and Political Change in Northern Nigeria.

Preface and AcknowledgmentsList of AbbreviationsIntroduction: The Geographical and Anthropological Setting1. Is there an African Islam?2. The bild al-maghrib: Rebels, saints and heretics3. The Sahara as connective space4. Dynamics of Islamization in the bild al-sÙdn5. The dynamics of jihd in the bilÁd al-sÙdÁn6. Islam in Nubia and Funj7. Egyptian colonialism and the Mahd in the Sudan8. Ethiopia and Islam9. Muslims on the Horn of Africa10. The East African Coast11. Muslims in Cape Town: Community and Dispute12. Muslims under Colonial RuleConclusionAppendixGlossary of Arabic termsNotesIndex