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The History of Islam in Central Africa

Islam spread to Central Africa in much the same way as in other regions of the continent. However, a key difference was the difficulty the tradition had entrenching itself as the majority religion. For starters, Islam arrived in Central Africa later, just before the colonial period in the mid-to-late 19th century. Also, it was brought to those areas with a missionary intent. These missionaries traveled, mainly from Zanzibar, with merchant caravans in search of ivory, gold and slaves. At the beginning, Islam also had the appeal of being an alternative or resistance to European Christianity and colonialism. In the case of Buganda—what would later become Uganda under British colonial rule—Islam spread through the creation of schools set up by missionaries. These schools were attended by the royal pages, who later became known as the "Readers". The king (Kabaka) Mutesa, who began his rule in the late 1850's, became fascinated by the religion and practically became Muslim himself, foregoing, however, the mandatory circumcision. These practices and developments created a top-down system which spread Islamic practices to lesser and lesser power holders, though it never became widespread among the farming, ‘peasant’ subjects who maintained their Lubare practices.

In the Congo, as in Buganda, after years of competiton for supremacy the rise and spread of Islam came to a halt following European colonialism. In the Congo, Belgian colonizers began to settle in the country for the “suppression of slavery”. In order to accomplish this stated goal, the Belgians began to set up sites along key Arab routes, which brought the two groups into confrontation. In 1981 the Belgians, through the Congo government, placed a tax on ivory which was highly disliked among the traders and incited even greater resentment. The first major confrontation took place on March 15, 1892 near Riba Riba when a group of Muslimsattacked and killed a Belgian officer, Hodister, and ten of his companions. They then burned all of the factories belonging to the Belgian Society of the Upper Congo, thus collapsing Belgian rule of the area. The decisive battle took place in 1894 when Belgian troops marched against an Arab chief named Rumeliza from the Ujiji tribe who had taken over Kabambari. They had successfully defended themselves within two bomas, or rings of timber with trenches dug along the outside, and the Belgian Captain Dhanis ceased the attack and took up a defensive position nearby. The Muslim troops attacked, but were repelled with the assistance of troops from Kassongo. However, drawing on these troops had left Kossongo undefended, and the Muslim troops attempted to attack, but Dhanis’ forces intercepted them and forced them back to the bomas. In December, after regrouping, Dhanis’ forces again attacked the bomas with support from Commandant Lothaire, and on January 9, 1894 successfully blew up the bomas with a Krupp gun that had previously been ineffective, sealing the Belgian victory for good.

In both Buganda/Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo European Christianity won the fight for domination. In Uganda, even after independence from Britain in 1962, the population is mostly Protestant Christian. Though the Muslim community is a minority, they are by no means un–influential. Uganda joined the Organization of the Islamic Conference in the 1970s and had a Muslim president, Idi Amin from 1971 to 1979. In the Congo, Muslims account for only two percent of the population, out of a total of over four million people. In recent years, the Congolese government has had more interaction with the Communist Soviet Union tahn with the Middle East.