What was the center of Islamic learning in West Africa?
Timbuktu
Renowned for its madrassas and archives of rare Arabic manuscripts, Timbuktu is famous as a great center of Muslim learning from Islam’s Golden Age. Yet Timbuktu is not unique. It was one among many scholarly centers to exist in precolonial West Africa.
What city in Africa became a center of Islamic learning and culture?
Timbuktu, French Tombouctou, city in the western African country of Mali, historically important as a trading post on the trans-Saharan caravan route and as a centre of Islamic culture (c. 1400–1600). It is located on the southern edge of the Sahara, about 8 miles (13 km) north of the Niger River.
What was a major center of learning in West Africa?
Timbuktu: History of Fabled Center of Learning. Timbuktu is a city in Mali, in West Africa, that was founded 1,800 years ago. During Europe’s Middle Ages, it was home to a rich writing tradition that saw the creation of millions of manuscripts, hundreds of thousands of which survive to present day.
Why was the city of Timbuktu well known?
Timbuktu was famous for educating important scholars who were well known throughout the Islamic world. Situated on the edge of the Sahara Desert, Timbuktu was famous among the merchants of the Mediterranean basin as a market for obtaining the goods and products of Africa south of the desert.
Where was Islam first accepted in West Africa?
In the Kingdom of Tekur, situated on both banks of the Senegal, Islam was accepted as early as 850 C.E., by the Dya’ogo dynasty. This dynasty was the first Negro people who accepted Islam. It was for this reason that Muslim-Arab historians referred to Bilad al-Tekur as ‘The Land of the Black Muslims.’
What is the division between Islam and Christianity in West Africa?
The African Transition Zone cuts across the region of West Africa, indicating a division between Islam and Christianity and between the Sahara Desert and the tropics. This diversity in religion and climate is usually exhibited with a north/south division.
Where did the Islamic manuscripts from Mali come from?
Islamic Manuscripts from Mali: Timbuktu-an Islamic Cultural Center. Timbuktu, the legendary city founded as a commercial center in West Africa 900 years ago, is synonymous today for being utterly remote. This, however, was not always the case.
Who was the leader of Islam in Africa?
The spread of Islam in West Africa. Muslim geographers and historians have provided excellent records of Muslim rulers and peoples in Africa. Among them are Al-Khwarzimi, Ibn Munabbah, Al-Masudi, Al-Bakri, Abul Fida, Yaqut, Ibn Batutah, Ibn Khaldun, Ibn Fadlallah al-‘Umari, Mahmud al-Kati, Ibn al Mukhtar and Abd al-Rahman al-Sa’di.