The Origin of an Unfinished Process

The Truth about the Role of the Almoravids as the First Diffusers of Islam in West Africa

Abstract

This study, as a result of an important researching task, hopes to do its bit to help in relation to the knowledge of a process (islamisation) and a geographical area (West Africa) which are extremely unknown. For it, it is taken as a sample button the role that was executed by the Almoravid Movement to the respect, because as the title says have been studied the initial moments of the advance of the Islamic faith southwards the Sahara. This original stage experienced advances and relapses as we can imagine, but the truth is that no king or people could stop it´s unstoppable progress. Although many Sudanic kingdoms already knew Islam our protagonists spread a higher grade of observance (either by the violence or from diplomatic alliances) without avoiding the creation of a particular mixture of properly African values and Muslims ones. All of it, defined in a chronological context which commences in the IX century and reaches the ending of XI- beginning of XII centuries.