Early links to the Muslim World
For centuries, trade had connected many different peoples, including the Berber peoples, who had been conquered in the 7th century by Arab Muslim armies that had invaded the North African coast[i]. Islamic civilization led the world in learning, art, science, government and trade over the next five hundred years[ii]. The center of Berber power was in Tunis, which was a part of a web of trade routes that linked it with Mali controlled cities such as Niani, Timbuktu, Jenne, and Gao[iii]. Because of trade, these cities were populated by a mixture of people, including Muslims[iv]. It is believed that unlike Sumanguru, Sundiata adopted Islam, which restored confidence in Muslim merchants and aided in the conversion of many merchants in the Empire of Mali[v].
Muslim Mansa Musa
The Ka'bah
Motivated in part by a desire to strengthen trade links with the Arab world, Mansa Musa made Islam the official religion of the Empire in 1312, and welcome Arabs to his kingdom[vi]. The officials and teachers of Islam, known as ulama (which means "learned"), became politically powerful in many cities of Mali[vii]. Mansa Musa, however, still respected the traditional African religions which most of his subjects in the countryside followed, and did not force people to convert to Islam[viii]. The two religious practices blended peacefully[ix], a fusion of Islam and traditional African religion, which involved animism and magic. Aspects of tribal African religion remained even when Islam dominated, with legends of genies and accounts of magic[x].
In 1324, Mansa Musa set off on the Hajj, a Islamic pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca that every is obligated to make if they are able[xi]. He set off with an enormous entourage, a number that varies between 8,000 to 60,000 people, which included the empires princes, chiefs, and military leaders, as well as his wife and her five hundred attendants[xii]. This was to be one of the most famous journeys ever undertaken in world history[xiii]. They crossed the desert, taking with them a huge herd of animals for transport and food, five hundred slaves each carrying a 6-pound gold staff, another 30,000 pounds of gold loaded onto one hundred camels, and another one hundred camels carrying food, clothing, and supplies[xiv]. In keeping with the Islamic teaching of giving to the poor, Mansa Musa gave away a great deal of gold. In Cairo, gold lost its rarity because of this, and it took twelve years for Egypts economy to recover from Mansa Musa's visit[xv]. The pilgrimage cemented relationships with both Egypt and the Muslim world to the east, as well as encouraged new immigrants and visitors to the cities of Mali[xvi].
In 1324, Mansa Musa set off on the Hajj, a Islamic pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca that every is obligated to make if they are able[xi]. He set off with an enormous entourage, a number that varies between 8,000 to 60,000 people, which included the empires princes, chiefs, and military leaders, as well as his wife and her five hundred attendants[xii]. This was to be one of the most famous journeys ever undertaken in world history[xiii]. They crossed the desert, taking with them a huge herd of animals for transport and food, five hundred slaves each carrying a 6-pound gold staff, another 30,000 pounds of gold loaded onto one hundred camels, and another one hundred camels carrying food, clothing, and supplies[xiv]. In keeping with the Islamic teaching of giving to the poor, Mansa Musa gave away a great deal of gold. In Cairo, gold lost its rarity because of this, and it took twelve years for Egypts economy to recover from Mansa Musa's visit[xv]. The pilgrimage cemented relationships with both Egypt and the Muslim world to the east, as well as encouraged new immigrants and visitors to the cities of Mali[xvi].