| Islam by country |
|---|
 |
 Islamportal |
Islam accounts for approximately 8.9% (750,000 people) of the population of the Central African Republic , making it the second largest organized religion in the country after Christianity (90%). [1] The vast majority of Muslims are Sunni of Maliki school of jurisprudence. Most Central African Muslims live in the north-east, near the border with predominantly Muslim Chad and Sudan. [ citation needed ]
Islam arrived in Central African Republic in the 17th century as part of the expansion of the Saharan and Nile River slave routes. Islam began spreading in the region from the 1870's onwards. Conversion was a varied process that included the presence of Muslim merchants, the economic expansion of sultanates in nearby Sudan and Chad into the area, and the cultural proximity of locals with Muslims. [2] The growth of Islam continued during the French colonial period but witnessed setbacks due to a lack of religious intstitutions in the region. [2]
Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is an independent state at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. The landlocked country is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon to the southwest, Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west. Chad has a population of 16 million, of which 1.6 million live in the capital and largest city of N'Djamena. With a total area of around 1,284,000 km2 (496,000 sq mi), Chad is the fifth-largest country in Africa and the twentieth largest nation by area in the world.
Sub-Saharan Africa, Subsahara, or Non-Mediterranean Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the African countries and territories that are situated fully in that specified region, the term may also include polities that only have part of their territory located in that region, per the definition of the United Nations (UN). This is considered a non-standardized geographical region with the number of countries included varying from 46 to 48 depending on the organization describing the region. The African Union (AU) uses a different regional breakdown, recognizing all 55 member states on the continent—grouping them into five distinct and standard regions.
Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Egypt to the north, Eritrea to the northeast, Ethiopia to the southeast, Libya to the northwest, South Sudan to the south, and the Red Sea to the east. It has a population of nearly 50 million people as of 2024 and occupies 1,886,068 square kilometres, making it Africa's third-largest country by area and the third-largest by area in the Arab League. It was the largest country by area in Africa and the Arab League until the secession of South Sudan in 2011; since then both titles have been held by Algeria. Its capital and most populous city is Khartoum.
Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Middle Africa is an analogous term used by the United Nations in its geoscheme for Africa and consists of the following countries: Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda, and São Tomé and Príncipe. These eleven countries are members of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS). Six of those countries are also members of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) and share a common currency, the Central African CFA franc.
The earliest presence of Islam in Chad can be traced back to Uqba ibn Nafi, whose descendants can be found settled in the Lake Chad region to this day. By the time Arab migrants began arriving from the east in the fourteenth century in sizeable numbers, the creed was already well established. Islamization in Chad was gradual, the effect of the slow spread of Islamic civilization beyond its political frontiers. Among Chadian Muslims, 48% professed to be Sunni, 21% Shia, 23% just Muslim and 4% Other.
Islam is the most common religion in Sudan and Muslims have dominated national government institutions since independence in 1956. According to UNDP Sudan, the Muslim population is 97%, including numerous Arab and non-Arab groups. The remaining 3% ascribe to either Christianity or traditional animist religions. Muslims predominate in all but Nuba Mountains region. The vast majority of Muslims in Sudan adhere to Sunni Islam of Maliki school of jurisprudence, deeply influenced with Sufism. There are also some Shia communities in Khartoum, the capital. The most significant divisions occur along the lines of the Sufi brotherhoods. Two popular brotherhoods, the Ansar and the Khatmia, are associated with the opposition Umma and Democratic Unionist Parties respectively. Only the Darfur region is traditionally lacking the presence of Sufi brotherhoods found in the rest of the country.
The Zaghawa people, also called Beri or Zakhawa, are an ethnic group primarily residing in southwestern Libya, northeastern Chad, and western Sudan, including Darfur.
The Sara people are a Central Sudanic ethnic group native to southern Chad, the northwestern areas of the Central African Republic, and the southern border of North Sudan. They speak the Sara languages which are a part of the Central Sudanic language family. They are also the largest ethnic group in Chad.
The Islamization of the Sudan region (Sahel) encompasses a prolonged period of religious conversion, through military conquest and trade relations, spanning the 8th to 16th centuries.
The beliefs and practices of African people are highly diverse, including various ethnic religions. Generally, these traditions are oral rather than scriptural and are passed down from one generation to another through folk tales, songs, and festivals, and include beliefs in spirits and higher and lower gods, sometimes including a supreme being, as well as the veneration of the dead, and use of magic and traditional African medicine. Most religions can be described as animistic with various polytheistic and pantheistic aspects. The role of humanity is generally seen as one of harmonizing nature with the supernatural.
Christianity has a long history in the region that is now Sudan. Ancient Nubia was reached by Coptic Christianity by the 1st century.
Islam and Christianity are the most widely professed religions in Chad. Smaller populations of non-religious people as well as adherents of other faiths are also present.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Central African Republic:
The population of Chad has numerous ethnic groups. SIL Ethnologue reports more than 130 distinct languages spoken in Chad.
Polygamy in Chad is legal and it is commonly practiced. Chad is part of the "polygamy belt", a region in Africa which includes countries in West and Central Africa where polygamy is common and deeply rooted in the culture.
Arab Muslims are the largest subdivision of the Arab people and the largest ethnic group among Muslims globally, followed by Bengalis and Punjabis. Likewise, they comprise the majority of the population of the Arab world.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation founded in 1969 has 57 members, 56 of which are also member states of the United Nations, with 48 countries being Muslim majority countries. Some member countries, especially in West Africa and South America, are – though with large Muslim populations – not necessarily Muslim majority countries. A few countries with significant Muslim populations, such as Russia and Thailand, sit as Observer States.
The culture of South Sudan encompasses the religions, languages, ethnic groups, foods, and other traditions of peoples of the modern state of South Sudan, as well as of the inhabitants of the historical regions of southern Sudan.
Adherents of Islam constitute the world's second largest religious group. A projection by the PEW suggests that Muslims numbered approximately 1.9 billion followers in 2020. Studies in the 21st century suggest that, in terms of percentage and worldwide spread, Islam is the fastest-growing major religion in the world, mostly because Muslims have more children than other major religious groups. Most Muslims are either of two denominations: Sunni or Shia. Islam is the majority religion in several subregions: Central Asia, Western Asia, North Africa, West Africa, the Sahel, and the Middle East. The diverse Asia-Pacific region contains the highest number of Muslims in the world, surpassing the combined Middle East and North Africa.
The Tunjur kingdom was a Sahelian precolonial kingdom in Africa between the 15th and early 17th centuries.
 | This Central African Republic-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This Islam by country-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
