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The Igbo people were unaffected by the Islamic jihad waged in Nigeria in the 19th century, but a small minority converted to Islam in the 20th century. [179] There is also a small population of Igbo Jews, [180] some of whom merely identifying as Jews, while others having converted to Judaism.
Conversion to Islam is adopting Islam as a religion or faith. People who have converted to the religion often refer to themselves as "reverts." Conversion requires a formal statement of the shahādah, the credo of Islam, whereby the prospective convert must state that "there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah."
Like Hinduism, the traditional African religion recognizes the presence of one supreme deity as well as the existence of God in multiple aspects. [3]Traditional Igbo doctrine of reincarnation and connection to the spiritual mortal identity of the culture, themes about spiritual instrumentality based on the traditional Igobo beliefs and practices with the Hindu mantra, specifically the doctrine ...
The spread of Islam spans almost 1,400 years. The early Muslim conquests that occurred following the death of Muhammad in 632 CE led to the creation of the caliphates, expanding over a vast geographical area; conversion to Islam was boosted by Arab Muslim forces expanding over vast territories and building imperial structures over time.
In Baran (Bulandshahr) alone 10,000 persons were converted to Islam including the king. [130] Tarikh-i-Yamini, Rausat-us-Safa and Tarikh-i-Ferishtah speak of construction of mosques and schools and appointment of preachers and teachers by Mahmud and his successor Masud. Wherever Mahmud went, he insisted on the people to convert to Islam. [131]
This increasingly drew the ire of the Meccan elite, who persecuted the early converts, especially the slaves and social outcasts. [1] While Khadija is universally recognized as the first female convert to Islam, the identity of the second male Muslim, after Muhammad himself, is disputed. [2]
Many early converts to Islam were women, the poor, foreigners, and slaves like the first muezzin Bilal ibn Rabah al-Habashi. [124] The Meccan elite felt Muhammad was destabilizing their social order by preaching about one God and giving questionable ideas to the poor and slaves because they profited from the pilgrimages to the idols of the Kaaba.
The practice of Islam by members of the African diaspora may be a consequence of African Muslims retaining their religion after leaving Africa (as for many Muslims in Europe) or of people of African ethnicity converting to Islam, as among many African-American Muslims, where conversion is often presented as a recovery of an African heritage lost during the Atlantic slave trade.