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Many pre-Islamic beliefs that had existed in Libya co-mingled with the newly introduced religion. Hence, Islam in Libya became an overlay of Quranic ritual and principles upon the vestiges of earlier beliefs -- prevalent throughout North Africa -- in jinns (spirits), the evil eye, rites to ensure good fortune, and cult veneration of local saints.
Muslim girl writing her exam in Africa. Islam in Africa is the continent's second most widely professed faith behind Christianity. Africa was the first continent into which Islam spread from the Middle East, during the early 7th century CE. Almost one-third of the world's Muslim population resides in Africa.
Amazigh have been present throughout the entire history of the country. For most of its history, Libya has been subjected to varying degrees of foreign control, from Europe, Asia, and Africa. The history of Libya comprises six distinct periods: Ancient Libya, the Roman era, the Islamic era, Ottoman rule, Italian rule, and the Modern era.
Islamic rule in Tripolitania and Cyrenaica began as early as the 7th century. With tenuous Byzantine control over Libya restricted to a few poorly defended coastal strongholds, the Arab invaders who first crossed into Pentapolis , Cyrenaica in September 642 encountered little resistance.
Islam is the dominant religion in Libya. Other than the vast majority of Sunni Muslims, there are also small Christian communities, composed exclusively of immigrants. Coptic Orthodox Christianity , which is the Christian Church of Egypt , is the largest and most historical Christian denomination in Libya .
The areas of North Africa that have retained the Berber language and traditions best have been, in general, Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. Much of Berber culture is still celebrated among the cultural elite in Morocco and Algeria, especially in the Kabylia , the Aurès and the Atlas Mountains .
The Muslim conquest of the Maghreb (Arabic: فَتْحُ اَلْمَغْرِب, romanized: Fath al-Maghrib, lit. 'Conquest of the West') or Arab conquest of North Africa by the Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates commenced in 647 and concluded in 709, when the Byzantine Empire lost its last remaining strongholds to Caliph Al-Walid I.
Map showing the empire of the Senussi order in 1297 Hijri, 1880 Gregorian. The Senusiyya, Senussi or Sanusi (Arabic: السنوسية, romanized: as-Sanūssiyya) are a Muslim political-religious Sufi order and clan in Libya and surrounding regions founded in Mecca in 1837 by the Grand Sanussi (Arabic: السنوسي الكبير as-Sanūssiyy al-Kabīr), the Algerian Muhammad ibn Ali al-Sanusi.