Prominence of Islam: Class Notes

Religion:
Prominence of Islam after the 12th century

Background-religion:
* Prominence of islam after 12th century
* Pre-islamic culture of the Mande people was primarily animistic * animistic view-view of the cosmos in which everything as well as space could have its own spirit * human beings too had such a spirit known as a wraith (human spirit) * often it was necessary to remove a person’s wraith in order to defeat him * the second component of their religious belief system was deterministic * determinism-once fate was thought to be determined prior to birth (sundiata’s leadership) {supernatural forces beyond your control} * it was believed that there was nothing a human could do to avert their fate * both belief systems, the Mande system, (animistic/deterministic) informed sundiata

Cultural Aspect
* the epic genre is associated with the rise to power of an empire in a given culture. its an extended narrative poem * celebrates heroic tradition
* typically developed by the oral tradition

Historical background
* Mali emerged as a small nation-state of Mandingo people near the end of the 18th century * By the 11th century some of its leaders had become Muslim * The Mali empire, founded by Sundiata Kieta, lasted from 1230 to 1468 * Mali was 2nd of a series of powerful west African empires that rose between the 11th and 16th centuries * Mali had extensive trading operations throughout Africa and beyond * Famous Mali kings beside Sundiata: Abu Bakari II and Mansa Musa * Abu Bakari II commissioned a fleet of 400 vessels to sail down the Senegal river in westward to the end of the ocean. When only ship returned from that expedition, he commissioned a second fleet and leading it, sailed westward with it, never to return * In 1324, his brother and successor, king Mansa Musa, made a pilgrimage to Mecca accompanied by 12000 servants dressed in silk, he took 50000 ounces of gold to give as presents to rich and poor alike * During Mansa Musa’s reign from 1312-1332, Timbuktu achieved world fame for its university, its palace, and its great mosks. Timbuktu was one of the most important sensors of Islamic scholarship. It was there that the great western philosophers went to study