West African Influence

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How Islam Influenced West Africa
Religious Practices
Government and Law
Education
Language
Architecture
Decorative Arts
1.
Trans-Saharan trade brought Islam to West Africa.
Ghana became patrilineal, meaning the family line of royalty passed down from father to son.
Muslims encouraged people to become educated, so they built many schools and centers of learning.
Arabic became the language of religion, learning, commerce, and government in West Africa.
West Africans designed mosques for worship.
West Africans adopted Muslim’s art of calligraphy, and created textiles, or woven clothing.
2.
West Africans learned the 5 pillars and they prayed at the mosque, fasted, had faith, went on pilgrimages, and gave alms.
West Africa adopted the Shari’ah, …show more content…
Sankore-the most famous university in West Africa taught Islamic studies, law, literature, and the Qur’an.
The history and culture of West Africa was written in Arabic by scholars.
Mansa Musa brought an architecture, al-Saheli, from Spain to help him create more buildings and mosques.
Geometric patterns were inspired by Muslims, and West Africans used them to decorate stools and ceramic containers.
4.
Everyone in West Africa knew the Qur’an by heart.
“Trial by wood,” was a way to decided whether someone was guilty or innocent. After drinking water that was poured over sourwood, if they threw up, they were innocent, and if they didn’t, they were guilty.
Travelers and traders who passed through Timbuktu were motivated to study at one of the universities.
Arabic let West African traders communicate with one another easily.
Al-Saheli created houses out of bricks with a flat roof, and he used geometrical designs to decorate the houses.
West Africans started to dress like Arab Muslims. They wore robes with wide long sleeves, and a long skirt.

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