The course of Islam in Africa / Mervyn Hiskett.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 204-209) and index.

1. North Africa. North Africa to c. 673-4/1275. North Africa from c. 673-4/1275 to c. 960/1553. North Africa from the rise of the Sa'dids to the eve of the colonial occupations (c. AD 1830). North Africa from c. AD 1830 to independence (AD 1956-1962). Islam in North Africa from the first/seventh century: beliefs and attitudes. North Africa from independence to the present day -- 2. Egypt. Egypt from 20-1/641 to 1264/1848. From the age of the Khedives to c. AD 1991 -- 3. The Nilotic Sudan. From first contacts with Islam to c. 1215/1800. From the Turco-Egyptians to Sudanese independence (AD 1956). The Democratic Republic of the Sudan. The Southern Sudan (c. AD 1917 to the present day). Islam in the Nilotic Sudan: beliefs and attitudes -- 4. West Africa. Medieval empires of the Sahel (c. 220/835 to c. 1060/1650). Kanem-Borno (467/1075 to c. AD 1900). The Volta region (ninth/fifteenth century to the present day). The Senegambia (fifth/eleventh century to the thirteenth/nineteenth century).

Medieval Hausaland and its neighbours (fourth/tenth century to the thirteenth/nineteenth century). The age of the great Jihads (1200/1785 to c. 1316/1898). The colonial occupations in West Africa (c. AD 1900 to c. AD 1960). Islam in independent West Africa (c. AD 1960 to the present day) -- 5. Ethiopia and the Horn. Prolegomena to Islam in Ethiopia. The struggle for supremacy from the first/seventh century to c. AD 1900. C. 1900 to the present day -- 6. East and South Africa. Muslims in East Africa from the second/eighth century to c. 1255-6/1840. The development of Islam during the medieval period. The colonial occupations (the end of the nineteenth century AD to c. 1961). Islam in the new nation-states of East Africa (c. 1961 to the present day). Islam in South Africa (AD 1652 to the present day) -- 7. African Islamic Literatures. Classical Arabic literature of African origin. Vernacular written literatures. Mande, Songhay and Somali -- 8. Reflections and Uncertainties.

This up-to-date and comprehensive survey traces the development of Islam in Africa from the seventh century AD to the present day. Stretching from North Africa and Egypt to Ethiopia, East Africa and the Horn, it pays particular attention to the development of Islamic mysticism throughout the continent, with a detailed account of the Sufi cosmology.