Sub+Saharan+Africa

Islam's spread throughout the sub-saharan region of Africa was than the spread throughout north Africa.

Sub Saharan Africa was made up of stateless societies which lacked a bureaucracies, systems of taxes, armies, etc.Secret societies filled in for the role of the government often solving disputes. But they weren't able to organize or expand much. Agriculture supported the economies and commercial activities of the civilizations. Because of the reforms in the Berber tribes to the north, they began to move south to the sub saharan region of Africa. Islam appealed to the Africans as a way to justify their authority. Africans, Berbers and Arabs were considered equal amongst each other.

Some African states developed in the grasslands south of the Sahara Desert by the combination of Islam and old African ideals. Islamic influence reached Africa by the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, and the savanna. The grasslands were part of a trading network that linked the North African Mediterranean with the forest regions of Africa to the south.

Sudanic States were states that developed in sub saharan Africa. Their government consisted of a patriarch or council leaders from a kinship group. The government depended on taxes from small villages. This differed much from any other sub saharan states because there was a much more centralized form of government. After the 10th century, Islam supported kingship. Mali and Songhay were the twom most important of the Sudanic states.

In Mali, rulers used Islam as means to strengthen their authority. Their economy depended on agriculture and linking trade routes of the gold fields to the Mediterranean. Because of the centralized authority and the expansion of trade, cities began to form in Mali. The architecture in Islamic Mali was different than other Islamic civilizations because the technology in Mali wasn't as sufficient as the technologies in more northern regions.

The Djenne Mosque in the capital of Mali differed from other architecture throughout the Islamic world because of the use of stone and the overall size. The building technology was far less advanced in African socieities than in other regions under the rule of Islam.

Islam supplied its followers with a sense of structure in its authority. Before Islam, many societies in sub saharan Africa lacked a centralized form of government.

The expansion of Islam to South and Southeast Asia during the 13th century helped connect Swahili civilizations on the east coast of Africa to the Muslim Eurasian trade network.

Islam, as a whole, tied the whole continent of Africa into the societies of Eurasia. When Europeans arrived in Africa, they connected the already powerful kingdoms more to the outside commercial world.

sources: [] http://occawlonline.pearsoned.com/bookbind/pubbooks/stearns_awl/chapter14/objectives/deluxe-content.html