For over 1438 years, Islam has been a long-established and active part of the African landscape. It has been said to be one of the oldest and most contained religion when compared to other religions of the 11th and 15th century, that had come with the Bantu expansion (http://islamandafrica.com).
Islam came to Africa, according to Arab oral tradition, when Muslim refugees were fleeing persecution, which was taking place in the Arab peninsula. After the fleet, a military invasion had taken place under Muslim Arab General, Amr Ibn al-Asi, which was seven years after Mohammed’s death in 639. During the eighth century, Islam had made its way along the coast of East Africa. It was brought to East Africa due to persistent conversations amongst the traders of the Persian Gulf and Oman and the people of the East Coast.
Many had preferred Islam to Christianity, due to its values. One value, for example, was the fact that a man could have more than one wife at a time. In Africa, Islam had quite an interesting history. There were dynasties constantly battling one another, as well as social and political movements taking place. One could gain power, depending on the security of trade routes, making them areas that produced gold. This production took place in Sub-Saharan Africa. Islam was the dominant religion in the Mediterranean by the end of the 11th century. Even after the Black Death had taken place during the 14th century, killing many traders that moved to and from Europe, Islam still remained as the dominant religion. By the 1880s, Islam was the religion of one third of Africa (http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/index_section7.shtml).
In addition to Islamic faith being brought to Africa, Islam has also placed an aesthetic influence on African societies. It all began with the establishment of mosques. In places like Ghana and Gao, Muslim merchants had started building mosques. King Mansa Musa, who reigned from 1312-1327, brought al-Sahili, an architect, to Mecca. He is known for the creation of the Sudano-Sahelian building technique. Mansa Musa's brother, Mansa Suleyman, continued to follow in his footsteps, and created more mosques. In addition to the mosques, Islam had brought writing, weighting, and language to Africa.