Islamization of North Africa

E43594

Islamization cultural transformation historical process religious conversion process

The Islamization of North Africa was the historical process, beginning in the 7th century, through which Arab-Muslim conquests and subsequent cultural, religious, and linguistic changes transformed the predominantly Berber and Romanized Christian region into a largely Islamic and Arabic-speaking society.

Aliases (3)

Arabization of North African societies ×1
Islamization of Egypt ×1
Islamization of the Levant ×1

Statements (52)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Islamization → cultural transformation → historical process → religious conversion process →
appliesToTerritory	Algeria → Egypt → Libya → Mauritania → Morocco → Tunisia → Western Sahara →
characteristic	fusion of Arab and Berber cultural elements → gradual conversion of local populations to Islam → shift to an Islamic legal and social order →
followedBy	consolidation of Islamic rule in the Maghreb → emergence of Islamic Berber dynasties → integration into trans-Saharan Islamic trade networks →
hasCause	Arab-Muslim conquests → expansion of the Rashidun Caliphate → expansion of the Umayyad Caliphate →
hasPart	Arab conquest of Egypt → Arab conquest of the Maghreb → Arabization of North African societies → decline of Latin and Berber Christianity → integration into the Islamic world → spread of Arabic language → spread of Islam among Berber populations →
languageDiminished	Latin → Punic → some Berber languages →
languageIntroduced	Arabic →
mainRegion	North Africa →
precededBy	Berber polytheistic and traditional religions → Byzantine rule in North Africa → Roman rule in North Africa → predominantly Christian North Africa →
religionDiminished	Christianity in North Africa → indigenous Berber religions →
religionIntroduced	Islam →
result	decline of organized Latin Christianity in North Africa → largely Arabic-speaking North Africa → predominantly Muslim North Africa →
significantEvent	Arab conquest of Carthage → Battle of Carthage (698) → foundation of Kairouan → spread of Maliki Sunni jurisprudence →
significantGroup	Arab Muslims → Berbers → Copts in Egypt → Romanized North Africans →
startTime	7th century →
timeSpan	several centuries →

Referenced by (4)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Arab–Byzantine wars ("Islamization of the Levant") → Arab–Byzantine wars ("Islamization of Egypt") →	resultedIn
Islamization of North Africa ("Arabization of North African societies") →	hasPart
Berbers →	predates