Grand Mosque in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso

Islam in Burkina Faso (Upper Volta) has a long and varied history. As of today, the population of the country is 55 percent Muslim, representing about 7,658,922 individuals. Upper Volta (French: Haute-Volta) was the name of the African country now called Burkina Faso until August 4, 1984. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم) is an adherent of Islam. ...

Until the end of the 19th century, the Upper Volta was dominated by the Mossi kingdom, who are believed to have come from central or eastern Africa sometime in the 11th century. The Mossi initially defended their religious beliefs and social structure against Islamic influencs from Muslims from the northwest. In the 15th century the Upper Volta region attracted Muslim merchants and settlements by the opening of the Akan goldfields, and the opportunity to trade in gold, kola nuts, and salt. Some of these merchants were Soninke-speaking peoples from Timbuktu and Jenne who later adopted Malinke dialect and became known as Dyula. They settled in the towns of Bobo-Dyulasso, Kong, Bunduku, and other places leading to the goldfields. Other traders came from Kanem, Bornu, and the Hausa city-states and moved into Gonja, Dagomba, and other parts of the Volta region. Muslims married local women and raised families, which were tied to the Muslim community through the father and to the local pagan community through the mother. The offspring of these marriages often inherited chieftainships and brought about the conversion of local peoples. They organized festivals, offered prayers and divination at local courts, distributed talismans, and participated in anti-witchcraft rituals. As a result, Muslims in the region were not a distinct language group but regarded themselves as part of the Mossi kingdom. Mossi is the name of a people living in central Burkina Faso. ... Akan may be: Akan people, an ethnic group from western Africa Akan States, any of several states organized in the 16th or 17th century century by the Akan people Akan languages, a stock of dialects spoken by the Akan people Akan District, Hokkaido Akan, Hokkaido, a town in Akan District... Also called Sarakole, Seraculeh, or Serahuli, the Soninke are a Mandé people who descend from the Bafour, and are closely related to the Imraguen of Mauritania. ... Timbuktu, Timbuctu or Timbuctoo (Koyra Chiini: Tumbutu, French: Tombouctou) is a city populated by the Songhay, Tuareg, Fulani, and Moorish people in the West African country of Mali. ... The location of Djenné within Mali Djenné (also Dienné or Jenne) is a city on the Bani River in southern Mali with a population of about 12,000 (in 1987). ... The Malinké are an African ethnic group. ... Dioula (Jula) is a language spoken in Burkina Faso and Côte dIvoire. ... Kong is a town in north-eastern Côte dIvoire, lying west of the Comoë National Park. ... Kanem can also refer to the ancient Sahelian state of Kanem-Bornu Kanem is one of the 14 prefectures of Chad. ... Bornu may mean: Kanem-Bornu Empire, a historical state of West Africa Borno State, Nigeria This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The Hausa are a people of northern Nigeria and south-eastern Niger. ... Dagomba is a kingdom in northern Ghana. ...

Throughout the region, the Dyula communities maintained a high standard of Muslim education. A Dyula family enterprise based on the lu, a working unit consisting of a father, his sons, and other attached males, could afford to give some of its younger men a Muslim education. Thus there emerged an ulema class known as karamokos, who were educated in Quran, tafsir, hadith, and the life of the Prophet Muhammad. A student read these works with a single teacher over a period varying from five to thirty years, and earned his living as a part time farmer working on the lands of his teacher. Having completed his studies, a karamoko obtained a turban and an isnad, his license to teach, and set forth in search of futher instruction or to start his own school in a remote village. Certain families provided scholars generation after generation. During the great Senegambian jihad led by Ma Ba (1809 - 1867) Islam spread in the stateless region of the Upper Volta, the Ivory Coast and Guinea. Ulema is a common romanisation for the plural of Arabic ˤĀlim Scholar, namely ˤUlamā (علماء). The same word appears in Turkish as Ulema and in Persian as Olæma. ... The Quran (Arabic al-qurʾān أَلْقُرآن; also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ... A tafsir ( (Arabic: تفسير )tafsÄ«r, also transliterated tafseer, Arabic explanation) is Quranic exegesis or commentary. ... Hadith (Arabic: , Arabic pl. ... Muhammad (Arabic محمد, also transliterated Mohammad, Mohammed, and formerly Mahomet, following the Latin) is revered by Muslims as the final prophet of God. ... The isnad (Arabic اسناد or in Quranic era Arabic اسند) are the citations or backings that establish the legitimacy of the hadith, which are the sayings of Muhammad, Prophet of Islam. ... Côte dIvoire (often called Ivory Coast in English; see below about the name) is a country in West Africa. ...

French colonial rule was imposed on Upper Volta in 1919, but it was divided among the Ivory Coast, Niger, and the Sudan, and then reconstituted in 1947. French rule was characterized by a promotion of secular elites selected from the indiginous population, but it also aided the peaceful spread of Islam. Colonial administration indirectly favored the spread of Islam by creating peace and order and by stimulating trade. They also tended to regard Muslims as culturally and educationally more advanced than non-Muslim Africans, and appointed Muslim chiefs and clerks as administrators in non-Muslim areas. In Upper Volta at the end of the 19th century there were only some 30,000 Muslims, but by 1959 there were 800,000, approximately 20 percent of the population.

In 1987, Upper Volta was renamed Burkina Faso. After a succession of military coups, a constitutional republic was established in 1991. In Burkina Faso the Arabist and Islamist movement is viewed a counter-culture to the European style of modernity, and also a way of integrating the disparate ethnic groups which make up the Muslim population of the country. Madrasa education, which began just after World War II, now serves half of the Muslim population, though only tiny minorities reach the secondary level. Islam is also strengthened by the construction of mosques, preaching on national television, official recognition of Muslim festivals, and support from the Arab world. Madrasa education appeals to the lower middle classes, excluded from political power, who favor a state based on sharia. The Islamic movements, however, are divided into numerous factions. Combatants Allies: • Poland, • UK & Commonwealth, • France, • Soviet Union, • United States, • China, ...and others Axis: • Germany, • Italy, • Japan, ...and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total: 50 million Full list Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total: 12 million Full list World War II, also... Sharia (Arabic: ; also Sharīah, Sharia, Shariah or Syariah) is the Arabic word for Islamic law. ...

Sources

• Ira M. Lapidus, A History of Islamic Societies 2nd Ed. 1988

See also

• Islam by country