Islamization in the Coastal region of Kenya to the end the Nineteenth Century

Abstract

Book Chapter in Book titled "Kenya in the 19th Century" edited by Ogot, B.A.

The first
 Muslims
 to arrive in what is now Kenya
 came
 by sea
 more
 than
 a
 thousand
 years ago.
 Whether
 they were
 Arabs
 or
 Persians,
 and
 exactly
 where they came from, may never be
 known.
 Present
 evidence
 indicates
 that
 they were most likely from the region
 of
 the
 Persian
 Gulf.
 Some
 came
 as
 traders
 for
 seasonal
 visits, or a
 temporary
 stay;
 others
 came
 as
 immigrants
 and
 settled
 in island and
 mainland
 towns,
 always
 near,
 though
 not necessarily on,
 the
 coast.
 The
 first
 Muslim
 settlers
 were
 followed
 by
 others
 and, as time passed, the
 number
 of
 Muslim
 settlements
 in the
 coastal
 region
 increased.