The origin and spread of Islam in Anglophone Cameroon

A Historic Investigation

Abstract

The Fulani and Hausa were among the first people to embrace Islam in black Africa through the Jihads of Muslim clerics, among was Uthman Dan Fodio and had far reaching consequences for Muslims and non Muslims peoples. From their Banyo base in Northern Cameroon, the Muslim clerics waged war on the Wawa and the Munchi and expanded as far as Igbo land. Other southward raids were directed against villages in the present Northwest and Southwest Regions of Cameroon formerly referred to as Anglophone Cameroon. Nevertheless, what is more amazing is the fact that despite the obstacles faced by Muslim Jihadists to subdue villages in Anglophone Cameroon, Islam still penetrated into the hinterland? Thus, we intend to investigate the reason behind the presence and success of Islam in Anglophone Cameroon. Worth noting is the fact that Hausa traders and Fulani graziers from Northern Nigeria contributed enormously in the spread and expansion of Islam in Anglophone Cameroon. Thanks to their efforts among others, Islam is today rated as the second practising religion in Anglophone Cameroon after Christianity.