Introduction et diffusion de l’islam dans la partie méridionale du Cameroun

le cas du Mbam (XIXe-XXe siècles)

Abstract

Mbam is located in the Centre Region. It is a transition zone between the rainforest and savannah. The first contact with Muslims is carried out in the second half of the nineteenth century, through the North-South trade, also known as «Hausa trade». Muslims from the North are fixed in waves. The spread of the new religion in this part of Cameroon is essentially based on the combined action of merchants, preachers and local traditional authorities among which Machia Anong Mouhammadou is the dominant figure. The Islamization of indigenous promotes the emergence of one of the most important Islamic zones of Southern Cameroon. The specificity of Islam in the Mbam is based on its peaceful and late spreading, and its ability to maintain peaceful relations with Christianity and traditional religion, which is a model of religious tolerance.