ABSTRACT
Christianity and Islam both view sub-Saharan Africa as an area of potential numerical growth and expansion and so, inevitably, the faiths are in competition with each other. Both faith groups actively proselytise, and their rivalry includes seeking political and economic dominance. This chapter presents an overview of the historical interactions between Christians and Muslims in sub-Saharan Africa, from the first encounters in Ethiopia in the seventh century to twenty first century. From the eighth century onwards Islam spread into West Africa along trade routes across the Sahara and became established in the inland areas. It also spread along rivers, including the Niger and the Senegal. In the mid-nineteenth century, Christian missions arrived in East Africa, ahead of the British and German colonisers. The first Muslims in South Africa arrived in the seventeenth century when, in 1658, the Dutch East India Company began to bring slaves from India, Ceylon and Malaya.
