ABSTRACT
The spread oflslam, like that of any cultural system, is influenced not only by its specific characteristics but also by the conditions it encounters. Islam first appeared in the western Sudan some time in the eighth century and reached its climax there in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.1 During that period many of the rulers and peoples of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay became Muslims, and tried to spread their religion by peaceful means as well as by the sword. Nevertheless, a few Sudanese societies resisted the spread of Islam, Delafosse tells us that
Unfortunately, Delafosse did not explain why the Massi resisted Islam; nor did he report that the Massi were subjected to jihads; that they were proselytized by traders; and subsequently propagandized by refugees. In 1912, when he wrote, the Massi were still resisting Islam, but subsequently many of them did become Muslims. Today Islam is a growing religion among the Massi.
