North Africa is distinguished for having been the region of the continent in which Islam had the greatest influence. This region includes Egypt and the countries that make up the Maghreb (Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco); This is mainly due to its proximity to the Middle East (the place where Islam begins).
The Muslim conquest of the Maghreb took place after the century of rapid Muslim Arab military expansion that occurred after the death of Muhammad in 632. By 642 the Arabs controlled Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Syria, had invaded Armenia, and were ending his conquest of the Persian Empire with the destruction of the Persian army in the battle of Nihavand. It was from this historical moment that Arab military expeditions began in the North African region, first west of Egypt and later spreading Islam throughout the Maghreb.
In 644, in Medina, the caliph Umar ibn al-Jattab (Omar) was succeeded by Uthman ibn Affan (Osman). During his twelve years in office, he added Armenia, Cyprus and all of Iran to his growing Islamic empire. Afghanistan and North Africa became the subject of major invasions. The Muslim races took place from Rhodes to the southern coasts of the Iberian Peninsula. As a consequence of these military campaigns, the Byzantine army was defeated in the eastern Mediterranean.
Explanation:
Islamization in West Africa was the result of political-military and commercial contacts with the Berbers of the Maghreb. His first contact with Islam was in the 8th century through the Senegal and Niger waterways. These commercial relations were established on the trans-Saharan caravan routes, these being the engine of the spread of Islam in a progressive way. It should be noted that during the French colonization (from the 17th century to the middle of the 20th century) in the so-called Soudan français the spreading force of Islam was produced by the main influx of religious brotherhoods linked to Sufism.
