Trade began when Arab traders sought certain goods from the continent:

As well as being an important market-place for the traffic between East and West, Arabia also annually sent a fleet of ships down the east coast of Africa to carry on the trade in ivory, slaves and spices which had originally attracted the Arabs to the coast.1

Islam exists in many different cultural settings and adapts to circumstances:

As a world religion, Islam is practiced in diverse cultures in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and America. Differences in relig

These are supposed to co-ordinate, regulate and centralize the various activities more or less related to religious (meaning, in these contexts, Islamic) matters. Whatever conclusions may be drawn regarding the effectiveness or otherwise of these national associations, such a widespread process cannot be regarded as politically insignificant. These organizations are SUPKEM (Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims), BAKWATA (Baraza Kuu Waislamu wa Tanzania) and the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) or, for a time in Uganda, the National Association for the Advancement of Muslims (NAAM). Their 'supremacy' is rather dubious and, even when their legal positions and statuses are made public in printed regulations, their legitimacy and social impact remain ambiguous.8

Islam in East Africa in the period before European colonialism was a core element of the Arab-Omani hegemony on the East African coast and was the monopoly of a politically and economically ruling minority. However, the prestige of Muslimhood "was disturbed by the development of a popular Islam (through brotherhoods) and then by the domination of Christian European rulers."6 During the struggle against the colonial powers, the status of Islam remained ambiguous "because of the historical memory of Arab domination (actualized in the continuance of the Sultanate of Zanzibar), and because of the support accorded by some literate Muslims to British colonial rule itself."7 In the era since, politicians and Muslim leaders throughout Eastern Africa tried to unite Muslim communities into single national associations:

The level of government and social control was at least as advanced as that in Europe at the same time period.

As many Muslims are afraid of religious pressure if they send their children to Christian schools, the African and Arab communities are apt to be backward and economically handicapped. Nor has the Ahmadiyya mission yet undertaken hospital work of the type undertaken by the Christian missionaries. The Muslims who follow H.H. the Aga Khan, on the other hand, established schools, hospitals, dispensaries and libraries after the end of the First World War. They do not, however, support missionaries, for they believe that conversion should result from the activity of the individual.15

The Zagwe dynasty, which seized control of the country in the mid-twelfth century, centralized the government and extended the Christian faith throughout the kingdom, now known as Ethiopia. Military-commanders or civilian officials who had personal or kinship ties with the royal court established vast landed estates to maintain security and facilitate the collection of taxes from the local population.4

Some common words found in the essay are:
East Africa, Ethiopia Military-commanders, Eastern Africa, BCE Bantu, Mubarah Ahmed, West Arabia, Islam Arabian, Swahili Somali, Arab Persian, Islam Africa, east africa, islam east, islam east africa, eastern africa, spread islam, spread islam east, national associations, trade routes, sometimes altered, century ce, bantu society, period european,
Approximate Word count = 2033
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)