Analysis of writings on East Africa show that religion, culture, and tradition in traditional Africa were very important, but they were also altered over time by the entry of other religions and other cultures, aspects of which became entrenched in Africa, sometimes in altered form and sometimes in a way that altered local customs and beliefs. Islam today is well established in East Africa, as well as some other parts of Africa, and the religion moved into East Africa slowly and largely peacefully, beginning with economic and trade connections between the Muslim world and Africa and eventually leading to some areas in Africa becoming centers of Islamic learning, education, and worship.

             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 religious and cultural practices are therefore wide-ranging.2.

             East Africa is an area of great diversity and includes islands that interact with the African mainland. The Islamic influence is strong in this area.3 The history of Islam in East Africa is long, though not always as a dominant element. In Eastern Africa commercial contacts with the states of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea were in place by the first century C.E. There were a number of cities along this coast, though identifying them from the ancient texts has proven difficult. In the first millennium B.C.E., new peoples began to migrate into eastern Africa from the west, including Bantu immigrants from Central Africa.