Islam in the Central African Republic

Islam accounts for approximately 8.9% (750,000 people) of the population of the Central African Republic, making it the second most followed organized religion in the country after Christianity (90%). The vast majority of Muslims are Sunni of Maliki school of jurisprudence. Most Central African Muslims live in the north-east, near the border with predominantly Muslim Chad and Sudan.

History

Islam arrived in Central African Republic in the 17th Century as part of the expansion of the Saharan and Nile River slave routes. In February 2014, tens of thousands of Muslims fled the Central African Republic for Chad as they felt they were no longer safe in the country.

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  The sultan of Bangassou and his wives in 1906.
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  A destroyed mosque in Boali in 2014.
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  Muslims in Boda, September 2014

See also

• Séléka
• Arab slave trade