Islam in Togo

Mosque in northern Togo

Muslims in Togo represent between 13.7 and 55% of the national population. Islam came to Togo about the same time as it did much of West Africa.

History

Islam was first introduced into West Africa south of the Sahara, across the salt and gold trade routes. Islamicized Berber and Tuareg merchants traveled the trans-Saharan trade routes. As time passed, Muslim clerics and scholars — teaching their beliefs and setting up places of worship along the routes — accompanied traders on their journeys. The Hausa and the Fulani, a traditionally nomadic group, traveled all over West Africa, taking their Muslim beliefs to places such as present-day Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.

Demographics

Estimates on the number of Muslims in Togo tend to vary considerably depending on the source. For example, according to Wikipedia's Islam in Africa page, Togo is approximately 13.7% Muslim, while the CIA Factbook the figure is 20%. According to Islamic web Muslims are 55% of the population around 2,513,792 out of 4,570,530 this was estimated by the year 1998.

External links

• Islamic web listing of Muslims by country
• CIA factbook entry for Togo