West Africa

===Islam===
{{Further|Islam in Africa|Religion in Africa#Islam}}
[[File:Djenné Moschee.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.25|The 13th-century [[Great Mosque of Djenné]] is a superb example of the indigenous [[Sahelian architecture|Sahelian architectural]] style prevalent in the Savannah and Sahelian interior of West Africa. It is listed an [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]].]]
[[Islam]] is the predominant [[religion]] of the West African interior and the far west coast of the continent (75% of West Africans); and was introduced to the region by traders in the 9th century. Islam is the religion of the region's biggest ethnic groups by population. Islamic rules on livelihood, values, dress and practices had a profound effect on the populations and cultures in their predominant areas, so much so that the concept of tribalism is less observed by Islamized groups like the [[Mandé peoples|Mande]], [[Wolof people|Wolof]], [[Hausa people|Hausa]], [[Fula people|Fula]], [[Songhai people|Songhai]], [[Zarma people|Zarma]] or [[Soninke people|Soninke]], than they are by non-Islamized groups.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/islam/fractured/westAfrica.html|title=The Islamic World to 1600: The Fractured Caliphate and the Regional Dynasties (West Africa)<!-- Bot generated title -->|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131025134820/http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/islam/fractured/westAfrica.html|archive-date=2013-10-25}}</ref> Ethnic intermarriage and shared cultural icons are established through a superseded commonality of belief or community, known as [[ummah]].<ref>''Muslim Societies in African History (New Approaches to African History)'', David Robinson, Chapter 1.</ref> Traditional Muslim areas include [[Senegal]], [[Gambia]], [[Mali]], [[Mauritania]], [[Guinea]], [[Niger]]; the upper coast and inland two-thirds of [[Sierra Leone]] and inland [[Liberia]]; the western, northern and far-eastern regions of [[Burkina Faso]]; and the northern halves of the coastal nations of [[Nigeria]], [[Benin]], [[Togo]], [[Ghana]] and [[Ivory Coast]].<ref>''Spread of Islam in West Africa (part 1 of 3): The Empire of Ghana'', Prof. A. Rahman I. Doi, Spread of Islam in West Africa. http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/304/</ref>