Islam in Malawi

A mosque in Zomba

Islam is the second largest religion in Malawi after Christianity; nearly all of Malawi's Muslims adhere to Sunni Islam, with few who adhere to Ahmadiyya Islam. Islam arrived to Malawi with the Arab and Swahili traders who traded in ivory, gold and later on slaves beginning from 16th Century to the 19th Century. According to UNESCO, the first mosque was built by Swahili-Arabs ivory traders. According to the CIA Factbook, 12.8% of the country's population is Muslim. Recently, Muslim groups have engaged in missionary work in Malawi. Much of this is performed by the African Muslim Agency, based in Kuwait. The Kuwait-sponsored AMA has translated the Qur'an into Chichewa (Cinyanja), one of the official languages of Malawi, and has engaged in other missionary work in the country. All of the major cities in the country have mosques, and there are several Islamic schools.

See also

• Arab slave trade
• Islamic views on slavery
• Slavery in Africa
• Islam in Africa
• Demographics of Malawi