Tanzania
Tanzania is geographically located in East Africa, on the shores of the Indian Ocean, and has been familiar with Islam since its earliest centuries. This region, which was under the joint rule of local African authorities and Muslim settlements for almost a thousand years, has been one of the most important gateways of Islam's journey into the continent.
The proportion of Muslims in Tanzania's population is between 36-40%. According to official statistics, Muslims form the largest religious population in the country, while the proportion of Christianized indigenous black people is around 30-35% and the animists are around 30%. Although the majority of Muslims in Tanzania are Sunni, 20% of them are Shiites. Although considered within the Muslim population, the Ahmadiyya group, which is not acknowledged by the Muslim community, also has a considerable presence. The Muslim population in Tanzania is mainly located in the capital Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, and the surrounding island community.
Islam reached the islands of Zanzibar during the first generation of Muslim Sahaba who migrated to Ethiopia. Although there are no records of the Sahaba coming to these islands, it is apparent that some indigenous Africans were influenced by them and converted to Islam. The East African coast embraced Islam about six years before the city of Medina.