NEW
Font size
WorksheetsInfluence of Islam on West Africa (Lesson 17)
Total questions: 17
Worksheet time: 9mins
How did Islam first reach Ghana?
by the Arab Muslim armies that conquered Ghana
after a Ghanaian king had a vision of Muhammad
through Muslim traders and missionaries
after Ghanaian scholars traveled to the Middle East for their studies
What was the impact of Islam's view toward traditional religious practices in West Africa?
The Muslims' opposition to traditional religious practices slowed down the acceptance of Islam.
Muslims borrowed freely from other religious traditions, which encouraged non-Muslims to convert.
The Muslims banned all traditional religious practices, which drove non-Muslims into hiding.
The tolerance shown by Muslims toward traditional religious practices helped Islam spread.
Which statement about Mansa Musa is true?
Mansa Musa was the first leader of Mali to accept Islam, though he did not practice devoutly.
Mansa Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca was an enormous and impressive undertaking.
Mansa Musa was happy to kneel before the sultan in Cairo, because he admired the sultan greatly.
Mansa Musa was an isolationist and tried to cut off all contact between Mali and the outside world.
Under the rule of Askia Mohammed Toure, the Songhai empire
covered a territory as large as western Europe.
began a prolonged war against the Byzantine empire.
onquered the empire of Ghana and ruled all of West Africa.
abandoned Islam and returned to traditional religions.
In West Africa, Muslims...
took part in both Islam and their own traditional religious practices.
abandoned their traditional religious practices when they adopted Islam.
quickly reverted to their traditional religion after their initial contact with Islam.
continued to practice their traditional religion, but gave each celebration an Arabic name.
After they became Muslim, West Africans preserved some of their old religious practices, such as
learning the Five Pillars of Islam.
making sacrifices to the spirits of dead ancestors.
making pilgrimages to Mecca.
worshipping in mosques.
How did Muslim rulers change the line of succession in West Africa?
Leadership now passed from mother to daughter.
The right to rule now became patrilineal.
The people now elected their rulers.
Rulers now decided who would succeed them to the throne.
Which of the following is a major change that Muslim rulers adopted in West Africa?
They decentralized the government according to longstanding Muslim tradition.
They used local names for their leaders, rather than Arabic terms sultan, amir, or emir.
They adopted the use of "trial by wood" to test the guilt or innocence of an accused person.
They replaced the customary laws of West Africa with the shari'ah.
A major center of learning in West Africa was
Cairo.
Baghdad.
Timbuktu.
Istanbul.
Why did Muslims set up schools for children in Timbuktu?
to train them in philosophy
to teach them to interpret the Qur'an
to prepare them for careers in medicine or law
to care for them while their parents worked
Which statement about language is true?
Arabic allowed West African traders to communicate more easily.
West Africans completely abandoned their native languages.
Muslim rulers in West Africa insisted on using their native languages at all times.
Many people in West Africa learned Arabic as they converted to Christianity.
How did the spread of Islam help spread the Arabic language?
Arabic was the language of religion.
Arabic was the language of learning.
Arabic was the language of trade and government.
all of the above
When people began to build mosques in West Africa, they
imported materials from the Middle East to keep all mosques consistent.
built Islamic architectural styles with local materials.
used only stone, because it lasted longer than other materials.
avoided Islamic styles in favor of traditional local architectural styles.
How did the architect Al-Saheli change the look of houses in West Africa?
He built round stone houses surrounded by four minarets.
He built plain, rectangular houses out of brick with flat roofs.
He built lightweight homes of thatch that could be easily moved.
He built brightly-colored, heavily decorated homes with many windows.
The mosques that were built in West Africa
blended traditional religious art with Islamic architecture.
were declining in popularity in favor of worship in the home.
resembled the small shrines that were erected to honor the forces of nature.
were made from materials imported from the Asia, such as concrete and bricks.
Which statement about decorative arts is true?
West Africans continued using their traditional designs for art and textiles.
West Africans preferred to use images of animals in their art, rather than geometric designs.
West Africans rarely used calligraphy and preferred their traditional ways of writing.
West Africans adopted calligraphy and geometric patterns in their decorative arts.
Who first brought Islam to West Africa?
Mansa Musa
Songhai
Muslim traders
Ibn Battuta
