The arrival of Islam in Zambia dates to the fourth Hijri century when Muslims established emirates on the coast of East Africa. During that period Muslim merchants extended their business to the interior regions reaching Zambia and they built mosques on the roads from the coast to the interior regions. The Islamic Dawah spread in Zambia by Muslim scholars and merchants in the period of the Omani dynasty Al Bu Said. Islam entered Zambia from Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique. In addition, thousands of Muslims from Somalia and Kenya settled in Zambia.
Many Muslims entered Zambia during the colonial period, primarily came from the Indian subcontinent establishing themselves along the railways in the central part of the country from Livingstone to Lusaka.
Muslims account for about 5% of the total population of 11.26 million. Although the government officially calls Zambia a "Christian Nation", Muslims generally are accepted in the society.
2003
On July 2, Zambian police in Lusaka raided an Islamic school and arrested an Indian man and a Congolese accomplice for unlawful confinement and child abuse. The 2 men arrested were holding 280 boys between the ages of 4 and 10 under harsh conditions. The children, who were recruited from poor areas of the country, were forced to study Arabic and Islam. Police reported that some of the boys had been held for 1 to 3 years. During the following week, police raided two similar Islamic schools in the Lusaka area.[1]
