Cameroon

Central-African republic independent in 1960; its Muslim north (about a fifth of the country) was Islamised by Fulani settlement and the Sokoto jihad of the early 19th century.

☾ The Coming of Islam

The Fulani jihad and the Islamic north

Islam became a powerful force in northern and central Cameroon through trade, Fulani migration and, decisively, the jihad movement inspired by Usman ɗan Fodio. In the early 1800s Modibbo Adama was commissioned to lead a jihad across the region, and the lands he brought under Muslim rule were organised as the Adamawa Emirate within the Sokoto Caliphate.

☾ Religious Composition

A Sunni-Muslim north within a Christian-majority state

About a fifth of Cameroonians are Sunni Muslims, concentrated in the north, alongside a Christian majority (Roman Catholic and Protestant) in the south and centre and adherents of traditional religions. The Fulani have historically been the principal bearers of Islam.

Demographic shares are approximate.

At a glance