Unlike the invasions of previous religions and cultures, the coming of Islam, which was spread by
Arabs, was to have pervasive and longlasting effects on the Maghrib. The new faith, in its various
forms, would penetrate nearly all segments of society, bringing with it armies, learned men, and
fervent mystics, and in large part replacing tribal practices and loyalties with new social norms and
political idioms.

Nonetheless, the Islamization and arabization of the region were complicated and lengthy processes.
Whereas nomadic Berbers were quick to convert and assist the Arab invaders, not until the twelfth
century under the Almohad Dynasty did the Christian and Jewish communities become totally
marginalized.

The first Arab military expeditions into the Maghrib, between 642 and 669, resulted in the spread of
Islam. These early forays from a base in Egypt occurred under local initiative rather than under
orders from the central caliphate. When the seat of the caliphate moved from Medina to Damascus,
however, the Umayyads (a Muslim dynasty ruling from 661 to 750) recognized that the strategic
necessity of dominating the Mediterranean dictated a concerted military effort on the North African
front. In 670, therefore, an Arab army under Uqba ibn Nafi established the town of Al Qayrawan
about 160 kilometers south of present-day Tunis and used it as a base for further operations.

Abu al Muhajir Dina, Uqba's successor, pushed westward into Algeria and eventually worked out a
modus vivendi with Kusayla, the ruler of an extensive confederation of Christian Berbers. Kusayla,
who had been based in Tilimsan (Tlemcen), became a Muslim and moved his headquarters to
Takirwan, near Al Qayrawan.

This harmony was short-lived, however. Arab and Berber forces controlled the region in turn until
697. By 711 Umayyad forces helped by Berber converts to Islam had conquered all of North
Africa. Governors appointed by the Umayyad caliphs ruled from Al Qayrawan, the new wilaya
(province) of Ifriqiya, which covered Tripolitania (the western part of present-day Libya), Tunisia,
and eastern Algeria.

Paradoxically, the spread of Islam among the Berbers did not guarantee their support for the
Arab-dominated caliphate. The ruling Arabs alienated the Berbers by taxing them heavily; treating
converts as second-class Muslims; and, at worst, by enslaving them. As a result, widespread
opposition took the form of open revolt in 739-40 under the banner of Kharijite Islam. The
Kharijites objected to Ali, the fourth caliph, making peace with the Umayyads in 657 and left Ali's
camp (khariji means "those who leave"). The Kharijites had been fighting Umayyad rule in the East,
and many Berbers were attracted by the sect's egalitarian precepts. For example, according to
Kharijism, any suitable Muslim candidate could be elected caliph without regard to race, station, or
descent from the Prophet Muhammad.

After the revolt, Kharijites established a number of theocratic tribal kingdoms, most of which had
short and troubled histories. Others, however, like Sijilmasa and Tilimsan, which straddled the
principal trade routes, proved more viable and prospered. In 750 the Abbasids, who succeeded the
Umayyads as Muslim rulers, moved the caliphate to Baghdad and reestablished caliphal authority in
Ifriqiya, appointing Ibrahim ibn Al Aghlab as governor in Al Qayrawan. Although nominally serving
at the caliph's pleasure, Al Aghlab and his successors ruled independently until 909, presiding over a
court that became a center for learning and culture.

Just to the west of Aghlabid lands, Abd ar Rahman ibn Rustum ruled most of the central Maghrib
from Tahirt, southwest of Algiers. The rulers of the Rustumid imamate, which lasted from 761 to
909, each an Ibadi (see Glossary) Kharijite imam (see Glossary), were elected by leading citizens.
The imams gained a reputation for honesty, piety, and justice. The court at Tahirt was noted for its
support of scholarship in mathematics, astronomy, and astrology, as well as theology and law. The
Rustumid imams, however, failed, by choice or by neglect, to organize a reliable standing army. This
important factor, accompanied by the dynasty's eventual collapse into decadence, opened the way
for Tahirt's demise under the assault of the Fatimids.

Data as of December 1993

Information taken from the Library of Congress Page:
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+dz0016)