Abstract
Eastern Africa is defined as the area that surrounds Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia
Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Madagascar. This paper
discusses the early contacts the Arabs made with Eastern Africa. Before the
birth of Christ, and for commercial reasons, such contacts led to the fusion of
some Arabs with Africans who borrowed from their culture, eventually leading
to the spread of Islam. The Islamic religion spread in the 7th century AD due to
Arab contacts on the African Eastern Coast where they established a series of
commercial centers.
Due to these activities, Arabic spread among Africans, as it became the language
of business in that period. Another factor that led to the same result is the
Arab migration to this area in the age of the four orthodox caliphs and the
Umayyad and Abbasid periods. Due to these migrations, a new generation appeared-
with Afro Arab characteristics as a result of marriages between the two
communities.
This situation continued until the end of the Middle Ages when the Portuguese
occupied these areas and then followed by the Germans, the Italians and the
French. After that Arabic started to dwindle though still spoken in many of
these areas.
In conclusion, the Arabs were the main reason for the spread of Arabic
during that period and until the end of the Middle Ages. However, after the
Colonizers occupied these areas Arabic started to dwindle.