Introduction

The large-scale adoption of Christianity, accompanied in parts of the south by the large-scale adoption of Islam, is a major theme in the history of colonial Malawi. Not only did it involve an enormous increase in the number of Malawians who identified themselves as Christians, it also resulted in the emergence of new, vibrant religious communities, authentically African in ethos yet closely linked ideologically and institutionally with Christian churches in the West. As Schoffeleers, in particular, has shown, central to the process was the growing interaction between indigenous and external religious systems and beliefs. But also important was the pervading influence of Christian missions, political, social and economic, as providers of colonial education and of Western medicine. All over Africa, as Peel, the Comaroffs and others have abundantly demonstrated the engagement between agents of the new religions and African peoples had profound and complex results. In Malawi, however, the exceptional weakness of the colonial state combined with the exceptional responsiveness of some indigenous societies gave a special importance to Christian missions and churches – an importance which has continued up to the present day. Partly in consequence, the changing nature and evolving role of Islam in Malawi has, until recently, been largely ignored by historians but its importance should not be underestimated. By 1928, it has been estimated that there were some 105,000 Muslims in Malawi, some living in and around Nkhotakota but the great majority situated south of the Lake, particularly in the South Nyasa (modern Mangoche) and Upper Shire (modern Machinga) districts.