the qutb or ghawth has taken His place, whereas the man previously worshipped an animal, a tree, or a stone. The difference is that the former is an idol that moves and speaks, while the latter is an idol that does not move—or, if it moves, does not speak. Acts of worship have been obscured beneath the rituals and litanies that the Sufis introduced as a substitute for what Allah revealed.

The esteemed author places another fact before us: were we to act upon it, we would efface these manifestations of paganism, Sufi and otherwise, and transform the continent into an Islamic nation. It might then play a role in modern times like that played by the Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula in the past.

This fact is that Africa was the first destination of Muslim emigration. The earliest Muslims, while still living in Mecca, emigrated to Abyssinia. In its king and people they found loving brethren, and there they found the secure homeland they had been denied among their own people and kinsfolk. Indeed, the Negus embraced Islam before the Messenger formally invited him to do so.

This stance of the Negus and his people shows us that Africans are people of pure hearts, without fanatical attachment to falsehood. Rather, they possess penetrating insight, keen intellects, and the ability to distinguish good from evil. When goodness is presented to them, they respond to it and incline towards it, turning their backs on evil. This was demonstrated most vividly when ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās came to the Negus to secure the return of the Muslim emigrants and disparage their religion. When the Negus learned about their religion from the Muslims themselves and heard their Quran in ‘Amr’s presence—may Allah be pleased with him—he refused his request and returned the gift he had brought from Quraysh, telling him: “By Allah, I will never hand them over to you.”1 Likewise, the spread of Islam in Africa shows us, through