Talk:Swahili people

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[edit] Pre-Islamic religion of Swahilis?

I've long been wondering: Did the Swahili have another religion before Islam? Gringo300 19:02, 9 Jun 2005 (UTC)

I'm no expert, but I remember reading at the House of Wonders in Zanzibar that the religion of the Swahili was a unique blend of Islam and traditional African beliefs, a result of the fusion of Arab and African culture. But if the Arabic influence is one of the defining characteristics of the Swahili, I don't think you can really say they had another religion before Islam. — Matt Crypto 15:28, 6 August 2005 (UTC)
The Arabs themselves had another religion before Islam, a polytheistic religion. Another thing: I've read some things about Swahili religious beliefs that sound rather un-Islamic to me. Gringo300 16:16, 22 August 2005 (UTC)
Well, Muslims may deny that. They'd probably say that Islam is THE original religion of humanity. Gringo300 (talk) 11:03, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Swahili Islam?

I've read various things implying that the Swahili ethnic group has a form of Islam unique to the Swahili ethnic group, that is distinct from "standard" Islam, and which sounds to me like it could be considered a form of "folk Islam". Anyone here know anything about this? Gringo300 (talk) 10:57, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] only 400,000???

How can it be claimed there are less than 400,000 Swahili people?

As far as I know most people in Zanzibar are Swahili, and there are almost 1 million people. Also most people in Mombasa (1,000,000), Tanga (250,000) and a large share of Dar es Salaam (2,500,000). If you count also sorrounding areas, the number can be in the millions, easyly.

By the way, not all Swahili people are Muslim. I met many Christians in Mombasa and Zanzibar who considered themselves to be Swahili, and became angry if I said I thought all Swahilis were Muslim.

--81.38.172.141 21:41, 19 June 2006 (UTC)

    • I am not saying the figure is correct, but I think Swahili people as a specific ethnic group is differentiated from people who speak Swahili language. But your concern is bonafide, so I have requested a reference for that figure. --Ezeu 21:55, 19 June 2006 (UTC)
I'm not talking about people who speak swahili, but about Swahili people. I tell you most of people in Zanzibar (but some Omanis) and in Mombasa and Tanga (but some recent migrants from inland) are Swahili. Not so vast majority in Dar es Salaam, as having been the countries Capital has brought there many people from inland, but even then, there are MANY MORE Swahilis than 400,000. --81.38.172.141 23:24, 19 June 2006 (UTC)
Datum: a 1999 article from Microsoft Encarta Africana has it that "the Swahili people number approximately half a million"[1]. — Matt Crypto 18:00, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Error ?

It's true that swahiliphone is different of swahili culture but :

  • Swahili is not an ethnic group. It's a conglomerat of people. This peoples have, of course, a close culture
  • Swahili culture began from Somalie to Mozambique inluding Comoros

This article is article is misnamed or informations are wrong ? :fr:Vincnet

[edit] "related groups" info removed from infobox

For dedicated editors of this page: The "Related Groups" info was removed from all {{Infobox Ethnic group}} infoboxes. Comments may be left on the Ethnic groups talk page. Ling.Nut 23:31, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

Of course it would have been easier to merely look up the most contiguous populations who share similar languages and culture with the Swahili, a well as common origin. Of course that would be the indigenous Bantu people of Kenya and Tanzania, along with migrant groups who intermarried with the locals and now share a blood and cultural connection; people like the Shirazi..Taharqa 16:24, 6 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] "Future event?

It says that Islam "will become present on the east african coast between 2012A.D. to 1999 A.d.". That just seems out of place and may need a citation to see if it is even a proposed culture theory. Caffeinator1 07:27, 29 June 2007 (UTC)