Contemporary Historiography on the Beginnings of Islam in North Africa

Abstract

The 7th century CE was a turning point in the evolution of North Africa, with the Arab-Muslim conquest ushering in a period of decisive change. This study seeks to develop a grid for reading the contemporary historiography on this period. We begin by focusing on the origins of studies of the topic and then turn to a división between Western and Arab authors, in order to provide a sense of the geographical specificities of the extant scholarship. In doing so, we are able to see how the Arab conquest and the arrival of Islam in the region have been represented, and then observe the gradual development of the scholarship on this period into a fully-fledged field of historical studies.

Keywords

• arab conquest
• contemporary period
• historiography
• islam
• north africa