Factors Influencing the Spread of Islam in the Eastern Region of Democratic Republic of Congo

Abstract

The Islam religion has been steadily growing in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) especially in the Eastern region of the country which has for a long period been known to be a Christian dominated region. With the increasing Muslim populations, it therefore becomes a crucial subject for research given the allegation that the spread of Islam in DRC has been ignored by scholars, due to the low population of Muslims in the country. This paper looks into the factors that influence growth of Islam in the Eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). A descriptive research design was adopted for the study making use of questionnaire guide and interview schedule for data collection. Collected data was descriptively analyzed and presented using frequency tables. The study found out that people who do not earn much money (poor) are targeted by Islam through employment offers. The study also established that migrant Muslims deliberately reached out to convert the non-Muslims to Islam by giving aid and support through sponsoring projects such as construction of mosques. The study therefore concludes that the spread of Islam is slowly growing in the Eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. This is because Muslims have well-calculated strategies of growth, individual Muslims are zealous and empowered to spread Islam and that Islam has financially integrated its faith such that their operations are well funded.

Keywords: Islam, Religion, Growth, Eastern DRC, Islamic spread, Mosque.