Islam in Cameroon

Cameroon is a Christian majority nation, with Islam being a minority faith practiced by around 30.6% of the total population as of 2022.

[1][2] Among Cameroonian Muslims, approximately 27% identify themselves as Sunni, 2% Ahmadi and 3% Shia, while the majority of the rest do not associate themselves with a particular group and sect.

[4] The Fulani, a pastoral nomadic group, spread Islam in early 19th century West Africa largely through commercial activity and Sufi brotherhoods (Qadiri and Tijani).

Throughout the German colonial period, the Adamawa and Lake Chad regions were governed by combining heavy military presence with indirect rule.

The local Muslim rulers, called Lamido in Adamawa and Sultan in the far north, remained in power, although their influence was much more limited than during the nineteenth century, owing their legitimacy to the Germans and not to the Emir in Yola, the Caliph in Sokoto or the Shehu in Kuka.