Islam accounts for approximately 8.9% (750,000 people) of the population of the Central African Republic, making it the second largest organized religion in the country after Christianity (90%).
[1] The vast majority of Muslims are Sunni of Maliki school of jurisprudence.
[citation needed] Islam arrived in Central African Republic in the 17th century as part of the expansion of the Saharan and Nile River slave routes.
Conversion was a varied process that included the presence of Muslim merchants, the economic expansion of sultanates in nearby Sudan and Chad into the area, and the cultural proximity of locals with Muslims.
[2] The growth of Islam continued during the French colonial period but witnessed setbacks due to a lack of religious intstitutions in the region.