Özet:

This study describes traditions of writing in East Africa early to colonialism and the attitude of colonial writers toward sources produced from these early traditions. East Africa started to appear in writings from the classical era when Roman visitors Documented the people of the coast of the region. The demise of classical hegemony was followed by an epoch when Arabs visited the region for trade and adventurous motives. The Arabs and east African coast people relations culminated into writing literacy shrouded under Swahili civilization. The tradition of writing under Swahili civilization started by Arabs and African Muslim writers around the coast then adopted by interior Muslims in later years. From 19th CE, Europeans started to have interest in writing about East Africa. This interest continued to the colonial era in 20th CE and became famously known as colonial historiography. Colonial historiography denied the existence of the past significant for historical studies. Paradoxically, some of these writers worked in collaboration with African Muslim in interpreting manuscripts produced by Muslim writers along the coast and interior. The conclusive remarks on this study tell about how Islam was swahilized in East Africa. Thus, African Muslim writing tradition subscribes to Africans rather than foreign.