Religion
Niane alludes to Sundiata being a Muslim. According to Fage, there is nothing in the original epos that supports the claim. There is little or no reference to Islam either. Sundiata is regarded as a great hunter and magician whose subjects predominantly adhered to the Traditional African religion and so did Sundiata, in order to gain their favors. Others claim that Sundiata was a nominal Muslim with syncretism practices.Sundiata Keita's son, adopted sons and brother all had Muslim names, suggesting that he was at least a nominal Muslim, who may have complied with followers of the traditional religion to gain their favor and loyalty.
It is claimed by some historians that the Mali Empire was not founded by a Muslim dynasty, but by non-Muslims, based on the tenets of Traditional African religion. However, many of Sundiata's successors, including his son Uli I of Mali, were Muslims, Mansa Musa being one of the most celebrated.
Read more about this topic: Sundiata Keita
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“We think of religion as the symbolic expression of our highest moral ideals; we think of magic as a crude aggregate of superstitions. Religious belief seems to become mere superstitious credulity if we admit any relationship with magic. On the other hand our anthropological and ethnographical material makes it extremely difficult to separate the two fields.”
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