Sonni Ali

Sonni Ali, who reigned from about 1464 to 1492, was the first great king of the Songhai Empire, and the 15th ruler of the Sonni dynasty. Under Sonni Ali, Songhai extended to cover a great chunk of the Niger River area and gained control of crucial trading areas such as Timbuktu and Jenne. During Sonni Ali's reign, Songhai surpassed the height of the Mali Empire, engulfing areas under the Mali Empire (and the Ghana Empire before it).

Opinions vary on whether Sonni Ali can correctly be described as a Muslim. He ruled over both urban Muslims and rural non-Muslims at a time when the traditional co-existence of different beliefs was being challenged. His adherence to African animism while also professing Islam leads some writers to describe him as outwardly or nominally Muslim.

References

*Kingdoms of the Medieval Sudan - Xavier University
*Books discussing Sonni Ali's religion