OMANI ARABS
The roots of the relationship between Oman and Africa date from pre-Islamic times. Some historical sources record that Omanis settled on the east coast of the African continent before the 1st century of the Christian era. With the arrival of Islam, this relationship acquired a new and distinctive character. Waves of Omanis migrated to the East African coast and established Arab emirates and cities there that played a major role in spreading Islam and the Arabic language and civilisation. From there, Omani traders took Arab and Islamic civilisation with them to the Great Lakes plateau and the countries in the heart of the African continent.