Which cross-cultural scholar and trader from Africa helped to spread Islam over 75,000 miles?

• A. Ibn Battuta
• B. Ibn Khaldun
• C. Marco Polo
• D. Al-Biruni

Answer: (A)

Recognizing how knowledge and Islamic practice spread across cultures through long-distance travel highlights the figure who, from Africa, moved through a vast Islamic world and carried learning with him. That person is Ibn Battuta, a Maghrebi scholar and traveler who left North Africa and journeyed through the Middle East, the Indian Ocean world, and beyond, eventually covering roughly 75,000 miles. His travelogue, the Rihla, shows how he taught, advised rulers, and connected communities, spreading Islamic ideas and practices along the routes he traveled. The sheer scale of his journeys demonstrates how ideas circulated well before modern communication. The other figures were influential in different regions or roles and do not fit this pattern of extensive cross-cultural travel from Africa that helped spread Islam across such a vast expanse.