When I heard the name Mansa Musa what immediately would often come to mind was “Oh Mansa Musa he was the richest person to ever live” but he was so much more than his wealth and he also did so many great things with his wealth. Aside from being extremely wealthy, Mansa Musa was a devout Muslim. He wasn’t always muslim he converted to Islam in the early years of his reign. What surprised me the most during my research was Mansa Musa’s impact on his empire and the events that took place during his journey to hajj. Mansa Musa was a huge activist for education and islamic education, he wanted his people to be able to freely and openly learn about and practice the islamic religion. So during his reign he built some of the oldest mosque’s( still standing today) and universities all over his empire. This was surprising to me because I did not expect someone of his status and wealth to really be interested in religion like he was or even interested in the welfare and accessibility his people had to religious education because most of the other wealthy kings around this same time never did half of the things Mansa Musa did for his kingdom, they were greedy and selfish kings who wanted to keep all their wealth to themselves so I assumed Mansa Musa would be the same but I was proven wrong.

Mansa Musa’s journey to hajj can truly go down in history as one of the most iconic pilgrimages ever. On his pilgrimage, Mansa Musa brought with him Sixty thousand men all dressed in the finest silk, Horses and camels all carrying approximately 130 kg of gold and so much more. His 3 month stay in Cairo is most talked about when anyone mentions “Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage”. This is because during his 3 month stay he handed out so much Gold in Cairo that the value of Gold had tremendously decreased causing Egypts economy to severally plummet for the next 12-15 years. What I have learned is important because it has thought me not judge historical figures  without getting the full story, because before this research project I had assumed that because Mansa Musa was immensely wealthy he would be greedy. The only reason I thought this way was because I noticed a pattern with a lot of kings or leaders in history being greedy and hungry for more power and wealth. But Mansa Musa was different he actually cared about his kingdom and his people, making sure they would be ok years after he was gone.  It would be beneficial for young Muslim  girls and boys to know about this information. It is important that they are educated on Mansa Musa’s impact of the Islamic religion in Africa being that he was one of the first emperors in Africa to build mosques and really care about islamic education, because he wanted future generations to have a place where they can come together, to learn and embrace the islamic religion.