In three years of taking arabic classes I had never heard of Comoros having arabic as one of its official languages. Our professor didn't really spend a lot of time talking about it specifically but they told us arabic/islamic people traded with Comoros and from there the language settled progressively, along with a fair share of culture.
When did these first merchants arrive, and under what impulse (rather than expanding to the rest of Africa)? And why did Comoros adopt arabic (and french, but I'd assume it'd be because of colonisation) but not another african country's (like Mozambique or Tanzania) language and/or culture, despite being closer? Why did Comoros not reject arabic culture and language in favour of their own or another'
Thanks in advance for any answers, sorry if I always make it more complicated than it sounds. I had never heard of Comoros having arabic culture so it's a bit mind-baffling haha, I'm really curious to know what lead to the arabisation of Comoros and when.
Basically what happened with the arabs was not colonization or annexation; in fact it was more of a mixing in. The arabs became Comorans (or Comorians). For example, I am Comoran but with Arabic ancestors. I look more arab than African, we got mixed up well just like our neighbors in the swahili coast even though I would never unlace myself from my Comoran heritage. The Arab trading in the region started way after the arabs arrived in comoros.
Yet our language is heavily influenced by swahili, you can consider it as a sister language.