In recent times, Islamic religion has been expanding rapidly at the global, regional and local levels. The presence of this religion in Nandi County and its evidence of growth raise the need to know more about it. Its origin, however, spread and impact on Nandi traditional religion and culture, has not been the subject of scholarly research. It is this gap that the study intended to fill. The specific objectives were: to investigate the origins and spread of Islam in Nandi County, 1850-2012; to establish the impact of Islam on Nandi traditional religion and culture in Nandi County; to analyze factors that contributed to the acceptance or rejection of the Islamic religion by the Nandi people and to establish the challenges facing its spread. Cross-cultural and Islamization theories were applied in collecting data and bridging the gap in knowledge. Further, the study utilized both qualitative design and the surveying data collection methods to arrive at the findings. It was noted however that the spread of Islamic religion was affected by various factors among them socio cultural, economic and religious and doctrinal this are just but a few factors which and challenged the spread of Islam in Nandi. The findings of the study will be used in understanding proselytism in a cross-cultural context and promotion of inter-faith dialogue; they will also be applied by government policy-makers and other stakeholders in addressing the development agenda for Nandi County particularly, in areas of education, cultural heritage and religion.

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