The Ifat Sultanate was a Muslim medieval kingdom in the Horn of Africa .
Through close contacts with the adjacent Arabian Peninsula for more than 1,000 years , the Somali and Afar ethnic groups in the region became among the first populations on the continent to embrace Islam .
The Ifat Sultanate was a Islam medieval kingdom in the Horn of Africa .
Through close contacts with the adjacent Arabian Peninsula for more than 1,000 years , the Somali and Afar ethnic groups in the region became among the first populations on the continent to embrace Islam .