What activity of the Songhai Empire continued the tradition of earlier West African empires such as Ghana and Mali?

Question

anonymous · Answer

Religious tolerance might be what you are looking for. 

Although Islam spread throughout North Africa and pushed into the interior earning many converts, the rulers of the Ghana and Mali empires didn't force religious preferences down their people's throats. This was a tradition carried on by the Songhai Empire which arrived afterwards. 

Even though the empire was influenced by Islam from the top down, it tolerated other faiths within its borders as its predecessors did allowing everyone to choose what they wanted to worship.