What did ibn battuta observe about the different religious groups in west africa?

Ibn Battuta arrived to Mali in the spring of 1352. He was pleased to witness that Muslims of Mali strictly observed traditional Islamic practices and had a "desire for learning the Koran by heart." But he disapproved that the sexes were not segregated as he was accustomed to in other Muslim lands. He wrote that "their women show no bashfulness before men, and do not veil themselves."

Ibn Battuta also observed a state ceremony, which began with Muslim prayers. But after a little while came several dancers, dressed as birds, chanting before the Mansa. Ibn Battuta viewed this as an insult to Islam. Battuta stated that most people in Mali still held on to the old religious beliefs.

Despite all his disappointments on the people from Mali, Ibn Battuta was impressed that the Mali people "really hated injustice more than any other people, he has met." He related that the Mansa showed little mercy to the guilty ones. "There is complete security in their country," he wrote. "No one has anything to fear from robbers or men of violence."