Kingdom of Rwanda and “Tutsi” were socioeconomic, not ethnic, distinctions. In fact, one could "kwihutura", or “shed Hutuness”, by accumulating wealth and rising through the social hierarchy. Kingdom of Rwanda The Kingdom of Rwanda was a pre-colonial kingdom in East Africa beginning in c. 1081, which survived with some of its autonomy intact under German and Belgian colonial rule until its monarchy was abolished in the Rwandan Revolution. After a 1961 referendum, Rwanda became a republic and received its independence in 1962. In the 15th century, one chiefdom managed to incorporate several of its close neighbor territories establishing the Kingdom of Rwanda after
Islam in Rwanda as Christianity. Estimates show that there are equal numbers of Muslims among the Hutus as there are among the Tutsis. The estimates cannot be verified since in the wake of the genocide, as the government has since banned all discussion of ethnicity in Rwanda. Compared to East African countries such as Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda, the history of Islam in Rwanda is relatively modern. While a few written sources are available regarding its origins, it is claimed that Islam came through Arab traders from Zanzibar who first entered the country in 1901. Alternatively, it has been argued that Islam arrived