Rwanda of 1884 assigned the territory to Germany as part of German East Africa, marking the beginning of the colonial era. The explorer Gustav Adolf von Götzen was the first European to significantly explore the country in 1894; he crossed from the south-east to Lake Kivu and met the king. The Germans did not significantly alter the social structure of the country, but exerted influence by supporting the king and the existing hierarchy and delegating power to local chiefs. Belgian forces took control of Rwanda and Burundi in 1916, during World War I, beginning a period of more direct colonial rule.
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