POD: 641 AD
650-654, Abdullah ibn Sarh at the head of an Islamic army invades Makuria in 651 as otl. In otl, Abdullah ibn Sarh was defeated in Makuria and signed a treaty with Makuria between the Islamic rulers of Egypt and that of the Sudanese states, especially Makuria and Alodia. Instead, in 652, Abdullah ibn Sarh defeats the Makurians at the battle of Dunqula and conquers Makuria. Abdullah ibn Sarh who after his defeat in Sudan, would become a major Egyptian statesman otl, in this tl, he remains in Sudan ruling through an emirate of Sudan from Dunqula. From here, the Sarhid Emirate expands southward especially against the African tribes of Sudan and against Alodia-Aksum.
656, the Egyptian populace of Muslim leaders send a delegation requesting the replacement of Abdullah ibn Sarh as governor of Egypt with that of the previous and in effect already governor of Egypt, Amr ibn al-A'as. As a divergence in otl, due to the victory gained at Makuria, the Sarhid faction if you will, allied to Mu'awiyah ibn abi Sufyan, is stronger and is able to march with an army to attack Amr ibn al-A'as, however, the assassination of Uthman ibn Affan is already under way and is killed in 656 by the Harruriyyah who in otl as here, are part of the camp of Ali ibn Abi Talib. As a result, Ali is elected the 4th Islamic Caliph and in the year soon after, Mu'awiyah demands an investigation from Caliph Ali into the death of his cousin 3rd Caliph Uthman ibn Affan. Unlike otl, while the army of the Sarhids threatens to retake Egypt, the sudden change of sides Amr ibn al-A'as makes otl is still done, but with the more sizable presence of the Sarhids ruling the Sudan. As a result, the Sarhids, Egyptian and Syrian armies battle as otl with the Alid army at Siffin and with a very likely Syrian victory, Ali capitulates and agrees to arbitration. In the arbitration however, the Harruriyyah separate themselves from the Alid faction and become the Khawarij or as they say, the Shurha (ones who sell the world for that of the future paradise).
660-661, Ali ibn Abi Talib is assassinated while praying by a Khawarij assailant whilst praying. Ali is then replaced by Caliph Hasan ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib as otl who then when in diplomatic squabbles and political posturing, Hasan submits to Mu'awiyah and Mu'awiyah is made the new Caliph and the Sarhid faction in Dunqula benefits from this.
662-700, the Sarhid Emirate of Sudan makes many gains in the Sudan without the peace. Islam was stopped mostly moving southward toward the heart of Africa due to treaties with these Sudanese states, further proof that the main form of expansion of Islam was through battle. In this tl, the Sarhids have the ability to expand at their whim into Alodia and other softer core lands of the Sudan. In 697, Alodia is conquered by the Umayyad armies under the Sarhid while Aksum long in decline descends further into the deep with widespread famine and economic decline of the Red Sea (started by Islamic conquest) cripple the society in Aksum and the region of Abyssinia moves toward a serious fragmentation that in otl was characterized by many states of differing religions in the Ethiopian Highlands. In 700 however, the Aksumite state is bordered to the north by the Sarhid Emirate.
701-703, Sulayman ibn al-Malik conquers the Dahlaq islands and adds these as an appendage of the growing Islamic world. This Dahlaq conquest becomes the Dahlaq emirate which in 703 with requests from Islamic merchants nearby, attack the lands corresponding to the eventual Sultanate of Showa coastline. The Dahlaq Emirate thus gains through many victories, a foothold to the south and east of the Aksumite Empire.
720, the 1st Sarhid-Aksumite wars rage and the Sarhid gain only small land exchanges while the Dahlaq state further gains coastal lands and spreads influence further south and east of the Aksumite state. The result is a spread of Islam into the Ethiopian Highland country and Somali lands before otl. However the Aksumite Empire remains virtually in power, but the failure to halt Islamic influence into areas of its south, cause more political isolation and pressure to convert to Islam.
731-737, The 2nd Sarhid-Aksumite war begins once more and in this war, a weakened Aksumite Empire is defeated and submits as vassals or tributaries of the Umayyad Caliphate and much of its land is captured by the Sarhids and Dahlaq.
744, the third Fitna begins in the Islamic world and the stage is set for the rise of the Abbasids. Yet in 745, Abdallah ibn Yahya proclaims himself an Ibadhi Caliph in Hadramawut in Yemen. 746, Abdallah ibn Yahya defeats the Umayyad authorities and begins to consolidate his power in the Yemeni countryside. With the chaos of the fall of the Umayyad in 750, Abdallah ibn Yahya and his Caliphate conquer Aden from the Umayyad authorities in 749-750 and begins further to consolidate and attacks Berbera under the Dahlaq Emirs.
755, The Adenite Caliphate has captured the region of Majerteen in the Somali lands. However, in 757, the Abbasid authorities defeat the Adenite armies near Aden and cause an exodus of the state into Somalia as its new base. Creating a tl alternate Sultanate of Majerteen or Caliphate of Majerteen based upon the Ibadhi sect. This state of affairs allows a much earlier transmission of Ibadhis and other Khawarij sects into Africa prior to the Omani expansion into the region. Thus, with this POD, it would be possible to have much of East Africa at least influenced by Islam of the Khawarij or Sunni flavor far earlier. Ethiopia for instance, with an earlier Sudanese fall at its weakest period, would be very much in danger of Islamization and with Ethiopia under the yoke of Islam, it soon too will find ways to spread into the Ugandan regions and other areas nearby in East Africa, including as far south as Zimbabwe.