The Zaghawa people, also called Beri or Zakhawa, are a Central African Muslim people group of eastern Chad and western Sudan. Historically, they are mentioned in classical Arabic language texts. They were trading with the Nile region and the Maghreb regions by the 1st millennium CE.

They speak the Zaghawa language, which is an eastern Saharan language. The Zaghawa society has been socially stratified and has included castes. The upper strata has been of nobles and warriors, below them have been the traders and merchants, below whom have been the artisan castes called the Hadaheed (or Hadahid).

As a result of Tijani Muslim missionaries from West Africa who were traveling through their area to make the pilgrimage to Mecca, the leadership converted to Islam. In the 1940s, the Zaghawa began to turn to Islam from Animism. Hence, the majority of Zaghawa people now adhere to Islam.

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