Final answer:
The incorrect statement about the Songhai Empire is that most of its people continued to worship the old Songhai gods. Songhai was heavily Islamic during its golden age under Askia the Great, and it was never conquered by the Mali Empire in the 1300s.
Step-by-step explanation:
The inaccurate description of the West African Kingdom of Songhai among the options provided is: a. most of its people continued to worship the old Songhai gods. The correct direct answer to this is that the statement most Songhai people continued to worship old gods is not accurate.
During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the Songhai Empire emerged as one of the largest empires in African history, with its wealth and prosperity based on controlling the trans-Saharan trade routes. The Islamization of Songhai occurred by the end of the eleventh century, and the empire reached its golden age under the rule of Askia the Great, who fully embraced Islam. Under his rule, Songhai became an unparalleled center of Islamic learning and culture in West Africa, with cities like Timbuktu and Djenné becoming pivotal centers of commerce and scholarship within the Islamic world.
Furthermore, the Songhai Empire was never conquered by the Mali Empire; on the contrary, Songhai eventually eclipsed and took over territories once controlled by the Mali Empire, including key cities like Timbuktu and Djenné, indicating that option d. is indeed a correct statement.