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Answer
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Name
Jamal
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Profession
Question
One of the Myths that Afro Centric Historians have exploited to taint Islam's role on the Black Continent so as to push further their nationalist ideology is that Muslims engaged in the slave trade. Can you discuss the historical facts regarding this issue and show how the concept and practice of slavery in Islam is wholely different from that practiced in America and other parts of the Western world.
Answer
In general there was a triple heritage of slavery in the African experience. Firstly, some African societies had indigenous forms of slavery. Secondly, Arabs and other Muslims in later centuries engaged in slavery and the slave trade. Finally, the Western world came in with the biggest system of slavery in history which involved at least four continents.
In the case of Muslim participation in the slave trade there is consensus that this was in spite of the teachings of their religion which discouraged such forms of commerce. The areas worst hit by Arab slavery were eastern Africa, but other Muslims participated in other parts of the Continent as well. The worst forms of slavery came with the racism of Europe and resulted in the export of millions of Africans to the Americas.
Name
Sayyiddah
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Profession
Question
There is seems to be a fierce competition between Islam and Christanity in Africa. Despite the intense efforts to win converts by Christian missionary groups in Africa, Islam is still the Fastest growing religion in Africa. Is this a result of conversions by Africans from the Sub-Sahara or is it a result of higher birth rates among muslims in Africa.
Also, how do you predict that this competition in Africa between these two religions will unfold.
Answer
In reality both forces have been at work. Muslims especially in Sub-Saharan Africa have larger families then Christians. On the other hand, it is also true that there have been rapid conversions to Islam especially in the most densely populated areas of Western Africa. In the continent as a whole, the muslim population is know estimated as about 50% of Africa's 800 million people, while the Christian population is estimated to be about one third. There are still million of Africans who follow just indigenous religions and there are some who combine indigenous religions with either Islam or Christianity. One additional factor which has favored the spread of Islam is its acceptance of African kinship rules including polygamy. There was a time when Christianity gained by accepting Alcohol more easily then Islam, but it is hard to be sure about the impact of these cultural variables.
The rivalry between Christianity and Islam is sometimes on a friendly basis. Within the same African family, you can have brothers and sisters who belong to different religions. However, there are times when the identity of being Muslim reinforces ethnic identities and similarly Christian identity reinforces ethnic identity. For example, In Nigeria, almost all Hausa ethnic group are Muslims; Where as almost all Igbo (another ethnic group) are Christian. So, Islam reinforces Hausa ethnic identity and Christianity reinforces Igbo ethnic identity. The danger in such situations is that ethnic conflict becomes mixed with religious conflict. This is also true in the division of northern Sudan and southern Sudan where ethnic divide is reinforced by religious differences. So in those countries we have to be careful that ethnic wars do not become religious wars.
In happier situations in Africa, it has been possible to have a Christian president in an overwhelmingly Muslim country through normal elections. The best example is Senegal which had a Roman Catholic president for 20 years in spite of being a country which is over 90% Muslim.
Name
Mohammed
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Profession
Electrical Engineer
Question
Assalamu Alaykum. The issue of shari'a in Nigeria is topmost on most disscusions. I live in the southern part of the country which has few muslim population. Since the shari'a question arose muslims have been seen in a different light(negative). do you in your opinion the mode of introduction by the Zamfara State government in nigeria.
Answer
I have addressed meetings of Nigerians on the Shari’ah question and have even discussed the issue with Muslim leaders of Zamfara State which launched the Movement. My own position is that the present inherited Western legal and constitutional system in Nigeria has failed. There is wide spread lawlessness in the country and the constitutional system is very fragile. A country like Nigeria is entitled to examine alternatives since Nigeria is the largest concentration of Muslims on the African continent. It was natural that Nigerian Muslims would turn to Islamic Law to replace the Western System which is failing. Nigeria has more Muslims then Egypt and much of the rest of Muslim Africa are bound to look at what Nigerian Muslims are doing. What I have warned my Nigerian brothers about is the potential failure of the Shari’ah as well if it is implemented without taking into account historical changes across the centuries and without tasking into account the religiously diverse nature of Nigerian society. All the Shari’ah states in Nigeria should take advantage of the Islamic principle of Ijtihad in order to make Shari’ah compatible with reality.
Name
Asma
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Profession
Question
How deep is Islam in the Caribbean countries?
Answer
Islam is old among Indo-Caribbean populations. So Muslims in Guyana and in Trinidad are mainly of South Asian ancestry. They come from families which have been Muslims for centuries. Afro-Caribbean Muslims have a tradition which is more recent. They may come from families which are only two or three generation muslim, though many believe their original ancestors in Africa were already Muslims before they were exported to the Caribbean.
The questioner wants to know how deep is Islam in that region. Sometimes it is deeper among new Muslims then among those who take for granted. Many Afro-Muslims are exceptionally devout.
Name
Ali
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Profession
Question
Compared to what happened to African-Americans here in the U.S., how do you evaluate the Bush administration stance vis-a-vis Muslims civil rights?
Answer
Since 9/11, there has been some tension affecting Muslims in the US. Arab and other Middle Eastern Muslims have been affected more adversely then African American Muslims in the US. Even Pakistani Muslims, who might be regarded as belonging to country friendly to the US, have sometimes suffered through ethnic and religious profiling. But on the whole, African Americans and African Muslims in the US are still perceived more in racial terms then in religious ones. What disadvantages they suffer from are more racial then religious.
Name
Umar
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Profession
Question
Why is the spread of Islam in South Africa not very noticable as compared to other areas of the continent? There are a number of scholars and organizations in S.A. working for Islam yet there is not much progress.
Answer
I am less sure then you that there is not much progress. It is true that South Africa has experienced the greatest impact of European culture of all the African countries. Europe's presence there goes back several hundred years. That impact includes Christianity in its different forms. What is remarkable is the survival of Islam in South Africa among the groups who arrived with it especially Malays and Indians. Some times Islam survived enslavement of Malays while Islam among black people in the Americas failed to survive enslavement.
I have just come South Africa and was impressed by the visibility of Muslims in influential positions government and the economy. Black African Muslims are still a small minority of the Muslim population, but their numbers have been increasing.
Name
Omar
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Profession
Question
Is your documentary "The Africans" going to re-air once again on Public Television anytime in the near future.
Are there other documentaries you are working on currently and will come on television.
Answer
My documentary serious the Africans: A Tripe Heritage is rebroadcast by individual stations in the US especially during Black History Month in February of every year, but it is not rebroadcast nation wide at the same time as it once was.
I am exploring the possibility of working on other documentaries about Africa and its Diaspora.
Name
Naimbie
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Profession
Question
It is an honour to be able to interact with Dr. Mazrui via internet and I want to thank you for coming on this website to answer our questions.
What in your opinion are the root causes of religious violance in Nigeria and how will this violance affect the stablity of this country. Will this divide among the religious and tribal grops within the country result in its fragmentation.
Answer
I would like to believe that Nigerians will eventually find solutions to following areas of tension:
1-Ethnic problems
2-The North-South Regional divide.
3-The distrust between Christians and Muslims.
4-The problems of social justice between the haves and the have-nots.
It will take Nigerians time to succeed, but they need the political will to try.
