as for the ways christianity and islam came to africa, i suggest you reread the chapters in my volume Faces of Islam to see that the complicated passages that led islam to africa could not every be reduced to the simple figures of raiders/traders/colonisers. dave robinson wrote the opening chapter on the passage of islam into africa.
lastly, as anyone who knows the first thing about islam in africa, is it, like all versions of islamic belief and practice anywhere sui generis. to be clear about it, it is african islam, while also participating in aspects of "world" islam. but it is the creation of indigenous african thinkers and believers--and much that did come down across the desert was also being created by north africans.
it is for this reason that i believe it is totally misleading to think of religions as being imported, rather than merging with an already existent set of beliefs, beliefs that prepared for the possibility of a foreign belief to be integrated into an existing set of beliefs.
if you don't know about such basic notions, and want to think of these religions as foreign imports, i suggest googling mouridism for starters. or kimbanguism for that matter.
ken harrow
At 04:57 AM 1/5/2011, you wrote:
Complements of the season,
On a much broader perspective, i do not think it is empirically, or even historically correct to say that we got religion and democracy from the colonial interlopers! We may have gotten Islam and Christianity from the European and Arab colonisers and slave raiders/traders; but we certainly had our own religions and pantheon of gods like every other human civilisation. Furthermore we may have gotten this specific form of democracy from the european colonial interlopers, i think and i blieve that history supports this, that we were certainly developing forms of governance which were becoming more participatory, and more representative than the absolute monarchy by the time of conquest.
I do not agree that democracy is a western gift to the world.
Regards,
Jaye
From: KAYODE EESUOLA <gamesmaster_k@yahoo.com>
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Sent: Sat, December 25, 2010 7:54:12 AM
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Jos i perpective
Two things we got from colonial interlopers: religion and democacy have contnued to bring war and crisis on Africa, yet we continue to patronise them as the solutions to our problem. Like fools we go to church , we go to mosque and we do elections everyyear; and in doing so Africa inflict more woes on herself. Is'nt it hightime we looked elsewhere?
I rememberr Fela Anikulapo kuti
--- On Fri, 12/24/10, orunmilababa@yahoo.co.uk <orunmilababa@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
- From: orunmilababa@yahoo.co.uk <orunmilababa@yahoo.co.uk>
- Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Bombs in Jos
- To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
- Date: Friday, December 24, 2010, 6:03 PM
- This is, indeed, sad. It shows the ineptitude and failure of the ruling class to provide basic needs of the people and in this particular instance, security. That this happened without ANY of the countless security agencies being maintained with tax payers money is absolutely lamentable.
- Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN
- -----Original Message-----
- From: Toyin Falola <toyin.falola@mail.utexas.edu>
- Sender: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
- Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2010 16:13:59
- To: <USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com>
- Reply-To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
- Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Bombs in Jos
- >
- >Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2010 22:56:31 +0100
- >Subject: Bombs in Jos
- >From: Sati Fwatshak <sfwatshak@gmail.com>
- >To: Toyin Falola <toyin.falola@mail.utexas.edu>,
- >j.chesworth@cmcsoxford.org.uk,
- > Franz Kogelmann <franz@kogelmann.eu>, Dana Chivvis
- ><danachivvis@gmail.com>
- >
- >This is to inform you that this evening, about 730-8pm Nigerian
- >time, Bombs were dropped in various Christian dominated parts of Jos
- >killing several and wounding several more people. The affected
- >areas include Gada Biyu, Angwan Rukuba, and Tina Junction, with
- >drinking spots and bars most targeted. Though I live in the Staff
- >quarters very close to the Muslim-dominated part of the town, I
- >received a phone call from far away Abuja about the incident and
- >then called people both Christians and Muslims and Jos and they all
- >confirmed the incident. No one or group has claimed responsibility.
- >It is sad indeed.
- >Sati
- --
- Toyin Falola
- Department of History
- The University of Texas at Austin
- 1 University Station
- Austin, TX 78712-0220
- USA
- 512 475 7224
- 512 475 7222 (fax)
- http://www.toyinfalola.com/
- www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa
- http://groups.google.com/group/yorubaaffairs
- http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
- --
- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
- For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
- For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
- To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
- To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
- unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
- --
- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
- For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
- For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
- To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
- To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
- unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html
To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue-
unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
Distinguished Professor of English
Michigan State University
harrow@msu.edu
517 803-8839
fax 517 353 3755
No comments:
Post a Comment