As Professor Harrow makes clear, "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."
What springs to mind is charitableness as a good social quality and we
are to assume – correctly - that charitableness has been a social
ideal in many pre and post-Islamic African cultures and that Islam
could only have enhanced it by making it obligatory. How else do we
explain the intensification of this deeply implanted ideal illustrated
by the history or legend of Mansa Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca in the
year 1324 with a caravan carrying two tons of gold, for distribution
as sadaqah?
http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/bios/b1musamansu.htm
http://www.islamicity.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=3036
Please permit me to make this observation, since Boko Haram is under
siege ( and I am not holding brief for internecine/ fratricidal Muslim-
Christian warfare/ vicious cycle of revenge - even if the secular
Nigerian state wants to impose its ideals on the not so secular.)
understandably, and I am not denying that they might have got stuck in
an earlier century since that's what fundamentalism is mostly about –
wanting to take The Faithful back to the glorious days of an earlier
religious epoch and if possible even all the way back to the good old
days of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Understandably too, one of
the original impulses to present day Boko Haram ideology which
embraces resistance to Western education must be a continuation of an
earlier resistance and history can confirm that this resistance has
its roots in some of the earlier anti-Colonial Jihads in the Sene-
Gambia and in the Sudan. The colonialist of course also had some ideas
about suitable counter-measures to guys like "Böko Haram" (which means
Western Book learning is haram, forbidden):
For greater clarity in the matter, consider the following. It's from
Chapter 5 entitled "Taming Islam – Aminata Sow Fall" - from Ahmed
Bangura's "Islam and the West African novel: the politics of
representation".
The whole chapter is a jewel of illumination of enlightened analysis
of her script and throws more light on the predicament under
discussion:
"A thorough examination of Aminata Sow Fall's textual relationship
with her Islamic heritage will illustrate that contrary to what is
frequently asserted by commentators, Sow Fall is not a promoter of
Islam. On the contrary, there is a tendency in her works to
deemphasise, dilute and even mute the Islamic component of her
Senegalese culture." ( page 81)… the observations on " contractual
charity" ( page 97 - might attract a Marxist critic or a disciple of
Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, said to be the first Muslim Socialist, but it's
pages 100 – 103 that is the centre of gravity to my purpose ( what I
want to show). I invite you to read pages 100-103 and as far as the
Boko Haram struggle is concerned here is the gem of the piece:
"The use of French by Muslims in colonial French West Africa was
historically perceived by French colonial officers to have a "taming"
effect. (To some colonial administrators Islam represented a
formidable obstacle to French colonial ambitions.) In this light,
Mariani, the inspector of education in French West Africa, observed in
1910 that, " Muslims in general are difficult to handle, and they have
a tendency to consider themselves superior even to us, simply because
they were born Muslims."
One of the solutions he proposed to deal with this Muslim cultural
resistance was to divert some of the money spent on the Catholic
clergy, to the teaching of French: "The study of a living Christian
language is the most effective remedy to Muslim fanaticism…. The
Mahometan who knows French and English is less fanatical and less
dangerous than co-religionists who can only speak Arabic, Berber or
Turkish." (Harrison 64)
Mariani clearly thought that the use of French by Muslims was a far
more potent weapon in the fight against Islamic Cultural intransigence
than Catholic proselytizing. The subject of the impact of such
assimilationist educational policies on early Senegalese writers is
thoroughly handled by Dorothy Blair (1984). Suffice it to say that
when Sow Fall uses such concepts as aumône, abole; baptême and
pugatoire to describe the cultural life of her people, one cannot help
but conclude that she is unwittingly perpetuating the French colonial
policy of taming Islam."
http://books.google.com/books?id=PrLqzwViE4YC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Islam+and+the+West+African+novel:+the+politics+of+representation&hl=sv&ei=x9AlTYztDMnT4gbt25GECg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
Gerald Moore's favourite Congolese poet Tchicaya U'tamsi ( at least
his favourites up to the time I was attending some of his seminar's –
and those of Abiola Irele) - U'tamsi went as far as using some of
the ritual imagery of the catholic church as the skeleton on which to
hang some of his poetry…..
I should like to add this note to Brother Farooq Kperogi who
celebrates "Senegal, an over-90-percent Muslim country that elected a
Roman Catholic as
its first president" that Negritude and the general cultural
renaissance and the assertions of African culture must have had
something to do with it.
On 5 Jan, 20:20, Cornelius Hamelberg <corneliushamelb...@gmail.com>
wrote:
> Professor Harrow,
>
> As you know,
>
> in the most puritanical form of Islam – if you can call it that -
> WAHABISM is very strict in it's definition of Shirk (idolatry and
> polytheism and reliance on other than Allah) to the extent that much
> of what passes off as superstition and belief in the efficacy of the
> charms, and talismans and amulets of West African and North-West
> African Maraboutism is looked upon as SHIRK which according to Islamic
> tenets is the one sin that Allah subhan t'ala will not forgive.
>
> From Wahabism's point of view this reliance on charms and talismans,
> or even
> "The medicine man" (has various names from coast to coast) is
> regarded as something suspect that's part and parcel of some
> indigenous African cultures, going back to the pre-Islamic age of
> Jahiliyya
>
> Even Ismail al- Faruqi's classical modern work "Tawhid" is very strict
> in its definition of Shirk, and in that definition encompasses the
> tenets of Wahabism.
>
> So Wahabism regards itself as the purifier of those who deviate from
> the strict understanding of Tawhid and of Shirk……
>
> Whereas many of the local varieties of African Islam which as you
> say is sometimes married to more local culture and practices of
> indigenous African practitioners of the faith make concession to
> amulets as being empowered by Allah.
>
> So there is this on-going conflict between the Purifiers ( from
> Saudi Arabia , called Wahabi and those aspects of "African Islam "
> which from the Wahabi point of view is dangerously close to shirk, if
> indeed not shirk.
>
> I do not see any conflict between Sheikh Othman Dan Fodio's writings
> on Tawhid and Wahabism – except that Wahabism does not seem to be very
> fond of Sufism……
>
> On 5 Jan, 19:01, kenneth harrow <har...@msu.edu> wrote:
>
> > no religion on earth did not "get" its beliefs, credos, practices,
> > from other places, as well as developing aspects of their own.
> > 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 <gamesmaste...@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, orunmilab...@yahoo.co.uk
> > ><orunmilab...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>
> > >From: orunmilab...@yahoo.co.uk <orunmilab...@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.fal...@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 <sfwats...@gmail.com>
> > > >To: Toyin Falola <toyin.fal...@mail.utexas.edu>,
> > > >j.cheswo...@cmcsoxford.org.uk,
> > > > Franz Kogelmann <fr...@kogelmann.eu>, Dana Chivvis
> > > ><danachiv...@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/
> > ><http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa>www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa
> > >http://groups.google.com/group/yorubaaffairs
> > >http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue
>
> > >--
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> > >of Texas at Austin.
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> > >--
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> > >of Texas at Austin.
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>
> > >--
> > >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
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>
> > >--
> > >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
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>
> > Kenneth W. Harrow
> > Distinguished Professor of English
> > Michigan State University
> > har...@msu.edu
> > 517 803-8839
> > fax 517 353 3755
--
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