population of mainland Africa , are both Africans and Arabs. It's a
question of choice, how they would like to identify themselves.
The trouble could be that some Africans want to believe that an
African has to be black, like Robert Mugabe and not like Andre Brink
or Alan Paton or Nadine Gordimer or Muammer al-Gaddafi
I have Jewish friends from Libya, Tunisia, Turkey, Morocco, Brazil,
Mexico, Algeria, South Africa, Yemen, Ethiopia, Austria other places,
who are no less Jewish or less Yemenite etc.for being born or bred in
these countries.
I do have friends from Libya and Algeria who have dark skins and
Negroid features but are Arab by language, birth and culture. An
Englishman who was either joking or thought that he was putting me
down said he thought that I was from Agadir in Morocco. My youngest
half Scottish Brother Michael was mistaken for an Imam from Morocco,
in London.
I have associated with Arabs for the past twenty five years and there
is not a single racist incident for me to report. On the contrary I
feel that I have always been given some preferential treatment ( and
valuable presents which I have sometimes refused.
We've got to be logical here. As logical as Yusuf ben Yochanan who
started one of his lectures by declaring that since the Prophet
Moses was born and bred in Egypt, it would not be politically
incorrect to identify him as African. The point is of course
debatable.
Another logician, Khalid al-Mansour defines European as meaning white,
and coming from Europe.
Understandably, because of racism, race and colour is something that
a lot of people get emotional about. That being the case I should like
to once more refer to the Prophet of Islam , salallahu alaihi wa
salaam's last khutbah/ sermon in which he said,
"All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a
non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white
has no superiority over a black nor a black has any superiority over
white except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a
brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one
brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to
a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not,
therefore, do injustice to yourselves. "
So there, we have it.
Right now there's all the hysteria about other media reports , true or
false, that "Arabs killing Black Africans" you would think that we
are on the brink of a war between Africa South of the Sahara and North
Africa (I'm sure that if such a war erupted Muammer al-Gaddafi would
be one of the first in North Africa to want to make peace and so
would the rest of the African Union.
The situation in Libya is a little complicated right now, since we are
informed by so many media outlets that Gaddafi has hired mercenaries
from places like Niger, Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe to fight for him.
This could mean that the innocent African guest workers who are not
fighting for anybody, neither for Gaddafi nor for those against
Colonel Gaddafi especially if armed could be easily mistaken for
Gaddafi mercenaries. And black Libyans are likewise in the same danger
zone of suspicion – identified by colour.
In other words black people are liable to be caught in the dangerous
cross fire.
The immediate solution would be for Africans to make themselves
invisible for the time being.
The Long time solution, could take a little more time of
consciousness raising.
Long or short, the rule of law still has to prevail in all
circumstances in both peacetime and during times of war....
Still wishing the best for Libya, and Africa:
On Mar 2, 5:10 am, kenneth harrow <har...@msu.edu> wrote:
> dear kofi
> your questions do not lend complexity or nuance, they are themselves
> questions that beg the question of how a revolutionary leader can become
> an authoritarian dictator; they also beg the question of how the one who
> takes these questions seriously can aspire to complexity in political
> discourse.
>
> it aint either/or, with us anti-imperialists or with the imperialists.
> the world was probably never quite like that; now this is a nostalgic,
> and ultimately anti-progressive stance, anti-progressive set of questions.
>
> i think of birago diop. one of the heroes of senegalese literature, one
> of its most accomplished authors and minds. do you know his history, his
> life story? it is interesting: the vet, the student, the administrator,
> the ambassador, the author, the source of inspiration. many tales, with
> supreme nuance, graced his pen. maman caimans with babies who refused
> to learn from her, and paid the price.
> that would be the story i would want to read to answer these questions:
> what parable would maman caiman have had to say? then there could be a
> discussion.
> but your questions, and implied answers, do not leave any such room. the
> elbow out reflection, supply the answer before the question had time to
> end with its question mark.
> kofi, put out a question we can really ask ourselves, so that instead of
> a riposte we could have a real discussion. like, what was maman caiman
> about.
> i bet my friend cornelius would have things to say about maman caiman,
> about the walo and moors and their fight, and how the babies became a
> balm to heal the wounds of the moors' prince of trarza.
> ken
>
> On 3/1/11 5:48 PM, Dompere, Kofi Kissi wrote:
>
>
>
> > Dear Cornelius Hamelberg and the members of the forum
> > As the winds blow to the shores of AFRICA, the carry some stubborn facts that bring into focus some important questions
> > To reflect on.
> > 1. Why did USA and the Obama administration delivered a veto for condemnation of Israel abuses of Palestine?
> > 2. Why did USA and Bush administration with the complete support of the NATO and Unite Kingdom invaded Iraq and how many
> > people were killed?
> > 3. Why did the so called democratic nations of the Imperial West stayed mute on the Mubarak atrocities and how many
> > people of Egypt were killed?
> > 4. How democratic is the United Nations in its decision-making process?
> > 5. Are the nations and governments talking about sanctions, no-fly zones, Blockades are they not the same imperial
> > countries
> > 6. How much oil does Egypt have and how much oil does Libya have?
> > 7. How many neo-colonial puppets are in the North Africa and other parts of Africa?
> > 8. Do you know any African leader that has supported African Unity and liked by the imperial predators.
> > 9. Are the world conflicts not about resource and commodity movements?
>
> > What is my point? One may dwell in the comfort zone of simplicity and refuse to acknowledge complexities in social events.
> > I will appreciate answers to these questions and thank you
>
> > KOFI
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Cornelius Hamelberg
> > Sent: Friday, February 25, 2011 7:30 AM
> > To: USA Africa Dialogue Series
> > Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: What says the African Union about Colonel al-Gaddafi and current events in Libya?
>
> > Dear Professor Kofi Kissi Dompere,
>
> > Methinks that thou dost praise el Colonel al-Gaddafi excessively, and at the wrong time. You are sending him the wrong message. I'm sure that Madiba Nelson Mandela is very critical of what Gaddafi is doing right now.
>
> > Futhermore:
>
> >http://www.thelocal.se/blogs/corneliushamelberg/2011/02/25/no-to-murd...
>
> > On Feb 25, 12:07 am, "Dompere, Kofi Kissi"<kdomp...@Howard.edu>
> > wrote:
> >> Thanks to all that have read my posting.Unfortunately people read and most of the time, they read out of context. This is the question posed by Cornelius Hamelberg. An important question for us in this forum, and indeed for the rest of Africa and diaspora, is why the gaping silence from the Africa Union, about the lastest antics of the man who has played such a pivotal role in African Union matters, not least of all in his largesse in providing funding for a few projects in Africa and also not least of all his well known ambition to become the first president of the United States of Africa? My statement was to provide a possible answer to the question. If you do not agree with my answer, please provide us with an alternative answer.
> >> Furthermore can you explain to us why Mandela embraced Col. Gaddafi. How many African Nations came to the aid of Lumumba,s Congo? We mast keep in mind that as history unfolds it bring in the good and the bad simply because every individual is characterized by the good-evil duality in consistent with some African philosophical expressions. Gamal Abdel Nasser is one of the African leaders that I have always admire and so much so that he is one of the African leaders that I have dedicated one of my books to. These dedications continue with personalities of Lumumba, Nyerere, Padmore, Modibo and others.
>
> >> Any way, Chambi, thank you.
> >> KOFI KISSI DOMPERE
> >> ________________________________
> >> From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
> >> [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Chambi
> >> Chachage
> >> Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2011 9:15 PM
> >> To: USA Africa Dialogue
> >> Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: What says the African Union about Colonel al-Gaddafi and current events in Libya?
>
> >> Kofi kindly clarify this statement: "Libya unlike Egypt has a history of supporting the DECOLONIZATION of the continent." As far as I know Egypt, at least the one led by Gamal Abdel Nasser supported decolonization. In this regard you may wish to unpack this statement from the host of the then OAU Liberation Committee, Julius Nyerere; "Nasser was a great leader and a great African leader, I got on extremely well with him", in relation to this image: http://www.soko-tanzania.com/tanganyika_zanzibar_union.html. By the way, Col. Gaddafi supported Idi Amin in 'his war' with Tanzania.
>
> >> ------
> >> My mission is to acquire, produce and disseminate knowledge on and about humanity as well as divinity, especially as it relates to Africa, in a constructive and liberating manner to people wherever they may be.
> >> -------
> >> Address: P. O. Box 4460 Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania
> >> Cellphone: + (255)(0)754771763/718953273
> >> Skype: chambi100
> >> Twitter: @Udadisi
> >> Blog:http://udadisi.blogspot.com/
> >> Group:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wanazuoni/
> >> -------
>
> >> ________________________________
> >> From: kenneth harrow<har...@msu.edu>
> >> To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
> >> Sent: Wed, February 23, 2011 11:04:20 PM
> >> Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - What says the African Union about Colonel al-Gaddafi and current events in Libya?
>
> >> khaddifi supported some of the worse dictators on the continent, and imposed an ideological regime on his population worthy of soyinka's more bitter satires. i wonder why people could fall for his liberation rhetoric and ignore his repressive actions. reminds me of the rhetoric of idi amin, turned to the same purposes. and if not always as brutal, equally hypocritical in the case of ahidjo. or mobutu.
> >> this is the time for the spirit of sony labou tansi to awaken, along with so many others. dennis brutus, tchicaya u tamsi, we need your voices again. "not a sell out"--no, he was actually worse. a tyrant. so what if his billions enabled him to stiff the europeans. what did that have to do with being a dictator, a brutal ruler.
> >> ken
>
> >> On 2/23/11 1:35 PM, Dompere, Kofi Kissi wrote:
>
> >>> Thank you, Cornelius Hamelberg, for this question.
> >>> LIBYA is a member of the African Union. Libya unlike Egypt has a history of supporting the DECOLONIZATION of the continent. She is the most important contributor to OAU Libration Fund. Colonel al-Gaddafi, unlike other North African heads of states, has also invested heavily in Africa. He also was not a sell out. To be fair to our brothers and sisters in Libya, the history does not justify the bloodsheds going on. The events taking place in North Africa, the information technology that has democratized the information space and the activities of the Wiki Leak are leading to a major global restructuring in terms of power, control and governance, the ending structure and form is unknown to us. What we do know is that global institutional transformation is taking place and is a continual process. What do you think?
> >>> PEACE
> >>> KOFI KISSI DOMPERE.
> >>> -----Original Message-----
> >>> From:
> >>> usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com<mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegr
> >>> oups.com>
> >>> [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com<mailto:usaafricadialogue@
> >>> googlegroups.com>] On Behalf Of Cornelius Hamelberg
> >>> Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2011 6:48 AM
> >>> To: USA Africa Dialogue Series
> >>> Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - What says the African Union about Colonel al-Gaddafi and current events in Libya?
> >>> The Arab League has taken their stance and it is not as if the African nations care less about the fate of Libya and Libyans.
> >>> An important question for us in this forum, and indeed for the rest of Africa and diaspora, is why the gaping silence from the Africa Union, about the lastest antics of the man who has played such a pivotal role in African Union matters, not least of all in his largesse in providing funding for a few projects in Africa and also not least of all his well known ambition to become the first president of the United States of Africa?
> >>>http://www.thelocal.se/blogs/corneliushamelberg/2011/02/23/revolution...
> >>> --
> >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin.
> >>> For
>
> ...
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