The Legacy of Arab-Islam In Africa: A Quest for Inter-religious Dialogue

294 Pages·2001·2.1 MB·English

by  John Alembillah Azumah

THE LEGACY OF ARAB-ISLAM IN AFRICA
A Quest for Inter-religious Dialogue
JOHN ALEMBILLAH AZUMAH
THE LEGACY OF ARAB-ISLAM IN AFRICA A Oneworld book
This ebook edition published by Oneworld Publications, 2014
First published by Oneworld Publications, 2001
© John A. Azumah
All rights reserved.
Copyright under Berne Convention.
A CIP record for this title is available
from the British Library ISBN 978-1-85168-273-7
ISBN 978-1-78074-685-2 (ebook) Cover design by Design Deluxe
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This Work is Dedicated to the memory of the tens of Millions of Africans who,
in the name of God, were made to sacrifice their Lives, Freedom, Dignity,
Heritage and History for no other reason than the content of their beliefs and
colour of their skin; and to those of the present generation who are committed to
an honest inter-faith dialogue and the promotion of peaceful and equal co-
existence in the pluralistic African context.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
Preface
1. A GLANCE AT POST-COLONIAL ASSESSMENTS OF THE WESTERN-
CHRISTIAN AND ARAB-ISLAMIC LEGACIES IN TROPICAL AFRICA
Definition of the Problem
A Critique of Prevailing Approaches and Perceptions
Methodology, Outline and Sources
2. INDIGENOUS AFRICA AS A CULTIVATING GROUND FORARAB-
ISLAM
Introduction
The Introduction of Islam to Tropical Africa
The Indigenous African Environment and Conversion to Islam
Conclusion
3. MUSLIM JIHAD AND BLACK AFRICA
Introduction
Sunni Muslim Doctrine of Jihad
Jihad: Theories and Campaigns in Africa
Interpreting the Jihad Tradition in Africa
Evaluating the Jihadists’ Shari‘a Rule
Conclusion
4. MUSLIM SLAVERY AND BLACK AFRICA
Introduction
Slavery in Muslim Africa: Indigenous or Islamic Stimuli?
Classical Muslim Ideology of Enslavement
Muslim Slavery and the Slave Trade: The Arab-Oriental Dimension
Muslim Slavery and the Slave Trade: The African Dimension
The Various Roles of Slaves in Muslim Lands
The Condition of Slaves in Muslim Lands: Theory versus Practice
Conclusion
5. ENCOUNTERING THE ENCOUNTERS: ARAB-ISLAM AND
BLACKAFRICAN EXPERIENCE
Introduction
Truth, Dialogue and Confessional Loyalty
The Need to Rethink Arab-Islam in Light of the African Experience
The Arab Factor in Sunni Islamic Orthodoxy Conclusion
6. CONCLUSION
Bibliography
Index
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I want, first, to thank God Almighty for granting me the grace, strength and good
health of body, mind and spirit to undertake this research. Second, I would like
to express my deepest gratitude to the following officers of the Presbyterian
Church of Ghana: The Revd E.S. Mate-Kodjo (now retired Synod Clerk) and
Revd Dr D.N.A. Kpobi, Inter-Church and Ecumenical Relations Secretary
respectively for their individual interests and encouragement which made the
study possible.
My profound gratitude also goes to the Ökumenisches Studienwerk in
Bochum, Germany, for the generous scholarship offered me and my family for
the duration of my Masters and Ph.D. programmes at the University of
Birmingham between the periods of September 1993 and July 1998. There is no
gainsaying that without their financial support this study would have been
impossible. The disciplined and well-organized administration of the staff
ensured that we received our monthly grant regularly and consistently. To all the
staff, I say THANK YOU and GOD BLESS YOU ALL!
The Revd Dr David Thomas of the Centre for the Study of Islam and
Christian–Muslim Relations, Selly Oak, Birmingham, who supervised this work
as a doctoral thesis deserves thanks that words seem inadequate to convey. Dr
Thomas was more of a senior brother than an academic supervisor to me during
the course of the study. There is no doubt that his astute academic mind and the
critical eye he cast over the work coupled with his uplifting compliments all
helped in guiding, shaping and spurring me to this point. All I can say is
THANK YOU, DAVID!
The warm fatherly guidance of Dr Sigvard von Sicard and Prof. Jorgen
Nielsen (both of the Centre for the Study of Islam and Christian–Muslim
Relations) has been of immense help to me during the course of my study. They
both also took the time to read through the work and made valuable comments;
those of Dr Sicard in relation to the East African situation have been especially
helpful. In the same category is the Revd Dr David Marshall. David is a very
good personal friend who made time to proofread the work in its doctoral thesis
form making numerous useful and helpful grammatical corrections. God Bless
you, David!
I cannot end this acknowledgement without mention of Prof. Humphrey
Fisher of the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. Prof. Fisher read
through some sections of the work as a doctoral thesis but more so as it was
being revised for publication. In both cases, Fisher’s critical comments and
queries (most of which I accepted and some of which I resisted) have helped me
a lot in reshaping the work to its present state. Dr Robert Shick, a colleague of
mine at the Henry Martyn Institute, India, also read through the first four
chapters of the book and made useful grammatical corrections. I also wish to
express my sincere thanks to Mary Starkey, the copy editor, for her
professionalism in carrying out her task on the manuscript, and to all the staff of
Oneworld Publications. To all of you I say THANK YOU! Of course, I take full
responsibility for the ideas expressed in this book and none of the above-
mentioned persons should in any way be blamed for any shortcomings in this
work.
Last but by no means least, My wife, Grace Asidbe, and children, Benjamin
Asuguru, Nathaniel Apenada and Malemma Elizabeth also played a unique part
in the successful completion of this work both as a doctoral thesis and in its
present form as a book. Not least for the warmth and comfort they, and only
they, could provide especially in times when the boredom and frustration of the
research reared its ugly head. I want to thank you in our local language, Mposia
pamm! The same goes to friends and relatives in Ghana, the UK (especially Dr
Ida Glaser and Colin Chapman) and now India, many others too numerous to
mention by name. Thanks and God Bless you all.
PREFACE
Since the second half of the twentieth century, inter-religious dialogue between
people of different faith traditions, especially between Christians and Muslims,
has gained much currency. Without denying the fact that dialogue still means
different things to different people, inter-religious dialogue in general and
Christian–Muslim dialogue in particular is seen as a move away from the mutual
polemics, stereotyping and prejudices that have plagued and often been a source
of numerous conflicts in past and present encounters between the two faith
communities. The primary aim of dialogue therefore is to gain a better
understanding of the Other and so do away with prejudices and stereotyping with
the view of enhancing better relations and peaceful co-existence in a religiously
pluralistic world.
Countless international, regional, national and local meetings, seminars,
conferences, colloquia, etc., between people of different religious traditions and
Christians and Muslims in particular with the view of promoting inter-religious
dialogue have now become the order of our times. I have had the privilege of
attending quite a few of these inter-religious conferences and gained a lot from
them. One fact that is very apparent in all such inter-religious, especially
Christian–Muslim, gatherings and discussions is that contemporary inter-
religious relations are heavily coloured and most often revolve on the axis of
various historical events. To use the words of a participant at one such
Christian–Muslim consultation, ‘history is very much the mistress of our lives.
We must take history very seriously if we are to look to the future.’1
My own limited experience at Christian–Muslim dialogue consultations and
conferences has led me to believe that history is more the mistress of
contemporary Christian–Muslim relations than the Holy Scriptures of the
respective communities, which are themselves heavily influenced and shaped by
their own historical contexts. The call to take history seriously is therefore
crucial if we are to understand, appreciate and better deal with contemporary
inter-religious difficulties, tensions and conflicts. Taking history seriously will
also help us learn the necessary lessons from the historical encounters in charting
a path for better relations in the future. This means that the documentation and
interpretation of what actually happened in the past is more than just an
academic exercise. In a sense it is a sacred duty!
There is no gainsaying that most ‘academic’ and ‘scientific’ researches in the
social sciences have been carried out either to serve specific ideological interests
or used by successive generations to serve such purposes with far-reaching
disastrous consequences for human life and dignity. As a child I remember a
popular maxim that ‘book no lie’, i.e., written documents are infallible! The
wisdom, or rather nonsense, of this maxim still holds sway in many societies.
What is read, taught, heard or watched on televisions has mesmerizing effects in
shaping lifestyles and relationships. Due to the impact of the media, it is very
common nowadays to hear calls from civil and religious leaders for responsible
journalism. It is high time though that these calls were extended to academics to
exercise responsibility in their professions since the impact of their works taught
in schools, colleges and read in university libraries have even far greater and
lasting impact in shaping perceptions, attitudes and relationships between
communities.
One of the greatest benefits of the post-colonial era with regard to interfaith
relations in general and Christian–Muslim relations in particular is the
emergence and dominance of literature especially from the Western-Christian
side aimed at presenting Islamic beliefs and Muslim history in a more positive
and sympathetic light.2 This has been accomplished mainly through the study of
Islamic beliefs and Muslim history through Muslim sources. Bernard Lewis, one
of the most outstanding Western scholars of Islam of the twentieth century,
makes this submission in the following words: ‘The scholarly student of Islam –
especially if he is not a Muslim – studies Islam as a historical phenomenon, as a
civilization with a long and distinguished record of achievement. The evidence
he uses is that provided by Muslims – what they have said, written, and done in
the course of the centuries.’3
The approach of studying Islam through Muslim evidence therefore became
the standard academic norm, especially in post-colonial Western discourse. This
approach is not only obviously reasonable, but crucial in light of past experience,
especially medieval Western European approaches. However, the focus on