The relationship between christianity, education, culture and. This basically means that anything political cannot be religious and conversely anything. East african muslims are mostly shafiites and some. Peter mandaville the question the role of religion today what do we mean when we talk about religion. African affairs a rich volume full of original insight. Secularism is a political doctrine hostile to religion. Muslims are concentrated mainly in the coastal and north eastern regions. Islam, judaism and christianity and that to him it was a very strong symbol of strength and unity. Nairobi has several mosques and a notable muslim population. Kenyas muslim population comprises ethnic arabs, indians, and black africans, and its status has varied historically. Until the mid20th century, it remained largely confined to the coast and closely bound up with the history of the swahili towns situated on it. Islamic values in politics, not political islam islam, in its original texts of the quran and hadith, did not introduce a comprehensive system of government. The terms, politics and state have been construed as mutually exclusive.
Other religions in the country include hinduism and traditional african religions. Christianity and islam are leading religious traditions each has in excess of 250 million followers in africa. On the contrary, and especially by mid2005, it has become an increasingly stalwart ally of the united states in the effort against transnational revolutionary political islam and terrorism. Note 4 islam, politics, and violence on the kenya coast. The shortest and most encompassing definition of political islam is that it denotes islam used to a political end. Chapter 5 how do religious beliefs affect politics. Pdf islam, politics, and violence on the kenya coast. Christianity and islam are leading religious traditionseach has in excess of 250 million followers in africa. The relationship between christianity, education, culture and religion in kenya since political independence in 1963 theuri m.
This political system is alleged to have contributed to the perceived political marginalization of muslims in the country. The evolu tion of institutions of muslim leadership and kadhiship in colonial kenya 18951963. Kenya borders five countries including ethiopia, uganda, tanzania, somalia, and south sudan. This study examines the relative political significance of domestic and transnational islamic militancy in three east african countries. Islam and christianmuslim relations christianmuslim relations in kenya. Islam and democracy in east africa jeffrey haynes this study examines the relative political signi. Whereas religion played a role in the struggle against colonialism in sudan, somalia, kenya and tanzania, since independence. Despite the dominance of christianity and islam, traditional african religious beliefs and practices see box, p. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Ethnically, kenyas muslims are primarily swahili or. In particular, this article traces the historical development of islam in east africa and discusses the political background of kenya and tanzania. The ikhwan of najd and their role in the creation of the. Ben knightons edited volume is an interesting, important, and timely book which marks one of the few concerted efforts to interrogate the complex and ambiguous relationship between religion and politics in kenya. In this study, converts to islam in tanzania and kenya will be interviewed to determine to what extent their conversion was influenced by a local islamic.
In particular, this article traces the historical development of islam in east africa. On the contrary, and especially by mid2005, it has become an increasingly stalwart ally of the united states in the effort against transnational revolutionary political islam and terrorism nevertheless, within the next several years yemen could easily become a major arena in which transnational revolutionary political islam openly contends. There is little substantiation of claims that kenyan muslims are becoming. Their large number, combined with the fact that most of them are concentrated in economically and strategically important areas, gives the muslims, at least potentially, considerable political weight. Politics and african religious traditions africa is home to nearly 600 million people. African countries, prohibits the formation of political parties based on religion. Islam, political leadership and economic radicalism in. Islam in kenya and tanzania united states air force.
The politicization of islam in kenya is deeply connected with the sense of marginalization that shapes muslims understanding of kenyan politics and government policies. On the interaction between islam and nationalist ideas in east africa see watt, w. This diversity points both to the many aspects believed to characterise political islam, as well as to the problem of finding an appropriate term. Approximately 7% percent identify themselves as shia and about 4% identify themselves as ahmadi muslims, as well as a small proportion of ibadism practitioners. In my opinion secularism and islamism are contradictory in many terms. The most vivid examples are given of the rwandan genocide where in spite of the fact that an overwhelming percentage of the population is catholic, ethnic consciousness has resisted christian assimilation.
Church, politics, kenya introduction to some people the possibility of the relationship between the churchreligion and the state is unheard of. Political rights comprise the right to protest against tyranny. Islamic radicalization in kenya national defense university. The history the islam was founded by mohammed abu lkassin ibn abd allah and is derived from the arabic word aslama to submit to. In both cases, political submission and conversion to islam were considered one and the same act. Islam, politics and government 57 it is also concluded that the documentary sources of islam did not proscribe any specific form of government, nor provide a political ideology, and that conse. Most muslims in kenya are sunni, mostly of the shafii rite. Articles the politicization of muslim organizations and the future of islamic oriented politics in kenya hassan juma ndzovu, moi university, kenya abstract following the political liberalization of the early 1990s, muslims in kenya took advantage by increasing their political activities. We will look at kenyas policynational interest within the east african region as well as her relations with uganda, kenyas most important trading partner. Nevertheless, groups such as the islam party of kenya are influential and have engendered more radicalised splinter organisations. The swahili language remains central to many east african muslims, hence the occasionally heard phrase, swahili islam.
Large majorities say they belong to one of these faiths, and, in sharp contrast with europe and the united states, very few people are religiously unaffiliated. The second is islamic political parties that represent the institutional manifestation, the vehicle or an. Here we will look at the role of regional economic organizations to kenyas development. Pdf the politicization of muslim organizations and the. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. The finding of the study indicates that the emergence of politicization of islam in kenya is a reflection of the exclusionaryrepressive politics of the various kenyan regimes. In june 2014, the kenyan coastal town of mpeketoni was the target of a brutal. Despite longstanding divisions based on race, leadership rivalries, and doctrinal issues, most kenyan muslims share a wellfounded conviction that the christiandominated government. We will see the historical background of the muslims presence, factors that lead or hindered the spread of islam and the organizational aspect of the muslim communities after the countrys independence.
Montgomery, the political relevance of islam in east africa, international affairs london, vol. The shortest and most encompassing definition of political islam is that it denotes islam used to a. Islam, which literally means submission, was founded on the teachings of the prophet muhammad as an expression of surrender to the will of allah. Examines the strengths and weaknesses of the muslim community, its relations with the state, and the emergence of militant islam in the 1990s, against the backdrop of the developing islamic expansion in kenya and evolving relations between muslims and christians.
Offers a balanced, accessible analysis of the role of islam in contemporary kenyan politics and society. Islam a brief overview of the history of islam the origin of islam is placed around 610 ce when muhammad, a highly spiritual and religious man who spent months in praying and self contemplation in a secluded cave near the town of mecca, is thought to have received divine messages. Islam is not just a heavenly religion, it is also a religion to deal with humanitarian problems and seek to provide spiritual morality. Islamic education in a district of kenya will serve as an example illustrating the nature of such education in east africa.
The purpose is to use kenyas historical development to explain the current development problems. Peter mandaville the question the role of religion today. Sudan, somalia, kenya, tanzania and uganda, providing a brief overview of the history of religion and con. The ultimate endgoal that terrorists seek to accomplish is to create an atmosphere of fear. We will point out the muslim communitys political contribution. This paper will argue that the intersection of multiple factors makes the kenya coast particularly volatile. Ethnicity and political pluralism in kenya shilaho westen kwatemba shilaho kwatemba is a phd candidate in the political studies department, university of the witwatersrand, johannesburg email. Our paper presents a brief history on islam in kenya. The key issue in addressing muslim grievances, and preventing any possible radicalisation, is the problem of the political, social and economic underdevelopment of the muslimpopulated provinces.
It resorts to original sources to illustrate muslim responses to the perceived threat of westernisation and, notably, the development of islamism as a reaction to the evolving sociopolitical conditions in the middle east. One of israels bestinformed africanists surveys the background to the antigovernment riots that erupted in the early 1990s among kenyan muslims, who make up roughly onefifth of the countrys population. Nairobi has several mosques and a notable muslim population the majority of muslims in kenya follow the sunni islam of shafi school of jurisprudence at 73%, 8% with shia and 8% as nondenominational muslims. Islam, politics and government article pdf available in totalitarian movements and political religions 91. Similarly, when the arabs consolidated their rule over the berbers the text reads after the islam of the berbers had been made good bada ma. The coast province, with its centre in mombasa, and the northeasternprovince, inhabited by somalis. The history of islam in east africa stretches back to around ce. Crs2 2 for a comprehensive discussion of sunni islam and the schools of islamic legal thought, see crs report rs21745, islam.
Islam, political leadership and economic radicalism in africa. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Islam and politics in kenya kenya s six million muslims form a significant minority, representing 20 per cent of the population. Early history the earliest concrete evidence of islam and muslims in eastern africa is a mosque foundation in lamu where gold, silver and copper coins dated ad 830 were found. Religious parties are prohibited from registering for election in kenya. View show abstract open discursive practices and interfaith conflict. Whereas religion played a role in the struggle against colonialism in sudan, somalia, kenya. The histom1 ofls1am il1 africa ohio university press. Participation of women in political life an assessment of developments in national parliaments, political parties, governments and the interparliamentary union, five years after the fourth world conference on women based on ipus world survey and analysed in august 1999 by ms. The relationship between christianity, education, culture. Hence, a deeper understanding of the history of islam along with the internal politics of kenya and tanzania are necessary tools for the us to craft an effective policy in the region. It seeks to identify, describe and account for the sources and significance of such militancy and to relate how it impacts upon democratization outcomes.
Islam in kenya and tanzania united states air force academy. This article explores the historical emergence of islam in east africa, details the political background of tanzania and kenya, the role of islam in each country, and u. Pdf islam and christianmuslim relations christianmuslim. Prior to the introduction of multiparty politics in kenya, the regime was viewed as. The counterterrorism assistance programs that are now being implemented in east africa, if sustained, could help lay the groundwork for a more robust regime of counterterrorism collaboration in east africa. The first is political islam, which underpins the conceptual edifice, ethos, norms and messages as well as meanings of islam as a political ideology. This has led to increasing politicization of islam in kenya, with the formation of the islamic. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study.
The vast majority of muslims in kenya follow the sunni islam of shafi school of jurisprudence. Arye oded rima occasional papers, volume 1 20, number 14 july 20 introduction ever since kenya received its independence in 1963, it has had to struggle with separatist movements, mainly in the two muslimmajority provinces. For more on the history of wahhabism, see alexai vassiliev, the history of saudi arabia, new york university press, 2000. It seeks to identify, describe and account for the sources and signi. A general problem with the term political islam is that it tends to imply an illegitimate extension of the islamic tradition outside of the properly religious domain it has historically occupied hirschkind 1997. Some emphasize the idea that religion is concerned primarily with conceptions of god, divinity and the. His research interest is on the interface between islam and its relations with the state in colonial and postcolonial subsaharan africa. Pdf the politicization of muslim organizations and the future of. Case after case the emergence of islamic political parties around the world has added complexity to the iconic question on whether these political parties can be trusted to be both islamic and democratic at the same time. As a result, there are declining numbers of followers of traditional indigenous religions and very few atheists or agnostics. Due to the lack of a muslim political party to articu late their grievances. Contemporary islam is struggling within itself over its values, identity, and place in the world, with rivals contending for spiritual and political dominanceas well as with the outside world.
Political involvement, marginalization, and minority. The kenyan government, like the govern ments of uganda, tanzania, and most. To familiarize the student with kenyas socioeconomic and political formation through an indepth study of selected critical issues in her political, economic and social development. Despite the inclusion of muslims in most kenyan governments, there is a perception that muslim interests are underrepresented politically.