Islam in Africa: Difference between revisions
Take a look at your edits and see what has happened to the page. In Your Blind hatred of me you are destroying the page |
If you saw a mistake you could have fixed it instead of deleting a chunk of relevant material |
||
| Line 23: | Line 23: | ||
== Sufism in Africa == |
== Sufism in Africa == |
||
Sufism, which focuses on the mystical elements of Islam, has many orders as well as followers in West Africa and Sudan, and, like other orders, strives to know God through meditation and emotion. Sufis may be Sunni or Shi’ite, and their ceremonies may involve chanting, music, dancing, and meditation.<ref name=crs/> |
Sufism, which focuses on the mystical elements of Islam, has many orders as well as followers in West Africa and Sudan, and, like other orders, strives to know God through meditation and emotion. Sufis may be Sunni or Shi’ite, and their ceremonies may involve chanting, music, dancing, and meditation.<ref name=crs/> |
||
Many Sufis in Africa are [[syncretic]] where they practise Sufism with traditional folklore beliefs. [[Salafi]]s criticize the folklorists Sufis, who they claim have incorporated "un-Islamic" beliefs into their practices, such as celebrating the several events, visiting the shrines of "Islamic saints", dancing during prayer (the whirling dervishes).<ref>[http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/intro/islam-sufi.htm]</ref> |
|||
West Africa and Sudan have various Sufi orders regarded skeptically by the more doctrinally strict branches of Islam in the Middle East. Most orders in West Africa emphasize the role of a spiritual guide, marabout or possessing supernatural power, regarded as an Africanization of Islam. In Senegal and Gambia, Mouridism Sufis claim to have several million adherents and have drawn criticism for their veneration of Mouridism’s founder Amadou Bamba. The Tijani is the most popular Sufi order in West Africa, with a large following in Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Gambia.<ref name=crs/> |
West Africa and Sudan have various Sufi orders regarded skeptically by the more doctrinally strict branches of Islam in the Middle East. Most orders in West Africa emphasize the role of a spiritual guide, marabout or possessing supernatural power, regarded as an Africanization of Islam. In Senegal and Gambia, Mouridism Sufis claim to have several million adherents and have drawn criticism for their veneration of Mouridism’s founder Amadou Bamba. The Tijani is the most popular Sufi order in West Africa, with a large following in Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Gambia.<ref name=crs/> |
||
Revision as of 18:24, 23 November 2010
Islam is the largest religion in Africa, followed by Christianity. [citation needed] The precise number of Muslims in Africa is unknown, as statistics regarding religious demography on the continent are incomplete. According to the World Book Encyclopedia, According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Christianity is the largest religion in Africa, followed by Islam. According to the Encyclopedia Britanica, as of mid-2002, there were 376,453,000 Christians, 329,869,000 Muslims and 98,734,000 people who practiced traditional religions in Africa.[1] According to a May 9, 2009 Congressional Research Service report conducted by Hussein D. Hassan, there were 371,459,142 Muslims, 304,313,880 Christians, and 9,818,542 people who practiced other religions in Africa.[2]
History
| Islam by country |
|---|
 |
 Islam portal |
The presence of Islam in Africa can be traced to the seventh century when the prophet Muhammad advised a number of his early disciples, who were facing persecution by the pre-Islamic inhabitants of the Mecca, to seek refuge across the Red Sea in the Christian Kingdom of Abyssinia (modern day Ethiopia) under the rule of al-Najashi. In the Muslim tradition, this event is known as the first hijrah, or migration. These first Muslim migrants provided Islam with its first major triumph, and Africa became the first safe haven for Muslims and the first place Islam would be practiced outside of the Arabian Peninsula.
Seven years after the death of Muhammad (in 639 AD), the Arabs advanced toward Africa and within two generations, Islam had expanded across North Africa and all of the Central Maghreb.[2][3] In the following centuries, the consolidation of Muslim trading networks, connected by lineage, trade, and Sufi brotherhoods, had reached a crescendo in West Africa, enabling Muslims to wield tremendous political influence and power. During the reign of Umar II, the then governor of Africa, Ismail ibn Abdullah, was said to have won the Berbers to Islam by his just administration, and other early notable missionaries include Abdallah ibn Yasin who started a movement which caused thousands of Berbers to accept Islam.[4]
Similarly, in the East African coast, Islam made its way inland - spreading at the expense of traditional African religions. This expansion of Islam in Africa not only led to the formation of new communities in Africa, but it also reconfigured existing African communities and empires to be based on Islamic models.[2] Indeed, in the middle of the eleventh century, the Kanem Empire, whose influence extended into Sudan, converted to Islam. At the same time but more toward West Africa, the reigning ruler of the the Bornu Empire embraced Islam.[4] As these kingdoms adopted Islam, its populace thereafter devotedly followed suit. In praising the Africans' zealousness to Islam, the fourteenth century explorer Ibn Battuta stated that mosques were so crowded on Fridays, that unless one went very early, it was impossible to find a place to sit.[4]
In the sixteenth century, the Ouaddai Empire and the Kingdom of Kano embraced Islam, and later toward the eighteenth century, the Nigeria based Sokoto Caliphate led by Usman dan Fodio exerted considerable effort in spreading Islam.[4] Today, Islam is predominant religion of Africa, mainly concentrated in North and Northeast Africa, as well as the Sahel region. This has served to further differentiate the various cultures, customs and laws of different parts of the African continent.
The character of African Islam
Although the majority of Muslims in Africa are Sunni, the complexity of Islam in Africa is revealed in the various schools of thought, traditions, and voices that constantly contend for dominance in many African countries. African Islam is not static and is constantly being reshaped by prevalent social, economic, and political conditions.[2]
African Islam has both local and global dimensions. On the local level, experts assert that Muslims (including African Muslims) operate with considerable autonomy and do not have an international organization that regulates their religious practices. This fact accounts for the differences and varieties in Islamic practices throughout the African continent. On the global level, however, African Muslims belong to the Umma, the worldwide Islamic community, and follow global issues and current events that affect the Muslim world with keen interest. With globalization and new initiatives in information technology, African Muslims have developed and maintained close connections with the wider Muslim world.[2]
Analysts argue that African Muslims, like other Muslims in Asia, the Middle East and the rest of the world, seem to be locked into an intense struggle regarding the future direction of Islam. At core of the struggle are questions about the way in which Muslims should practice their faith. The scholars assert that the majority seems to prefer to remain on the moderate, tolerant course that Islam has historically followed. However, a relatively small, but growing group would like to establish a stricter form of the religion, one that informs and controls all aspects of society.[2]
Sufism in Africa
Sufism, which focuses on the mystical elements of Islam, has many orders as well as followers in West Africa and Sudan, and, like other orders, strives to know God through meditation and emotion. Sufis may be Sunni or Shi’ite, and their ceremonies may involve chanting, music, dancing, and meditation.[2]
Many Sufis in Africa are syncretic where they practise Sufism with traditional folklore beliefs. Salafis criticize the folklorists Sufis, who they claim have incorporated "un-Islamic" beliefs into their practices, such as celebrating the several events, visiting the shrines of "Islamic saints", dancing during prayer (the whirling dervishes).[5]
West Africa and Sudan have various Sufi orders regarded skeptically by the more doctrinally strict branches of Islam in the Middle East. Most orders in West Africa emphasize the role of a spiritual guide, marabout or possessing supernatural power, regarded as an Africanization of Islam. In Senegal and Gambia, Mouridism Sufis claim to have several million adherents and have drawn criticism for their veneration of Mouridism’s founder Amadou Bamba. The Tijani is the most popular Sufi order in West Africa, with a large following in Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Gambia.[2]
Shari'a law in Africa
The Shar’ia law broadly influences the legal code in most Islamic countries, but the extent of its impact varies widely. In Africa, most states limit the use of Shar’ia to “personal-status law” for issues such as marriage, divorce, inheritance and child custody. With the exceptions of Nigeria and Somalia, secularism does not seem to face any serious threat in Africa, even though the new Islamic revival is having a great impact upon segments of Muslim populations. Cohabitation or coexistence between Muslims and non-Muslims remains, for the most part, peaceful.[2]
Nigeria is home to Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest Muslim population. In 1999, Nigeria’s northern states adopted the Shar’ia penal code, but punishments have been rare. In fact, dozens of women convicted of adultery and sentenced to stoning to death have later been freed. Egypt, one of the largest Muslim states in Africa, claims to have Shar’ia as the main source of its legislation, but has penal and civil codes based largely on French law.[2]
Saudi-Iran rivalry for influence among Africa’s Muslim population
For some time, political influence among Africa’s predominantly Muslim sub-Saharan states has been at the center of a struggle between Shia Iran and the conservative Sunni countries of the Gulf. Saudi Arabia, for instance, through various Islamic Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) such as the World Muslim League, the World Assembly for Muslim Youth, the Federation of Mab and Islamic Schools, is attempting to promote a conservative Wahhabi Islam that denounces Sufi Islam, the prevailing Islamic order in Africa, as “heterodox” and contrary to the traditional Islam.[2]
NGOs from Saudi Arabia have sponsored the building of mosques and various Islamic centers on the continent many of which are run by Africans of the puritanical Muslims of Wahhabi persuasion who have been trained in the Middle East. Saudi NGOs also distribute fundamentalist literature and offer academic scholarships to further extend their influence.[2]
Unlike Saudi Arabia, Iran’s interest in Africa is not limited to spreading its version of Islam (Shi’ism), but also extends to trade with Africa being Iran’s top export destination. In 2004, The Iran-Africa Cooperation Headquarters was established in Tehran following a cabinet ratification. Trade between Iran and some African countries continues to grow. African clients of Iran’s export goods include Sudan, Libya and Tunisia. Iran also imports industrial raw materials and fertilizers from Morocco, Tunisia and Senegal.[2]
This competition for influence has resulted in a shift on the continent from an overwhelmingly Sufi-inspired Islam to greater religious diversity among African Muslims. Although African Islam remains primarily Sunni, Shia Islam has been able to make significant inroads in countries like Nigeria. In addition, fundamentalists inspired by Saudi Wahhabism, a group that was virtually nonexistent when African states first gained independence, are now an integral part of the religious landscape.[2]
Notable Muslim African Kingdoms and Sultanates
|
|
References
- ^ Encyclopedia Britannica. Britannica Book of the Year 2003. Encyclopedia Britannica, (2003) ISBN 978-0-85229-956-2 p.306
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Hussein D. Hassan."Islam in Africa" (RS22873). Congressional Research Service (May 9, 2008).
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ [1] Islam And Africa
- ^ a b c d The preaching of Islam: a history of the propagation of the Muslim faith By Sir Thomas Walker Arnold, pg.261-
- ^ [2]
External links
- Islam and Africa
- World Muslim Population: 1950 -2020, by Dr. Houssain Kettani
- 2010 World Muslim Population by Dr. Houssain Kettani.
- Islam in Contemporary Sub-Saharan Africa: a bibliography. African Studies Centre (ASC) in Leiden and the Centre d’Études d’Afrique Noire (CEAN) in Bordeaux. (2005). Academic bibliography, mostly in European languages, compiled for a 2005 conference at UNESCO.
- Islam in Africa: a popular guide to Islam in Africa, sponsored by "The Islam in Africa Organisation".
- Muslim Cultures in Africa: Snapshots of a Diverse Continent. Islamonline.com, 18 January 2006.
- The Story of Africa: Islam, from the BBC Worldservice.
