Islam in East Africa - 4
By Professor Nazeer Ahmed
Concord, CA
Independence was welcomed by all the peoples of Africa. Here at last they were free to chart out their course through history and take their place in the comity of nations. However, due to the legacy of colonial rule, the Muslims of the region faced specific challenges in the educational, cultural and technological fields. The difficulties varied from country to country but there were also common threads that ran through them.
Security has been an issue with the people of the Horn of Africa. The long drawn out war between Eritrea and Ethiopia took its toll. Since the 1990s, Somalia has been beset by foreign invasions and internal instability making it impossible to reconstruct a civil life. Chaos reigns. The people suffer. The situation is far from stable even as of this writing.
Education has been a continuing challenge for the Muslims. The colonial administrations created an education system which clearly favored those who attended missionary schools over the graduates of the Qur’anic schools. The disparity in education continues to this day and is reflected in the number of university graduates. Muslim children graduate in far fewer numbers than is warranted by their numbers. A vicious cycle of poverty and lack of education has taken its toll in Mozambique, Somalia and Malawi. The Muslims face a dual challenge: How to teach their children the Qur’an and Islamic disciplines and at the same time advance in the secular, technological disciplines to compete with the rest of the population. This is the same challenge faced by Muslims wherever they live as a political or cultural minority.
Africa is a resilient continent. It has endured and has survived some of the worst tragedies experienced by humankind. The Muslims of East Africa, citizens of their respective countries, realize that what is past is past and are looking forward to the future. There is emphasis on modern education. The enrollment of Muslims in schools and universities is increasing. In Uganda, for instance, the Uganda Muslim University was established at Mbale with the help of the Ugandan government and the Organization of Islamic Conference. In secular Tanzania, Muslims have a respectable presence in the legislature and the judiciary. There are numerous Islamic organizations in each of the countries of the East Africa. Assistance from the oil rich Gulf countries has helped some schools. Participation in the Hajj from the Swahel has been increasing. The Muslim Personal Law is accepted as a source of jurisprudence for Muslims in most East African countries. The Law itself is undergoing continual scrutiny to apply it to a modern, technological age. There is hope that this vital part of the Islamic world will successfully overcome its political, educational and cultural difficulties, rise to the occasion and will creatively contribute to the broader community of man. A great civilization always does. (Series concludes)
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