RELIGIOUS CONFLICT AND CULTURAL ACCOMODATION:THE IMPACT OF ISLAM ON SOME ASPECTS OF AFRICAN SOCIETIES
Abstract
INTRODUCfION
The purpose of this essay is to examine the extent to which Islam has
penetrated and influenced African societies. The emphasis is on Islamic
practice rather than the process of Islamic expansion. To follow this approach
is not to turn a deaf ear to Alpers's call for scholars to avoid "one of the
annoying preoccupations" in "discussions of Islam in Africa", and .it is
hoped thaJt this essay is not a mere addition to the "unwarranted concern
over the 'ortbodox' nature of African Islam".1 The main concern here is
to show where and to what extent Islamic influence has succeeded or failed
to "conquer" some aspects of traditional life. It could probably be argued
that in Africa "where dtual observance is the foundation of religious
practice",2 orthopraxy is more important than orthodoxy. In this respect
it is important to note the adaptability of Islam and its general capacity to
accommodate many aspects of the traditional way of life. But it is even more
important and more relevant to go beyond thaJt point and identify specific
aspects of non-Islamic institutions and customs which facilitated the growth
and expansion of Islamic influence among African societies, and those which
acted as stumbling blocks. This exercise is important among other reasons,
because Islam, probably more than many other religions, has wide social
implications on its adherents. It carries with it a number of obligations and
prohibitions,S and it explicitly regulates most of ,the social and civil relationships
between the adherent and his environment. Islam imposes on a people
its own value system and general outlook towards life. Thus .the penetration
of Islam into a society is generally speaking equivalent to cultural conquest.
But, as in many other casas, the victor is here forced to come to terms with
the vanquished, and tolerate, or even promote the very "evils" which had
motivated "aggression". Where Islam accommodates aspects of a traditional
way of life, therefore, it could be asked whether such a state.of affairs
arises from weakness inherent in Islam, or whether it is due to the capacity of
traditional forces to resist outside influences. In other words, the extent of
"unorthodoxy" in Islam, itself being a product of cultural interaction, should UTAFITI
not be seen as arising merely from I8Iam's adaiptability, but also and for the
purpose of this essay more so, as a result of "stubborness" and durability of
the traditional cultures.
References
FOOTNOTES
Alpers, E.A., "Towards a History of Expansion of Islam in East Africa: the
Matrilineal Peoples of the Southern Interior", in Ranger, T.O. and Kimambo, I.N.
(eds.) The Historical Study of African Religion (Heineman, London, 1972),p. 1972.
Ibid, p. 173.
Quran Ch. V.
Trimingham, J.S., Islam in West Africa (O.U.P. London, 1959) pp. 33-4; Islam in
East Africa (O.U.P. London, 1964), p. 60.
Trimingham, 1964, p. 60.
Ibid.
Ibid.
The fundamental factor binding them is their belief in the oneness of Allah,
the God with no "partners", and in Muhammad as the "seal" of Prophets.
Trimingham, 1964, p. 60.
According to Islamic law concubines can be claimed only from slave women.
Quran Ch. IV:4.
a. Schacht, J., An Introduction to Islamic Law (O.U.P. London, 1964), p. 161.
Trimingham, 1959, p. 167.
Ibid, pp. 132-4.
Interview With Mr Hamisi Akiba, Oar es Salaam, 24.10.74.
Krapf, J.L. Travels, Researches, and Missionary Labours, during an Eighteen
Years' Residence in East Africa (London, 1860).
Trimingham, 1959, pp. 132-4.
Personal communication.
Schacht, op. cit., p. 170.
Khan, M.Z., Islam: Its meaning for mOt/ern man (London, 1962), p. 153.
Hughes' Dictionarv of Islam (London, 1885), p. 207. Also cf. Quran Ch. IV: 11.
Anderson, J.N.D., blamic Law in Africa (London, 1954), pp. 185-6.
Quran Ch. II: 22b, 230, and 234.
Trimingham, 1959, p. 170.
Interviews with Sheikh Mohammed Ali, Oar es Salaam, September, 1974.
Interview with Mr. M.B. Mkele, Oar es Salaam, 24.10.74.
a. LeWil;, I.M. Islam in TropiCal Africa (O.U.P. London, 1966), p. 56.
I am grateful to Dr. C.K. Omari for information on this point regarding the Pare.
I observed this recently among the Shambaa.
30. Trimingham, 1959, p. 31.
Hasan bin Ismail, The Medicine Man (Edited and translated by Peter Lienhardt) UTAFm
(Oxford, 1968).
Little, K.L., The Mende of Sierra Leone (London, 1951), p. 273.
Trimingham, 1964, p. 123.
Ibid, p. 122.
Gamble, D.P., The Wolof of Senegllmbia (London, 1957), p. 71.
Trimingham, 1959, p. 144.
Trimingham, 1964, p. 142.
Gamble, op. cit, pp. 71-2; Trimingham 1964, p. 115.
"Many Muslims affirmed without embarrassment that they practised ancestor
propitiation".
Trimingham, 1964, p. 114.
Malinowski, B., The Dynamics of Culture Change (New Haven, ]965), p. 69.
Schacht, op. cit. p. ]6.
Peterson, J., "The Sierra Leone Creole: A Reappraisal" in Fyfe, C. and Jones,
E. (eds.) Freetown Symposium (London, 1968), p. 108.
Anderson, op. clt., pp. 166-70; Trimingham, 1964, pp. 47, 56, 62.
Trimingham, 1959, p. 39.
Ibid.
