DATE=4/1/97
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
NUMBER=5-36087
TITLE=ISLAM IN AFRICA PART III
BYLINE=HILLETEWORK MATHIAS
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
UN-VOICED:
INTRO: ISLAM HAS GONE THROUGH CHANGES SINCE THE DEATH OF ITS
PROPHET, MOHAMED, 14-HUNDRED YEARS AGO -- INCLUDING WHAT WESTERN
WRITERS CALL THE RISE OF ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM. IT HAS BEEN A
WIDELY-DISCUSSED ISSUE SINCE THE 1979 ISLAMIC REVOLUTION IN IRAN.
IN THE THIRD OF A FIVE-PART SERIES ON ISLAM IN AFRICA, V-O-A
HILLETEWORK MATHIAS REPORTS ABOUT THE DEBATE SURROUNDING THE
ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALIST MOVEMENT.
TEXT: THE TERM -- FUNDAMENTALISM -- WAS ORIGINALLY USED MORE
THAN 100-YEARS AGO IN AMERICA TO REFER TO PROTESTANTS COMMITTED
TO A LITERAL READING OF THE BIBLE. IN RECENT YEARS, IT HAS LENT
ITSELF TO DIFFERENT INTERPRETATIONS AND APPLICATIONS.
WESTERN MEDIA TEND TO ASSOCIATE ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM WITH THE
IRANIAN REVOLUTION, AND SEE IT AS A MOVEMENT OF FANATICS BENT ON
HARMING WESTERN INTERESTS. IT IS PERCEIVED BY SOME AS A MILITANT
MOVEMENT AIMED AT OVERTHROWING SECULAR GOVERNMENTS AND UNITING
THE MUSLIM WORLD UNDER ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS LAWS.
MANY MUSLIMS REJECT THE FUNDAMENTALIST LABEL, SAYING IT HAS
CREATED A WRONG IMPRESSION ISLAM IS A VIOLENT RELIGION. THEY SAY
ISLAM STRESSES JUSTICE AND PEACE. AFRICAN SCHOLAR ALI MAZRUI IS
A PROFESSOR OF AFRICAN HISTORY AND POLITICS AT STATE UNIVERSITY
OF NEW YORK AT BINGHAMTON. HE SAYS THE WORD FUNDAMENTALISM IS
BEING MISINTERPRETED.
// MAZRUI ACT //
IT IS A MUCH ABUSED TERM. IT IS USED LOOSELY,
ESPECIALLY WITH REGARD TO POLITICIZED ISLAM -- ISLAM
WHICH IS POLITICALLY MILITANT -- AND PEOPLE CALL IT
ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM. OF COURSE VERY CONSERVATIVE
MUSLIM GOVERNMENTS THAT ARE GREAT FRIENDS OF THE WEST,
INCLUDING SAUDI ARABIA, ARE NOT CALLED FUNDAMENTALISTS
BY WESTERN PRESS, EVEN IF THEY ARE VERY RELIGIOUS.
FUNDAMENTALISM IS A POLITICAL TERM IMPLYING SOMETHING
FANATICAL, WHICH IS A PITY BECAUSE ORIGINALLY IT COULD
SIMPLY HAVE IMPLIED GOING BACK TO ROOTS [FOR] PEOPLE WHO
ARE INTERESTED IN REDISCOVERING THE ORIGINAL ESSENTIAL
ELEMENTS OF ISLAM. SO I HAVE NO DIFFICULTY WITH USING A
TERM LIKE ISLAMIC MILITANCY FOR THOSE GROUPS THAT ARE
VERY MILITANT.
// END OF ACT //
PROFESSOR MAZRUI CITES THE ISLAMIC MOVEMENT IN ALGERIA AND
ELEMENTS WITHIN THE SUDANESE GOVERNMENT AS EXAMPLES OF ISLAMIC
MILITANTS.
OTHERS SAY MUSLIM FUNDAMENTALISTS REGARD ISLAM AS COVERING ALL
ASPECTS OF LIFE, AND DENYING THE VALIDITY OF SECULARISM -- THE
SEPARATION OF RELIGION AND STATE. THEY SAY FUNDAMENTALISTS CAN
BE CHARACTERIZED IN THEIR AGGRESSIVE ATTEMPT TO USE THE STATE TO
IMPLEMENT THEIR IDEAS. IN THIS REGARD, THEY SEE A RESEMBLANCE
BETWEEN ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISTS AND MARXISTS.
PROFESSOR OF AFRICAN POLITICS AT HOWARD UNIVERSITY, SULEIMAN
NYANG, IS THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK "ISLAM, CHRISTIANITY AND AFRICAN
IDENTITY". HE DRAWS A PARALLEL BETWEEN MARXISTS AND THOSE CALLED
ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISTS.
// NYANG ACT //
SO MUSLIMS SHOULD BE ABLE TO CONTROL THEIR DESTINIES IN
ACCORDANCE WITH THEIR OWN VALUES, AND OF COURSE THEY SEE
THE STATE AS A CENTRAL INSTRUMENT TO BE IN THE HAND. IN
THIS CASE REALLY, WITHOUT ACKNOWLEDGING IT, MANY OF
THESE PEOPLE (FUNDAMENTALISTS) FARE WITH MARXISTS IN THE
FACT THAT HISTORY HAS BEEN VERY MUCH CONTROLLED, NOT BY
CLASS STRUGGLE IN THEIR VIEW, BUT BY THE STATE AND THE
MANNER IN WHICH THE STATE IS USED AS AN INSTRUMENT OF AN
IDEOLOGUE.
// END OF ACT //
SUDAN'S SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT, HASSAN AL TURABI, SAYS HE REGARDS
SUCH AN ARGUMENT AS A DISTORTION. HE INTERPRETS FUNDAMENTALISM
AS AN ISLAMIC REVIVAL THAT OFFERS MUSLIMS A SENSE OF IDENTITY AND
HIGHER VALUES. HE SAYS UNLIKE MARXISM THE ISLAMIC REVIVAL
MANIFESTS ITSELF PEACEFULLY.
// TURABI //
ISLAMIC REVIVAL ONLY MEANS TOTAL SUBMISSION TO GOD. WE
DO NOT BELIEVE THE STATE IS THE ONLY FORCE THAT
DETERMINES HISTORY OR MOVES IT. ISLAM DOES NOT BELIEVE
IN IMPOSING FROM ABOVE. THE COMMUNIST PARTY ON BEHALF
OF THE PROLETARIAT TAKING POWER BY FORCE. ISLAM
ACTUALLY SPREADS VOLUNTARILY, FREELY THROUGH THE MASSES
AND EXPRESSES ITSELF UPWARD INTO GOVERNMENT, ECONOMY,
ART, CULTURE, HUMAN RELATIONS, ACROSS EVEN BORDERS OF
RELIGIONS AND CULTURES.
// END OF ACT //
MR. AL-TURABI SAYS THE ISLAMIC REVIVAL IS BASED ON THE RELIGION'S
HOLY BOOK, THE KORAN, WHICH HE SAYS PEOPLE OBEY OUT OF BELIEF,
NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE ENFORCED BY GOVERNMENTS.
/// OPT /// BUT SOME MUSLIM SCHOLARS SAY THE KORAN DOES NOT DEAL
GREATLY WITH MATTERS OF GOVERNMENT. PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL
SCIENCE AT CALIFORNIA STATE COLLEGE IN STANISLAUS, ASAD ABUKALIL,
AGREES THE SUBJECT IS NOT BROADLY COVERED.
// OPT ABUKALIL ACT //
VERY LITTLE. I HAVE COME TO KORAN AND ISLAMIC SOURCES.
YOU WILL FIND YOU ARE LOOKING IN VAIN FOR A RECIPE OF
POLITICAL GOVERNMENT IN THE KORAN. YOU WILL FIND
SCATTERED REFERENCES TO NOTIONS SUCH AS, LET THEM
CONSULT AMONG THEMSELVES, THEY SHOULD ALWAYS CONSULT
AMONG THEMSELVES, CONSULTATION IS RECOMMENDED. YOU WILL
FIND OTHER REFERENCES TO THAT THERE IS NO RULE EXCEPT
THE RULE OF GOD. HOWEVER THE WORDS THAT ARE USED DID
NOT HAVE THE SAME CONSTITUTIONAL POLITICAL CONNOTATIONS
OF THE DAY. SO ISLAM REALLY LEFT THAT POLITICAL MODEL
OPEN FOR MUSLIMS THEMSELVES TO DEVISE. SO THIS
FLEXIBILITY, IN FACT, IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SPREAD OF
THE MESSAGE OF ISLAM IN PLACES LIKE THE CONTINENT OF
AFRICA.
/// END ACT // END OPT ///
OTHERS CONTEND MUSLIM FUNDAMENTALISTS WANT TO ANSWER ALL PROBLEMS
WITH THE PHRASE -- ISLAM IS THE SOLUTION -- A SLOGAN THEY SAY CAN
BE ACHIEVED BY EVERYTHING FROM PEACEFUL ACTIVISM TO SUICIDE
BOMBINGS. THE SPOKESMAN FOR EGYPT'S MAIN ISLAMIC GROUP -- THE
MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD -- SAYS MUSLIMS CAN ACHIEVE THEIR GOALS
PEACEFULLY THROUGH ISLAM.
// AL-HUDHIEBI //
WE BELIEVE IN ISLAM. PART OF IT HAS WHAT WE CALL THE
SHARIA -- SOME LAWS THAT ORGANIZE OUR SOCIETY, OUR
ECONOMIC SYSTEM, OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM. WE MUST APPLY
ALL THESE (TO OUR LIFE) BECAUSE THESE ARE VERY IMPORTANT
PARTS OF OUR RELIGION, ISLAM. ONLY THE HOLY KORAN GIVES
US THE IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES -- HOW TO LIVE, HOW TO
ORGANIZE EVERYTHING IN OUR LIFE IS FROM GOD. AND WE
MUSLIMS BELIEVE IN THIS AND THAT IS WHY THEY SAY ISLAM
IS THE IMPORTANT SOLUTION, AND WE MUST APPLY THE
PRINCIPLES OF ISLAM TO OUR LIFE.
// END OF ACT //
OTHERS CONSIDER THE SLOGAN -- ISLAM IS THE SOLUTION -- A MYTH
DESIGNED TO ATTRACT MASS SUPPORT. THEY SAY SUDAN HAS
DEMONSTRATED ISLAM CANNOT PROVIDE ALL THE ANSWERS FOR THAT
COUNTRY'S PROBLEMS. THEY SAY IT DID NOT PAY SUDAN'S FOREIGN
DEBTS, BUILD ITS INFRASTRUCTURE, SOLVE ITS POLITICAL PROBLEMS, OR
FEED ITS HUNGRY.
/// OPT //// BUT SUDAN'S SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT, HASSAN
AL-TURABI, SAYS HIS COUNTRY IS ON THE RIGHT TRACK WITH ITS
ISLAMIST PROGRAM.
// OPT TURABI //
BUT THE SUDAN, NOW EVOLVING ISLAMIC, IS DEFINITELY
SETTLING ITS PROBLEMS. IN THE SOUTH, THE MUSLIM TRENDS
(HAVE) DECENTRALIZATION OF POWER, FEDERATION, ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENTS, A MAJOR REGIONAL JUSTICE AND DEVELOPMENT.
WE HAD FORMAL INDEPENDENCE LONG AGO, BUT NOW WE ARE
ASSERTING OUR REAL INDEPENDENCE. THE COUNTRY IS
BECOMING MORE UNITED, DEMOCRACY IS NOW BEING INCULCATED
INTO OUR SPIRIT, NOT JUST IN FORM. WE WERE SOCIALISTS
BUT NOW WE ARE LIBERATING THE ECONOMY. MONOPOLY OF
RELIGION AND APPROACH TO GOD IS NOW BEING COMPLETELY
LIBERATED SO THERE IS A DEMOCRATIZATION OF A RELIGION.
SO THERE IS SOME PROGRESS.
// END ACT //
BY MOST ACCOUNTS, SUDAN HAS NUMEROUS PROBLEMS. POLITICALLY, THE
COUNTRY IS ISOLATED MORE THAN EVER BEFORE BECAUSE OF ITS POOR
HUMAN RIGHTS RECORDS AND ITS ALLEGED SUPPORT FOR TERRORISTS. ITS
13-YEAR-OLD WAR AGAINST THE MAINLY CHRISTIAN AND ANIMIST REBELS
IN THE SOUTH HAS CLAIMED ABOUT ONE-MILLION LIVES AND DESTROYED
THE REGION'S INFRASTRUCTURE. MILLIONS IN THE AREA HAVE BEEN
DRIVEN FROM THEIR HOMES BY THE FIGHTING.
NEVERTHELESS, SOME SUDAN WATCHERS SAY THEY SEE POSITIVE TRENDS ON
THE ECONOMIC FRONT. THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR
ISLAM-CHRISTIAN UNDERSTANDING AT GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY IN
WASHINGTON D-C IS JOHN VOLL
// VOLL ACT //
THERE ARE CERTAIN DIMENSIONS OF LIFE IN THE SUDAN THAT
ARE NOT AS BAD AS THEY WERE AND THERE ARE IMPROVEMENTS.
FOR EXAMPLE, THERE IS MORE PER-CAPITA ELECTRICITY
PRODUCED NOW THAN THERE WAS BEFORE. THERE HAS NOT BEEN
A MAJOR FOOD SHORTAGE, AT LEAST IN THE CENTRAL
PROVINCES, FOR SOMETIME. THERE DOES SEEM TO BE SOME
PROGRESS IN MOVING TOWARDS OIL PRODUCTION, DEVELOPING
THE OIL RESOURCES IN THE SOUTHERN-CENTRAL REGION. I
THINK WHERE THE SYSTEM HAS FAILED MOST STRONGLY IS IN
CREATING A BROADER SENSE OF NATIONAL UNITY. YOU HAVE A
VARIETY OF DIFFERENT REGIONAL DISCONTENTS. IT IS NOT
JUST SIMPLY NORTH-SOUTH WAR.
/// END OF ACT // END OPT ///
AS THE DEBATE OVER THE CHARACTER AND GOALS OF ISLAMIC
FUNDAMENTALISM CONTINUES, THERE APPEARS TO BE A STEADY RISE IN
THE NUMBER OF ISLAMIC GROUPS IN AFRICA. SOME, CONSIDERED
FUNDAMENTALISTS, HAVE GROWN TO CHALLENGE LONG-STANDING SECULAR
GOVERNMENTS IN NORTH AFRICA, AND OTHERS ARE GRADUALLY EMERGING.
MORE ABOUT THIS, IN THE NEXT PART OF OUR SERIES ON ISLAM IN
AFRICA. (SIGNED)
NEB/HM/RAE
01-Apr-97 2:59 PM EST (1959 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
