COMMENTARIES BY OUR ILLUSTIOUS PROF. ALI MAZRUI IN THE SUNDAY STANDARD.
Egypt is umbilical cord of global civilisation and religions
By Ali Mazrui
Muslims regard their religion as being partly a refinement and elaboration of the messages of Moses and Jesus. The religion is also regarded as being solidly based on the principle of the singularity of God. Where does Africa feature in this initial configuration?
It is arguable that Africa is not only the cradle of monotheism in world history; it also provides asylum to the three Abrahamic religions in their infancy.
While sub-Saharan Africa is the mother of the earliest forms of religion in human experience, North Africa later became the mother of monotheism. Since Eastern Africa was the origin of the human species, it must also have been the birthplace of such basic elements of human culture as language, religion, and family.
Gods of thunder and War
Early humans adopted gods of thunder, of floods, of earthquakes, and of war and fertility. Ancestral Africa was preparing for worship, awe and belief in the supernatural. It took millennia before another North Africa singularised the deity.
The Pharaoh Akhenaton is widely regarded as the father of monotheism, and monotheism later became the most globalising of all religious principles. Was the Pharaoh Akhenaton an apostle, a prophet or neither? The Qur’an tells us that to each people, God sends an apostle. Was Akhenaton the apostle to ancient Egypt?
Egypt was also where Moses was born. So Egypt was, in that sense, also the cradle of Judaism. Judaism became another monotheistic tradition born in Egypt.
If Egypt was the country from which Moses later fled, Egypt subsequently became the country to which the infant Jesus later found asylum from the deadly machinations of King Herod.
Behind the biblical story is that without the asylum in North Africa, there would have been no Christianity; the infant Jesus would have been ‘crucified’ in the cradle. Was North Africa, therefore, the saviour of Christianity?
If North Africa was the birthplace of historical monotheism, and the birthplace of Moses, and if North Africa was also the asylum of the infant Jesus, what is Egypt’s historic destiny for Islam?
Islam had a humble arrival in Africa before its triumphant arrival in Egypt. Just as North Africa had played a part as the cradle of the gospel of Moses, and Egypt also played its part as a political refuge of the infant Jesus, Ethiopia played a part as a place of refuge for persecuted Muslims on the run from pre-Islamic Arabia.
Asylum seekers
The Prophet Muhammad had just begun to preach his own new gospel. Muhammad was protected for a while by his tribe. But when in desperation and anger, Muhammad’s tribe withdrew their protection, it became open season to hunt down Muslims.
That was when Muhammad authorised some of his followers to cross the Red Sea and seek asylum in Christian Ethiopia.
muslim asylum-seekers
These Muslim asylum-seekers in Ethiopia were led by Uthman bin Affam, who subsequently became the third Caliph of Islam and a major preserver of a single version of the Qur’an.
The subsequent Arab conquest of Egypt and the Maghreb also fertilised the flowering of an Islamic civilisation on African soil, one of whose institutions is Al-Azhar University, a centre of learning that has lasted a thousand years.
Technology is an engine of globalisation across time. Were ancient Egyptians the first to use technology for grand constructions of eternal durability? Ancient Egypt was arguably among the first grand civilisations. Technology and empire were linked in anticipation of new worlds to conquer.
More recently was a different kind of construction in Egypt: the building of the Suez Canal in the 19 century, led by the French engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps.
Hundreds of lives of Egyptians and other African workers were lost in the construction of the canal. The canal was a product not just of Western expertise and capital, but also of the sweat, blood and lives of Nile Valley workers.
The Suez Canal was a major contribution to globalisation since it helped to connect Europe, Africa and Asia in new ways. But the canal was also a monument to technology and economy as engines of globalisation.
Gamal Abdul Nasser saw Egypt as a centre of three circles: Arab, Islamic and African. Egypt had indeed become a bridge across three continents: Africa, Asia and Europe. Egypt had also nursed four different traditions of monotheism: Akhenaton, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
By Ali Mazrui
Muslims regard their religion as being partly a refinement and elaboration of the messages of Moses and Jesus. The religion is also regarded as being solidly based on the principle of the singularity of God. Where does Africa feature in this initial configuration?
It is arguable that Africa is not only the cradle of monotheism in world history; it also provides asylum to the three Abrahamic religions in their infancy.
While sub-Saharan Africa is the mother of the earliest forms of religion in human experience, North Africa later became the mother of monotheism. Since Eastern Africa was the origin of the human species, it must also have been the birthplace of such basic elements of human culture as language, religion, and family.
Gods of thunder and War
Early humans adopted gods of thunder, of floods, of earthquakes, and of war and fertility. Ancestral Africa was preparing for worship, awe and belief in the supernatural. It took millennia before another North Africa singularised the deity.
The Pharaoh Akhenaton is widely regarded as the father of monotheism, and monotheism later became the most globalising of all religious principles. Was the Pharaoh Akhenaton an apostle, a prophet or neither? The Qur’an tells us that to each people, God sends an apostle. Was Akhenaton the apostle to ancient Egypt?
Egypt was also where Moses was born. So Egypt was, in that sense, also the cradle of Judaism. Judaism became another monotheistic tradition born in Egypt.
If Egypt was the country from which Moses later fled, Egypt subsequently became the country to which the infant Jesus later found asylum from the deadly machinations of King Herod.
Behind the biblical story is that without the asylum in North Africa, there would have been no Christianity; the infant Jesus would have been ‘crucified’ in the cradle. Was North Africa, therefore, the saviour of Christianity?
If North Africa was the birthplace of historical monotheism, and the birthplace of Moses, and if North Africa was also the asylum of the infant Jesus, what is Egypt’s historic destiny for Islam?
Islam had a humble arrival in Africa before its triumphant arrival in Egypt. Just as North Africa had played a part as the cradle of the gospel of Moses, and Egypt also played its part as a political refuge of the infant Jesus, Ethiopia played a part as a place of refuge for persecuted Muslims on the run from pre-Islamic Arabia.
Asylum seekers
The Prophet Muhammad had just begun to preach his own new gospel. Muhammad was protected for a while by his tribe. But when in desperation and anger, Muhammad’s tribe withdrew their protection, it became open season to hunt down Muslims.
That was when Muhammad authorised some of his followers to cross the Red Sea and seek asylum in Christian Ethiopia.
muslim asylum-seekers
These Muslim asylum-seekers in Ethiopia were led by Uthman bin Affam, who subsequently became the third Caliph of Islam and a major preserver of a single version of the Qur’an.
The subsequent Arab conquest of Egypt and the Maghreb also fertilised the flowering of an Islamic civilisation on African soil, one of whose institutions is Al-Azhar University, a centre of learning that has lasted a thousand years.
Technology is an engine of globalisation across time. Were ancient Egyptians the first to use technology for grand constructions of eternal durability? Ancient Egypt was arguably among the first grand civilisations. Technology and empire were linked in anticipation of new worlds to conquer.
More recently was a different kind of construction in Egypt: the building of the Suez Canal in the 19 century, led by the French engineer Ferdinand de Lesseps.
Hundreds of lives of Egyptians and other African workers were lost in the construction of the canal. The canal was a product not just of Western expertise and capital, but also of the sweat, blood and lives of Nile Valley workers.
The Suez Canal was a major contribution to globalisation since it helped to connect Europe, Africa and Asia in new ways. But the canal was also a monument to technology and economy as engines of globalisation.
Gamal Abdul Nasser saw Egypt as a centre of three circles: Arab, Islamic and African. Egypt had indeed become a bridge across three continents: Africa, Asia and Europe. Egypt had also nursed four different traditions of monotheism: Akhenaton, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Published on 27/07/2008
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What was the cord between Nyerere and Obote?
Nyerere’s involvement in Uganda affairs was direct and drastic. In 1971, did he convince Milton Obote to leave Uganda and go to Singapore to attend the conference of heads of state and governments?
Obote had hesitated about going to Singapore because of the uncertain situation in Uganda. Did Nyerere convince him that he was needed in Singapore to fight Prime Minister Edward Heath’s policy towards apartheid South Africa?
Obote’s decision to go to Singapore was disastrous for himself and for Uganda. In his absence, Idi Amin staged a military coup d’etat and overthrew Obote. Eight years of tyranny and terror in Uganda ensued.
I never succeeded in getting either Nyerere or Obote to confirm that it was Nyerere who convinced Obote to leave Uganda for Singapore. But we do know that Nyerere was so upset by the coup that he gave Obote unconditional and comfortable asylum in Tanzania. Was Nyerere feeling guilty for having made it easy for Amin to stage a coup by diverting Obote to Singapore? I shall always remember Nyerere’s speech in Tanzania upon return from Singapore. I was in Kampala listening to him on radio. He turned a simple question into a passionate denunciation of Amin. His repeated question was “Serikali ni kitu gani (what is a government)?”
This simple question became the refrain of denouncing usurpation of power through a military coup. It was a powerful speech to his people and against the new ‘pretenders’ in Kampala.
I eventually visited Obote in his home in Dar es Salaam during his first exile. We discussed Amin much more often than we discussed Nyerere. One of the major ironies of my life is that Obote, then President of Uganda, introduced me to my own founder president of Kenya, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta before Amin’s coup.
In 1979 Nyerere paid back his debt to Obote. His army marched all the way to Kampala and overthrew the regime of Amin. My former boss at Makerere, Yusufu Lule, succeeded Idi Amin as president of Uganda. But Nyerere was so keen on seeing Obote back in power that he helped to oust Lule.
Was Nyerere trying to negate the guilt of having encouraged Obote to go to the conference? Is that why Nyerere was so keen to see Obote back in the presidential saddle of Uganda in the 1980?
Africanist audience
Unfortunately, his second administration was catastrophic for Uganda. Obote lost control of his own army and thousands of people perished under tyranny and war. Was Julius Nyerere partly to blame?
“The two top Swahili-speaking intellectuals of the second half of the twentieth century are Nyerere and Ali Mazrui.” That is how I was introduced to an Africanist audience in 1986 when I was on a lecture-tour of the US for the promotion of my television series, The Africans: A Triple Heritage (BBC-PBS.)
I regarded the tribute as one of the best compliments I had ever been paid.
In the month of Nyerere’s death (October 1999), the comparison between the Mwalimu and I took a sadder form. A number of organisations in South Africa had united to celebrate Africa’s human Rights Day on October 22, 1999. Long before he was admitted to hospital, they had invited him to be their high-profile banquet speaker.
When Nyerere was incapacitated with illness and seemed to be terminally ill, the South Africans turned to Mazrui to be his replacement. I was again flattered to have been regarded as Nyerere’s replacement. However, the notice was too short, and I was unable to accept the South African invitation.
Over the years Nyerere and I met many times. Obote was one of the formative influences of my early life, in spite of our tumultuous relationship. Ngugi wa Thiong’o and I were marginalised by the Kenyatta regime in spite of the fact that we wanted to become literary biographers of Kenyatta. When Daniel Moi was still Vice- President, I was considered as his possible speechwriter in order to strengthen his credentials for the presidency. I never played that role.
When he became president, his regime and I had an ambivalent relationship.
With Nyerere and I, it was a bond of genuine ups and downs. Nyerere was once angry with me because I had written a citation for an honorary doctorate, which was too long. The honorary doctorate was for an elderly American academic, and Nyerere was awarding the degree as the Chancellor of the University of East Africa, which at that time consisted of the three campuses of Makerere, Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.
My oration was indeed too long. He did not speak to me that evening after the ceremony. He deliberately snubbed me.
I had not struck the right balance and the Mwalimu chastised me.
Published on 20/07/2008
__________________
Nyerere’s involvement in Uganda affairs was direct and drastic. In 1971, did he convince Milton Obote to leave Uganda and go to Singapore to attend the conference of heads of state and governments?
Obote had hesitated about going to Singapore because of the uncertain situation in Uganda. Did Nyerere convince him that he was needed in Singapore to fight Prime Minister Edward Heath’s policy towards apartheid South Africa?
Obote’s decision to go to Singapore was disastrous for himself and for Uganda. In his absence, Idi Amin staged a military coup d’etat and overthrew Obote. Eight years of tyranny and terror in Uganda ensued.
I never succeeded in getting either Nyerere or Obote to confirm that it was Nyerere who convinced Obote to leave Uganda for Singapore. But we do know that Nyerere was so upset by the coup that he gave Obote unconditional and comfortable asylum in Tanzania. Was Nyerere feeling guilty for having made it easy for Amin to stage a coup by diverting Obote to Singapore? I shall always remember Nyerere’s speech in Tanzania upon return from Singapore. I was in Kampala listening to him on radio. He turned a simple question into a passionate denunciation of Amin. His repeated question was “Serikali ni kitu gani (what is a government)?”
This simple question became the refrain of denouncing usurpation of power through a military coup. It was a powerful speech to his people and against the new ‘pretenders’ in Kampala.
I eventually visited Obote in his home in Dar es Salaam during his first exile. We discussed Amin much more often than we discussed Nyerere. One of the major ironies of my life is that Obote, then President of Uganda, introduced me to my own founder president of Kenya, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta before Amin’s coup.
In 1979 Nyerere paid back his debt to Obote. His army marched all the way to Kampala and overthrew the regime of Amin. My former boss at Makerere, Yusufu Lule, succeeded Idi Amin as president of Uganda. But Nyerere was so keen on seeing Obote back in power that he helped to oust Lule.
Was Nyerere trying to negate the guilt of having encouraged Obote to go to the conference? Is that why Nyerere was so keen to see Obote back in the presidential saddle of Uganda in the 1980?
Africanist audience
Unfortunately, his second administration was catastrophic for Uganda. Obote lost control of his own army and thousands of people perished under tyranny and war. Was Julius Nyerere partly to blame?
“The two top Swahili-speaking intellectuals of the second half of the twentieth century are Nyerere and Ali Mazrui.” That is how I was introduced to an Africanist audience in 1986 when I was on a lecture-tour of the US for the promotion of my television series, The Africans: A Triple Heritage (BBC-PBS.)
I regarded the tribute as one of the best compliments I had ever been paid.
In the month of Nyerere’s death (October 1999), the comparison between the Mwalimu and I took a sadder form. A number of organisations in South Africa had united to celebrate Africa’s human Rights Day on October 22, 1999. Long before he was admitted to hospital, they had invited him to be their high-profile banquet speaker.
When Nyerere was incapacitated with illness and seemed to be terminally ill, the South Africans turned to Mazrui to be his replacement. I was again flattered to have been regarded as Nyerere’s replacement. However, the notice was too short, and I was unable to accept the South African invitation.
Over the years Nyerere and I met many times. Obote was one of the formative influences of my early life, in spite of our tumultuous relationship. Ngugi wa Thiong’o and I were marginalised by the Kenyatta regime in spite of the fact that we wanted to become literary biographers of Kenyatta. When Daniel Moi was still Vice- President, I was considered as his possible speechwriter in order to strengthen his credentials for the presidency. I never played that role.
When he became president, his regime and I had an ambivalent relationship.
With Nyerere and I, it was a bond of genuine ups and downs. Nyerere was once angry with me because I had written a citation for an honorary doctorate, which was too long. The honorary doctorate was for an elderly American academic, and Nyerere was awarding the degree as the Chancellor of the University of East Africa, which at that time consisted of the three campuses of Makerere, Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.
My oration was indeed too long. He did not speak to me that evening after the ceremony. He deliberately snubbed me.
I had not struck the right balance and the Mwalimu chastised me.
Published on 20/07/2008
__________________
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