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- Christianity and Race Relations: Case of South Africa
Endnotes
Christianity and Race Relations: Case of South Africa Sources D Gruchy, The Church Struggle in SA, 2004 (available in the library) T Kuperus, State, Civil Society and Apartheid in SA: An examination of DRC-State Relations, London, Macmillan, 1998 Lallo K, The church and apartheid in SA, Politics 4 (1), 39-56. -In South Africa, apartheid was mainly backed by the Dutch Reformed Church. -the church enabled the state to plan and enforce apartheid. -Church theologians propagated apartheid theology. -DRC or NGK was brought to SA by the Dutch in 1652. -they had the mentality that Africans should be hewers of wood and drawers of water because they were an inferior race. -it was this mentality which contributed to the exploitation, segregation and eventually apartheid. -the planning of apartheid was attached to the church in two ways 1) through separation of the NGK into racialised congregations. Separation was the root to apartheid. 2) Position of church led to justification of such separation through the development of apartheid theology and it became the blueprint of apartheid on a wider scale. -Until mid 19th century, all churches were somehow integrated through whites were the first to receive the Holy Communion. Blacks also sat at the back. This was in spite of the 1829 affirmation that the Holy Communion should be given simultaneously to all members without distinction of color or origin. Change creeped in 1829 with the South African Synod lobbying for separate places of worship along lines of race. De Gruchy argues that South Africa would have been different if sacraments had been rightly administered. -Afrikaners insisted on separation despite theology making it clear that baptism wiped away human differences. -daughter churches for lower races thus came about. Original DRC remained for whites, the Duthch Reformed Mission Church for coloreds, the Reformed Church in Africa for Indians and the DRC in Africa for Africans. Church separation demonstrated to the state that separation was viable. It also showed how this could be done. -first major document to address the race policy by the NGK was released in 1921. It supported state policy on white supremacy and separation of blacks and whites for cultural reasons. -Such views were supported by apartheid theologians such as Totius, J W Coetzee, Abraham Kuyper and E P Groenewald. -Totius used the bible to justify separation eg he used the story of the Tower of Babel to demonstrate that God had willed the separation of nations. Coetzee used experimental proofs arguing that racial integration had disastrous consequences so God must not have willed it. Kuyper came up with the theological concept of pluroformity, the idea of diversity in church practice. -According to Loubser, Totius relied on Genesis 11, Acts 2: 5-11, Revelations 5:9 and 7:9. Other stories that were used to justify separation were the Canticle of Moses, Deuteronomy 32:8, The Curse of Ham. Enforcing apartheid -The church influenced the state to adopt apartheid in the following ways such as representing the church in all aspects of Afrikaner life and the close relationship between the state and the church, the link between the church and the Broederbond (a group heavily influended by Nazi ideology) and the church’s position in the implementation of a few key pieces of apartheid legislation such as the Immorality Act. -G D Scholtz concluded that the Afrikaner nation sank because of apartheid. -The church and the state enabled each other to achieve what finally took shape as apartheid. -During the 1930s and 1940s, the church advocated for sterner segregationist policies in line with the idea that separation was practical and justifiable biblically and theologically. -Between 1948 and 1962, the church was divided into pragmatists and purists. -This was despite the 1960 Cottesloe Conference which marked the peak of minority pragmatists. It decreed that separation could not be justified using the bible. It noted that there was no justification for banning mixed marriages. -in some cases, the church did try to distance itself but this was no longer workable. -Senior political and administrative officials of the National Party were active members of the NGK. Furthermore, the bulk of senior civil servants including those who headed the armed forces were members of the NGK. -Afrikaners were presented as a chosen race which therefore ought not to be polluted. -In short, by the time apartheid was legislated, very few of the laws that were implemented in 1948 had not been asked for by the NGK. QUESTION : Is there any link between Islam and international terrorism? Use East Africa as a case study. Terrorism is defined as the unofficial or unauthorized use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims. Thus it is a common fact that most if not all of the events relating to international terrorism carry an element of Islam and that the religion itself is fuelling pandemonium and instability in many countries. As a case study, focus can be made to East Africa where countries such as Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya and Uganda are continuously under fire from terrorist acts. The most prominent of these terrorist groups in East Africa is Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabab and Gama'at al-Islamiyya which have carried out terrorist acts in Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya and Uganda. The link of Islam and international terrorism is seen on the fact that most news which breakout about terrorism is carried out by Islamist fundamentalists. Some Muslims have managed to weave violent patterns in their wake to try and forge their own caliph where only muslims are allowed by undermining and attacking the government in the areas they are located. Therefore it is a striking fact that global terrorism is continuing to spread under the veil of Islam. However careful scrutiny must be passed to see that these terrorist cells who commit atrocious acts of terrorism global are quite different from the norm of Islam itself. These are extreme muslims who believe in the Jihad (holy war) which is an attack on the unfaithful and think that one day they will take over the world and everyone would submit to Allah whilst Islam itself is the personal submission to Allah. There is great evidence to assert the validity that there is a link between Islam and International terrorism as seen with the emergence of the Al-Qaeda group in East Africa. Originally, Al-Qaeda was a broad-based militant Islamist organisation founded by Osama bin Laden in the late 1980s against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. It has a profound connection to Islam and has used it to achieve political goals and being a tool for committing terrorist acts. According to Cliffe the bombing by al-Qaeda in 1998 of the American embassies in Dar as Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya, and the simultaneous al-Qaeda attacks at Mombasa, Kenya, in 2002 against an Israeli airliner and bombing of a hotel popular with Israeli tourists are just but a few of the terrorist acts by Al Qaeda on its list of international terrorism.1 The primary goal is not to injure the country where the terrorist attack takes place but rather it is designed to harm a third party such as the United States, Egypt, or Israel which the terrorists proclaim as their arch enemies. Due to this, although Al-Qaeda was formed to counter USSR`s invasion of Afghanistan, it has continued to work long after the end of the war and continued to recruit its militants who are supposed to be Muslim only. This is not a difficult case to recruit members of Al Qaeda since the East of Africa has a large population of Muslims particularly in Somalia and Ethiopia which are close to Saudi Arabia, Yemen and other middle-eastern countries where there is also the Taliban terrorist group. Thus Islam is used as a mouth piece or tool hence show that there is a clear connection between Islam and the operations of terrorist acts as they are proclaimed to be a divine thing and actually recruit potential terrorist by quoting the Koran. Islam has remained with a strong link between itself and acts of terrorism due to the meaning of Islam itself. The word Islam is Arabic meaning submission, thus there is a very strong sense of devotion and submission for terrorists using Islam as a motivator to follow and execute orders. Another thing to note is how the terrorists themselves proclaim they are waging a `holy war` with their enemies and continue to quote Koran verses before they commit terrorist acts in East-Africa. The act of quoting the Koran before unleashing terrorism can be seen occasionally from propagandistic videos which the Al Qaeda post on the internet where suicide bombers scream `Allah Akbar!` before detonating themselves to death or executing their victims by guns or swords. The definition of Islam meaning submission itself is harmless but has been tainted with indoctrination by Al Qaeda encouraging the youth to give themselves to Islam as a martyr in which they would be rewarded handsomely in heaven with 51 virgins by Allah.3 Therefore it is this remarkable submission and willingness to die for Islam which has presented a clear and conspicuous link between the religion of Islam and international terrorism in which cases have been steadily increasing in the East-Africa region. Another fact which supports that there is a strong link between Islam and international terrorism is that every country discussed in this analysis has either a predominantly Islamic population or has a significant Muslim minority. Although this might be seen as a stereotype and a very unreliable judgement or assertion by some scholars, the activities of a nation can shape the type of people who come out of it. According to Jackson Sudan's population of about 36 million is between 60 and 70 percent Muslim. At least 45 percent of "Christian" Ethiopia's 67 million people are Muslim. This means that Ethiopia's approximately 30 million Muslims tie it with Morocco for the 11th most populous Muslim nation in the world. Eritrea's 4.3 million people are divided about equally between Christians and Muslims. Although Djibouti has only about a half million people, some 94 percent are Muslim. Somalia and Somaliland together total about 7.5 million people; 99 percent are Muslim. Kenya has a population of about 31 million. There are wide variations in the estimates of Muslims, but most fall in the 10 to 30 percent range. Uganda's population of 24 million contains the smallest proportion of Muslims at about 16 per cent. There are some 37 million Tanzanians, 35 percent of whom are Muslim. Zanzibar is 99 percent Muslim.4 Due to this, it is not surprising that organizations like al-Qaeda and Gama'at al-Islamiyya have been able to recruit from these populations, a growing number of local collaborators who have showed interest in Islamic fundamentalism. The surprising fact is that some if not most of the Eastern Africa countries mentioned before has a significant amount of Christians but it is very rare to hear about Christian terrorism but as for the Muslims, it’s a monthly occurrence engaging themselves with terrorist acts.5 Therefore it again shows that Islam itself carries a great link with it and terrorism in East Africa and that its increase poses a threat in most societies in the region of East Africa and also abroad such as Europe and United States of America which are being targeted irregularly. More so, Islam can be linked to international terrorism in East Africa due to some geographical locations of where the terrorist acts take place. Tanzania and Kenya are easily accessible surreptitiously by sea and both have a small, radicalized Islamic element that has assisted outside terrorist groups. Kenya has a particularly porous border with ungoverned Somalia. The Kenyan government has long been concerned about the activities of the Islamic Party of Kenya, an unregistered organization with significant strength on Kenya's Swahili coast and one that has had frosty relations with the US.6 A support network for terrorists has developed along the coast where persons coming from the Gulf States, Pakistan, Somalia, and the Comoro Islands can blend in with ease. Pervasive corruption among Kenyan immigration personnel makes it possible for these individuals to obtain citizenship and engage in legitimate cover businesses. Once all the facts are known, it may well be that al-Qaeda has stronger links along the Swahili coast than it does in Somalia, where the US has focused most of its attention. In addition is the presence of regional terrorist groups which have also expressed their allegiance to Islam causing great terrorist death tolls in East Africa. Radical new groups such as the El shabab which is a brain child of Al Qaeda has managed to cross the borders of its homeland Somalia into Kenya making it international and has unleashed some horrific trails of disaster. Synonymous to Al Qaeda, Al Shabab is also a radical Islamic militant group which has also vowed to punish Kenya for aiding the government troops in Somalia in fighting the rebel group.7 As a result Al Shabab has committed the West gate mall attack in Kenya and various other terrorist attacks along the coast lines where international tourists will be. Al Shabab claims to have been sent by Allah to cleanse kaffirs off their sins and also vows to the implementation of Sharia law. Although it also rebukes to government corruption, brutality of police and lack of proper services in Somalia, these are all overlooked by the presence of Islam as it is the most central thing. Hence it also shows that Al Shebab has links to Islam and terrorism. However one must prevent leaning only on the assertion that Islam only carries links with international terrorism. Islam has been over analysed on its link with international terrorism has been a subject to close scrutiny. It must be understood that the religion of Islam has been exploited by individuals who seek personal power and control thereby using it as a tool to administer acts of violence. In a nutshell, there is a strong link between Islam and international terrorism given by the fact that most if not all of the terrorist acts are carried out in the name of Islam and against those who are not muslims. However, on the other side of the coin to a lesser extent, Islam also is a playground or tool used by individuals who tarnish the image of Islam for their own quests for power. ENDNOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY Cliffe. L. Regional Dimensions of Conflict in the Horn of Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge university press, 2004, p. 89- 111. Jackson. P. The March of the Lord's Resistance Army: Greed or Grievance in Northern Uganda? London: Pluto press, p. 29-52. Petterson. D. Inside Sudan: Political Islam, Conflict, and Catastrophe, Boulder, CO: Westview, 1999, p. 129. Ronen. Y. Sudan and the United States: Is a Decade of Tension Winding Down? Middle East Policy 9, no. 1 (March 2002), p. 97. 1K. Pike, Language in Relation to a unified theory of structure of human behaviour, the Hague, Netherlands, Mouton 2C, P. Kottak, Cultural Anthropology, Boston, McGraw hill, 2006 p45 3G. Chavhunduka, The African Religion in Zimbabwe To-day, Harare, 2001, p1-10 4Ibid p 1-10 5J.S. Mbiti, Introduction to African Traditional Religion, London, Heineman, 1976 7Ibid p 425 8L. Frobenius, The Voice Of Africa, volume 1, Hutchingson, 1913, p xii 9E.G, Parrinder, African Traditional Religion, Heineman, 1954, p.70 10ibid p 72 10 11C.I. Ejuze, ‘ Oral sources in the study of African indigenous religion’, Big Study African Indigenous Religion’ in Cashiers Des Religion Africans, Volume 23 number 45-46, 1988 pp67-81 Yüklə 216,22 Kb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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