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Sh. Al-Amin B. Ali Mazrui and Islamic Modernizm in East Africa, 1875–1947

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2009

Randhall L. Pouwels
Randhall L. Pouwels
Affiliation:
Latrobe University Melbourne, Australia
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Extract

Throughout its history, Islam was influenced by the nature and extent of its contacts with other religions. It began as a relatively simple set of beliefs and practices fully circumscribed by Quranic injunctions and the example (sunna) of the Prophet Muhammad. But because it was cast into an adversary position with Byzantine Christianity, many of its institutions were developed from early times on in response to the intellectual confrontation thus generated. Consequently, by the tenth century Islam had evolved a highly refined theological foundation.

Type
Articles
Information
International Journal of Middle East Studies , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , August 1981 , pp. 329 - 345
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1981

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References

Notes

I recognize that the crucial concept of “modernism” is somewhat taken for granted in this essay. Obviously, the term is culturally loaded and begs major historical questions. However, a thorough discussion of the issue in addition to the material already contained herein would extend the length of this essay too greatly for one concise article. Suffice it to say that “modernism,” as it has been used in this article, connotes at least a partly secular approach to education. Educational reformers like Sh. Muhammad Abduh and Sb. al-Amin b. Ali Mazrui, for example, sensed a need for “modern” subjects in the madrasa curriculum, such as geography, science, and mathematics, which ideally were to be taught in such a way as to be detached from any particular “religious” (though not philosophical) view of man and nature. Ultimately, such a reform was seen as needed, not to accept a Christian Western epistemology, but as one means for Muslims to successfully resume competition with the West in technological and military areas.

1 Several examples can be cited. Among these are those of ibn Hanbal, ibn Taymiyya, and alGhazali, as well as the famous Almoravid and Almohad movements in North Africa and Spain.

2 Actually, of course, these movements and sets of ideas were often quite distinct from each other and the historical developments which produced them were considerably more complex than presently allowed for in this essay. A more ambitious discussion of Islamic reform in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, for example, would have to take account of regional histories and the overriding factor of regional antipathy toward the Ottoman tanzimat.

3 The Journal of African History alone has run an extensive literature on West Africa in the past decade. For example: Curtin, P. D., “Jihad in West Africa: Early Phases and Inter-Relations in Mauretania and Senegal,” XII, I (1971), 11–24;Google ScholarKlein, M. A., “Social and Economic Factors in the Muslim Revolution in the Senegambia,” XIII, 3 (1972), 419–442;Google ScholarLamin, Sanneh, “The Origins of Clericalism in West African Islam,” XVII, 1 (1976), 49–72;Google ScholarSteward, C. C., “Southern Saharan Scholarship and the Bilād al-Sūdān,” XVII, 1 (1976), 73–94;Google Scholar and Willis, J. R., “The Torodbe Clerisy: A Social View,” XIX, 2 (1978), 195–212, to name a few. No attention has gone to East Africa.Google Scholar

4 Nimtz, A., “The Role of the Muslim Sufi Order in Political Change: An Over-View and Microanalysis from Tanzania,” Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Indiana (1973);Google Scholarel-Zein, A. H., “The Sacred Meadows: A Structural Analysis of Religious Symbolism in an East African Town,” Ph.D. diss. University of Chicago (1972), since published under the same title (Evanston, 1974).Google Scholar

5 Salim, A. I., The Swahili-Speaking Peoples of Kenya's Coast, 1895–1965 (Nairobi, 1973), pp. 159–65.Google Scholar

6 See A. S. Farsy's treatment of Sh. al-Amin and the influence he had over his disciples in “Baadhi ya Wanavyuoni wa Kishafli wa Mashariki ya Afrika” (unpublished manuscript, nd.). pp. 42–43.

7 Doubtless the greatest modernist influence before Sh. al-Amin stemmed from the baraza of Sayyid Mansab b. Ali Abu Bakr b. Salim. Most notable among these early reform influences was one Umar Lutfi who chose not only to confine his convictions to his circle of friends, but to “give lessons” involving modernist ideas from Egypt in Zanzibar's Jumaa Mosque. There, according to Sh. Farsy, he was especially influential among the young men of Zanzibar who had grown impatient with old ways and ideas and who hungered for “progress.” Interview, Mombasa: Farsy, A. S. (03 and 12 05 1975);Google Scholar and Farsy, , “Baadhi ya Wanavyuoni”, p. 8. Additional information collected in interviews, Mombasa: Yahya Ali Omar (27 Jan. 1975); Lamu: Harith Swaleh Maawi (15 April 1975).Google Scholar

8 Al-Amin, b. Ali Mazrui, Dini ya Islamu (Mombasa, 1939), p. 33: interview, Mombasa: Muhammad Sulaiman Mazrui (22 Jan. 1975).Google Scholar

9 Albert, Hourani, Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age, 1798–1939 (London, 1970), pp. 151–52. According to Abduh and Rida, what often was in the “public interest” was that which permitted modern technical innovation and experimentation and, therefore, allowed Muslims a higher standard of living.Google Scholar

10 Interview, Mombasa, : Omar, Y. A. (13 01 1975).Google Scholar

11 Ibid.

12 For a fuller description of “traditional Islam” and religious leadership in the coastal towns, see Pouwels, R. L., “Islam and Islamic Leadership in the Coastal Communities of Eastern Africa, 1700 to 1914,” Ph.D diss., University of California, Los Angeles (1979), pp. 142–351.Google Scholar

13 lnterview, Mombasa: Muhammad Ahmad Matano (28 Feb. and 13 March 1975). Interviews, Lamu: Sayyid Bahasani (14 April 1975) and Muhammad Abdallah Bakathir (15 April 1975).

14 lnteresting examples concerning the applications to which oral traditions could be put arose in land ownership cases at Mombasa. See Civil Appeal 12 of 1913, High Court of Mombasa, Kenya National Archives (hereafter K.N.A.), DC/MSA/3/1, 88−109; Civil Case #60 of 1913, K.N.A. DC/MSA/3/1, 110−26; Lamu Political Records, Vol.11, Sec. XV, under “Land,” K.N.A., DC/LAM/3/2, 173.

15 lnterview, Lamu: Sayyid Bahasani (14 03 1975).Google ScholarLyne, R., Zanzibar in Contemporary Times (London, 1905), p. 239.Google Scholar

16 lnterview, Mombasa: Abdallah Salih Farsy (7 Feb. 1975).

17 Pouwels, “Islam and Islamic Leadership,” pp. 425–475.

18 The most blatant example that can be cited is the policy that required hut taxes from those recognized as “Africans” while none was collected from the “Arabs.” See, e.g., the reports of Reddie, P. C., K.N.A. DC/LAM/1/7, 8–9, and K.N.A. DC/LAM/3/2, 70–71.Google Scholar

19 See Hourani, , Arabic Thought, p. 271Google Scholar, where mention is made of the visit of the Pan-Arabist, al-Kawakibi, to East Africa. It seems unlikely that Kawakibi would have chosen to visit an out- of-the-way spot like East Africa unless he was in contact with a faction that he believed was sympathetic to his views. Also, the racial issue reached a boiling point by the 1920s. See, e.g., Kindy, Sh. Hyder, Life and Politics in Mombasa (Nairobi, 1972), pp. 21, 26–45Google Scholar, where this competition is illustrated. A significant aspect of this dispute involved questions about the racial and ethnic background of the Prophet Muhammad. Al-Amin seems to have been involved in this issue, taking the Arab perspective, of course, as indicated in questions he raised concerning the color of the Prophet in Hidayatu'l-Itfaki (Mombasa, ca. 1945), p. 15.Google Scholar

20 Several examples from the nineteenth century can be cited. A poem entitled “Wapungaji” (Against Exorcists), written by Sh. Muhya ad-Din al-Qahtani, along with a similar poem by Sh. Abdu'l-Aziz b. Abdu'l-Ghani al-Amawy can be found in Farsy, , “Baadhi ya Wanavyuoni,” pp. 4, 14–15, respectively.Google Scholar Also, interviews at Mombasa revealed that Sh. Ali b. Abdallah Mazrui and Sayyid Ahmad bin Sumayt both were outspoken critics of dance competitions and tariqa activities. …” which appeared in al-Islah in 30 05 1932) cited herein date from the period 1930–31.Google Scholar

23 Al-Amin, b. Ali Mazrui, “ice, Ni Kweli Dini Ndiyo Iwarudishayo Watu Ngumu?” in Uwongozi, p. 51.Google Scholar

24 Al-Amin, b. Ali Mazrui, “Kutizamia,” p. 20.Google Scholar

25 lnterviews, Mombasa, : Abdallah, Salih Farsy (22 and 24 02. 17).Google Scholar Also, Farsy, , “Baadhi ya Wanavyuoni,” p. 9.Google Scholar

26 Interviews Mombasa, : Omar, Y. A. (23 and 26 12. 1974).Google Scholar

27 Interviews, Mombasa, : Omar, Y. A. (23 and 24 12., 1974);Google ScholarFarsy, A. S. (7 02Google ScholarFarsy, , “Baadhi ya Wanavyuoni,” p. 10.Google Scholar

28 lnterview, Mombasa, : Farsy, A. S. (03 1975).Google ScholarFarsy, , “Baadhi ya Wanavyuoni,” pp. 6–9.Google Scholar

29 See, e.g., SirRichard, Burton's remarks on coastal erudition in his Zanzibar: City, Island, and Coast, Vol. 1 (London, 1872), pp. 421–423;Google Scholar and First Footsteps in East Africa, 2d ed. (London, 1966), p. 71.Google Scholar

30 It would be a mistake, however, to assume that only the upper classes were thus affected. Two informants, especially, mentioned Swahilis who studied abroad or who at least studied the written sciences under Arab ulama on the coast. Interview, Mombasa, : Myhammad, A. Matano (27 02 1975);Google ScholarFarsy, , “Baadhi ya Wanavyuoni, pp. 6, 9;Google Scholar also, interview: Mombasa, (17 02 1975).Google Scholar

31 Becker, C. A., “Materialen zur Kenntnis der Islam in Deutsch-Ostafrika,” Der Islam, 11 (1911)Google Scholar, ed. and trans. Martin, B. G., “Materials for the Understanding of Islam in German East Africa,” Tanzania Notes and Records, 68 (1968), 16.Google Scholar

32 For discussions of these four individuals, see the aforementioned Zein, . “The Sacred Meadows,” Nimtz, “Muslim Sufi Order,” and Farsy, “Baadhi ya Wanavyuoni,” pp. 25–53.Google Scholar

33 SirArthur, Hardinge, Report on the East African Protectorate, 1898 (London, 1899), pp. 35–36.Google Scholar

34 lnterviews, Mombasa, : Athman, b. Abdu'r-Rahman Saqqaf (02. 1975)Google Scholar, Matano, Muhammad Ahmad and Abdallah, Barua Msegeju (20 03 1975).Google Scholar

35 lnterview, Mombasa, : Matano, M. A. (20 02 1975).Google Scholar It should be explained that British colonial policy in East Africa aimed for the projection of British power and interests behind the legitimizing facade of the Busaidi Sultanate of Zanzibar. On one hand, this required the total subversion of local elites, like the Mazrui in Mombasa and the Maawi in Lamu, to the Sultanate. On the other hand, however, effective Busaidi power was undermined and replaced by a European bureaucracy which functioned in the Sultan's name as the real “government” in Zanzibar. Thus, faced with a popular insurrection against Mazrui prestige and influence at Mombasa, the British District Officer was only too happy to accommodate Swahili demands while propping up the position of cooperative Busaidi liwalis like Salim b. Khalfan. For details, see Pouwels, , “Islam and Islamic Leadership,” pp. 426–434, 517–535;Google ScholarSalim, A. I., “Sir Ali b. Salim” in King, K. and Salim, A. I., eds., Kenya Historical Biographies (Nairobi, 1971), pp. 112–129.Google Scholar

36 Interviews, Mombasa: Abdu'r-Rahman Saqqaf, Athman b. (02 1975);Google ScholarAthman Yahya, Ali Omar (2112 1974).Google Scholar

37 lnterviews, Mombasa: Omar, Y. A. (18 and 23 12 1974).Google Scholar

38 Interview, Mombasa: Athman, b. Abdu'r-Rahman Saqqaf (02 1975). Note, however, that the exact identity of these “Arabs” is unknown.Google Scholar

39 lnterviews, Mombasa: Omar, Y. A. (26 and 28 12 1974).Google Scholar

40 Al-Amin, , “Kutizamia,”, p. 20.Google Scholar

41 Opening of railways inland was at the root of the sudden rise of up-country settlement of Dar es-Salaam and Mombasa after 1902. In these cities young men could find work as stevedores, porters, railway workers, policemen, clerks, servants, and public works officers. See Henderson, W. O., “German East Africa, 1884–1918,” History of East Africa, Vol. IIGoogle Scholar, Harlow, V. and Chilver, E. M., eds. (Oxford, 1965), pp. 149–152;Google ScholarPearce, F. B., Zanzibar (London, 1920), p. 242.Google Scholar

42 Al-Amin, b. Ali Mazrui, “Baraka ya Umoja na Ukorofi wa Kutangukana,” in Uwongozi, p. 5.Google Scholar

43 1t was only much later that the idea of a coastal nationalism erupted briefly before independence in the notorious mwambao episode. See Kindy, , Life and Politics, pp. 184–192.Google Scholar

44 Al-Amin, b. Ali Mazrui, “Jamiatu'l-Islam,” in Uwongozi, p. 13Google Scholar, and “Mapenzi ya Watan,” in ibid., p. 33.

45 Al-Amin, b. Ali Mazrui, “Fahari ya Watu ni Kwa Vitendo Vyao,”in Uwongozi, pp. 8–9, and “Jee ni Kweli,” p. 50.Google Scholar

46 Al-Amin, b. Ali Mazrui, “Khatari Nyeusi,” in Uwongozi, p. 32.Google Scholar

47 Ibid., pp. 32–33.

48 Wrigley, C. C., “Kenya: The Patterns of Economic Life, 1902–45,” History of East Africa, Vol. II (London, 1965), pp. 223–224;Google Scholar W. O. Henderson, “German East Africa, 1884–1918,” Mid-East Journal ibid., pp. 149–152; Cooper, F., Plantation Slavery on the East Coast of Africa (New Haven, Conn., 1977), pp. 55 and 131.Google Scholar

49 See el-Zein, , “The Sacred Meadows,” pp. 102–104;Google Scholar and Cooper, , Plantation Slavery. pp. 92–93, for examples.Google Scholar

50 See Bujra, J., “Conflict and Conflict Resolution in a Bajuni Village,” Ph.D. diss.,University of London (1968), pp. 60–80;Google Scholarel-Zein, , “The Sacred Meadows,” pp. 93–95;Google ScholarAnderson, J. N. D., Islamic Law in Africa (London, 1970), p. 90.Google Scholar Also, interview, Lamu, : Hen, Salim and bti, Amina. Salim, (17 05 1975).Google Scholar

51 el-Zein, , “The Sacred Meadows,” pp. 120–121.Google Scholar

52 Al-Amin, , “Jee, ni Kweli,” p. 48.Google Scholar

53 Ibid., p. 48.

54 Ibid., pp. 50, 51.

55 Al-Amin, , “Kutizamia,” p. 19.Google Scholar

56 Al-Amin, , “Baraka ya Umoja,” p. 4, and “Kutizamia,” p. 20.Google Scholar

57 Al-Amin, , Dini1 ya Islamu, pp. 2–14, 59–60.Google Scholar

58 Al-Amin, , “Jee, ni Kweli,” p. 49;Google ScholarDini ya Islamu, p. 33.Google Scholar

59 Al-Amin, b. Ali Mazrui, “Ndiya ya Kuzuiliya Maasiya,” in Uwongozi, pp. 34–36.Google Scholar

60 Al-Amin, b. Ali Mazrui, Kufanya Madrasa Yetu ni Ndia ya Kuhifadhi Dini,” in Uwongozi, p. 27.Google Scholar