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Islam And Christianity
Christianity came first to the continent
of Africa in the 1st or early 2nd century AD. Oral tradition says the
first Muslims appeared while the prophet Mohammed was still alive (he
died in 632).
Thus both religions have been on the continent of Africa for over 1,300
years. Some would argue that both Islam and Christianity are indigenous
African religions. Not everyone shares this view.
Read
more about Christianity
Certainly the first Muslim teachers and Christian missionaries had little
respect for the traditional religions they came across. Both Islam and
Christianity are religions of the book; their doctrinal authority lies
in their scriptures.
African traditional religions produced no written works, but derived their
authority from oral history, custom and practice, and the power of priests,
kings and others gifted in dealing with spiritual issues. This lack of
scriptures led to the assumption that people in Africa were not capable
of 'proper' religious observance. But some European missionaries and explorers
were struck by the intense spirituality of Africans.
Islam sits more comfortably with some aspects of traditional religion
than Christianity. A key area is marriage. Christianity demands monogamy,
that is, not more than one wife. Islam, by contrast, allows a man to take
several wives. So Islam had a better chance of being accepted in the polygamous
societies of Africa. If a man converted to Christianity, he was obliged
to dismiss all but one of his wives; this was the cause of much resentment
and bitterness.
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more about Islam
The degree to which, either Muslim or Christian teachers, demanded strict
adherence to the tenets of their respective faiths, varied considerably.
Early Christian missionaries in sub-Saharan Africa were less exacting
than the missionaries of the 19th century.
Islam sat side by side with African traditional religions. The King of
the ancient Empire of Ghana of the 11th century was essentially a traditionalist,
but that did not stop him employing Muslim scribes and administrators
in his government. The Muslims, for their part, did not try and convert
the King and his people.
At the end of the day, spiritual faith was not the only issue determining
whether Christianity or Islam succeeded in converting people in Africa.
The adoption of either of these religions involved a good deal of material
and political interests, involving African and European leaders, as well
as a host of traders hungry for profit.
In the 1880's and 1890's, Mwanga, the Kabaka (or ruler) of Buganda played
off Catholic, Protestant and Muslim emissaries against each other, basing
his strategy on who would best strengthen his power as king.
Many communities mixed Muslim or Christian practices with traditional
ones. The Wolof, in Senegal, might go to the Mosque to pray for rain.
If that failed they would ask the women to do a rain dance. In Calabar,
in south eastern Nigeria, there is a mixture of Christian and traditional
practices living side by side.
 Listen
to historian and writer, Chief Mrs Oku, talking about the retention of
traditional beliefs alongside Christian practices in Calabar, Nigeria
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"'We like you as well as if you had been born among us; you are the only white man we can become familiar with (thoaela); but we wish you to give up that everlasting preaching and praying; we cannot become familiar with that at all.
You see we never get rain, while those tribes who never pray as we do obtain abundance.' This was a fact; and we often saw it raining on the hills ten miles off, while it would not even look at us 'even with one eye.'"
Taken from an account of Living with the Bakwain, by Scottish missionary David Livingstone. |
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