We have to face the reality. Many of us, we are afraid of Islam for various reasons. And some of us would do everything possible to prevent them to settle in Zambia or, in case they are already in, to prevent them to expand. Often enough, we identify them, in general, as violent people or as those who would become violent. It is not enough to speak in general as Muslims are here, in our midst. They are our neighbor and we can not run away from them. Therefore, their presence is a challenge for us and we may ask ourselves :

-         Why are we afraid of Islam?

-         How does that fear manifest itself?

-         How could we overcome such a fear?

A violent Islam all around us

Our fears of Islam were probably ignited by the bombing of the two twin towers in the United States on 9/11 September 2002. We also should not forget the bombing of the American Embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.

In many countries and places, it can be said that the Muslim World is at war:

-         In Palestine, for the last 60 years, there is an ongoing conflict between the Jewish people and the local Palestinians who are Muslims at great majority.

-         In the Middle East, there has taken place the war against the colonial power. But it has often been identified as a war between Muslim and Western Powers.

-         In the late nineties, war in the Balkans (Europe) between the Serbs, Croats, and the Muslims of Bosnia Herzegovina.

To acknowledge those conflicts is a first stage, to know and understand their root causes is another one.

In fact, most of these conflicts were born out of a socio-religious background. Many Muslims are living in disappointments about the today modern world. They come from countries which were traditionally rather in the developing world. They were promised happiness and prosperity if they would accept the Western way of life or Western civilization. They tried hard, they went to school, left their villages and went to town. But for what results? Poverty, no job, no prospects of progress. Therefore their violence and aggressive aspect is in reaction to their bitter frustrations: they have the feelings to have been cheated starting from long ago. There is a need to find another alternative to what modern society is proposing today. Islam is one of them.

Islam in its radicality may appear as a solution, a way to solve the cultural malaise in which so many young people find themselves. Muslim by birth, through their education, they have learnt about the Golden Age of Islam from the 12^th to 15^th century. Islamic countries were the leaders with regard to culture, science and civilization for many years. Why is it not any more? How is it that the Muslim countries of today can not retrieve the glory they have had in the past? Muslim by birth and traditions, they are asking all over the world for an Islam revival, a renewed Islam. If they are prevented to do it because of the hegemony of the superpowers, then they can do it by force.

That is not to justify the violence but only trying to understand some of its root-causes and state why some trends within Islam have opted for violence.

A violent Islam with religious justification

The long tradition of Islam, like Christianity, is not without periods of violence and war; right from its beginning between Muhammad and his fellow Arabs. In those days, tribal wars were a common feature of the day. Muhammad had been very impressed by the Mystical Experience he had in the year 610; he received the mission to convey the message of such experience to his fellow Arabs : "Iqra" read, or proclaim. He wanted to do it but was prevented to do so. He then searched for guidance on how to deal with such opposition. So, after the original Mystical Experience, it came under the form of a continuous revelation which were later compiled in a book : the Holy Qur'an.

It is in this context that the notion of Jihad (or Holy War) is said to have been revealed to Muhammad. It is a very complex notion which would need to be better studied. For instance, many Muslims would make the difference between the ordinary Jihad and the bigger Jihad, the later being the spiritual warfare. But it is a fact that we find verses in the Qur'an calling upon the Muslims to fight, sometimes violent war, against the infidels. Let me quote some of them.

Fight in the cause of Allah, those who fight you (2/190)

And slay them wherever you catch them

For tumult and oppression are worse than slaughter (2/191)

If they fight you, slay them

Such is the reward of those who suppress faith (2/191)

But if they cease, Allah is often forgiving (2/192)

Fight them on until there is no more oppression

And there prevail justice and faith in Allah (2/193)

But if they cease, let there be no hostility

Except for those who practice oppression (2/193)

These verses are very radical and aggressive, nurturing violence against the opponents to Islam. They can become the catchwords of many terrorists, justifying their actions. Nevertheless, those verses are interpreted in very different ways within Islam. For some, those words are only valid for the Muslims living at the time of Muhammad. They need now to  be re-interpreted in the context of today. Yusuf Ali, translator and editor of the Qur'an has this commentary to make on these verses

"In general it may be said that Islam is the religion of peace, good will mutual understanding and good faith. But it will not acquiesce in wrong doing and its men will hold their lives cheap in defense of honor, justice and the religion which they hold sacred … They know that war is evil but they will not flinch from it if their honor demands its and righteous Imam commands it."

Therefore, it is true that, even if Islam is a religion for peace, a war or any act of violence can find justification with some verses of the Qur'an. But everything will depend on the way we read and understand those selected passages.

Is such violence far from us?

We could say that the Islamic violence is a problem for other countries. But in fact it may not be so far from us as it will be shown.

On 28^th November 1989, there had been an "Islam in Africa Conference", in Abuja, Nigeria. This conference is supposed to be a subdivision of the Organization of Islamic Conference (O.I.C.). They voted a text at the end of their conference. Down below are 3 of their signed resolutions:

1)      To establish Islamic Tertiary and vocational centers which are designed to train da'wah workers who will be trained to acquire trades and skills which will equip them to be self-employed and productive.

2)      To ensure the appointments of only Muslims into strategic national and international post members of nation.

3)      To eradicate in all its forms and ramification all non-Muslim religions in member nations (such religion shall include Christianity, Ahmadiyya and other tribal mode of worship unacceptable to Muslims)

And the signing nations were : Nigeria, Niger, Gambia, Mauritania, Senegal, Libya, Tanzania, Sudan, Tunisia. Such declaration does not advocate violence as such. Nevertheless, their resolutions can be considered as radical, using very strong words like "to eradicate". It really tries to promote a conquering and may be aggressive da'wah.  All these can become a source or reasons for violence in many people.

Therefore, rightfully, we might be afraid of Islam, or rather of a certain trend within Islam. Signs of a violent Islam are there. We can not ignore it. But they are not the whole of Islam. Yet, those who are advocating violence are not doing so on a purely religious motivations. The socio-political context in many cases has given birth to such violent reactions.

We have been talking about the fear of Islam; but Islam is lived by people: people who are men and women similar to us, created by the same Almighty God. Should the fear of Islam gives birth to a fear of the Muslims, those Muslims living near to us?

Are we afraid of the Muslims?

Who are those Muslims in Zambia?

It is a fact that the majority of them is made of foreigners who have moved into Zambia : Indians traders, Somali drivers, Yao people from Malawi. And today in a modern time, we must recount a lot of temporary migrants : Senegal, Ivory Coast, Mali.

They remain a minority within Zambia. The last census of 2000 recorded only 41.932 Muslims. It only means that such are those who have answered that indeed they are Muslims. As we must recount a total population of 9.4 millions, it would mean that the Muslims represent only 0,5% of the Zambian population. It is a rather low estimation. Other statistics by Muslims organizations would estimate the Zambian Muslim as between 11 and 20% of the population. It is rather too high. Therefore, we would put the "peg" at 3% of the general population. It is not a high percentage in comparison with other countries.

Malawi                        17%    

Mozambic        13,5%

Tanzania          32%

And it is nothing in comparison with far away countries with heavy Muslim population :

Mali                 68%                                        Senegal                        86%

Nigeria             46,2%                                     Sudan              73%

Egypt               90%                                        Somalia                       99%

So, in comparison with these last countries, we would have nothing to worry with such a low percentage. How could we have anything to fear from such a minority? No doubt that when we speak of Muslims, there is a problem of quantity; but whatever be their number, they can be active or passive, dynamic or isolated in their area as they were for many years. Before worrying about their numbers, it is more important to learn to know what type of Muslims they are.

Therefore, whatever be their numbers, our question remains : what kind of relationship can we establish with them without endangering our faith, our way of life etc ?. Can we live in harmony with the Muslims, the way the Christians of Mali and Senegal are doing as a minority surrounded by a Muslim majority?

The Muslims are our neighbors.

The Muslims, although a minority, live in our midst. We see them going to prayers, fasting during the month of Ramadan, putting on special Muslim dresses etc. We also share with them the same surroundings, shops, means of transport. In short, we can say that together with them we are CO-CITIZENS.

If we are co-citizens, it means that we share the same humanity, a common humanity, inviting us to realize more deeply that in spite of our differences, we remain brothers and sisters in humanity. Hence, we are invited to see our Muslim neighbors as full human persons, similar to me and you, created by God as you and me. It means that Muslims and Christians should be regarded as equal within Zambia; in other words, whatever we may be asking for us, Christians, we should also give it to them the Muslims. Indeed, we share the same human dignity and are owed the same respect.

We have here a real challenge as we are invited to look at our Zambian Muslims with the eyes of God who has created all of us with the same love for the same purpose.

Therefore, why should I be afraid of such neighbor, my brother in humanity, … a brother sometimes not worse nor better than this Christian neighbor or mine.

The Muslims are now organized

At the beginning, Muslims were gathering mostly for prayers, meeting in one room of their house which would be used as a local Mosque. They had to face the necessity to build a more permanent Mosque. Such building would only be possible if following Zambian Law, they would register as Association.

Hence, we have in Zambia quite a number of local Muslim Association : Chipata Muslim Association (C.M.A.) or Kitwe, or within a big town like Lusaka, we would have several Muslim Association. Such Associations are the concrete forms for the organization of the Muslim community with an elected bureau to run the daily affairs of the community. Those Associations become very concerned by  the social welfare of society as a whole with special attention to their Muslim members. Therefore, they have made a great effort in the domain of education.

Besides each Mosque, a school was often established called "madrassah". Those schools are a very long Muslim tradition. It is based on the fact that any good Muslim should be able to read the Qur'an. Today, that effort in education was pushed forward and many schools, primary and secondary are to be seen throughout the country : A famous one is Congololo school in Chipata. Those schools are not only for the benefit of the children but also for the good of the community as one of the final aim is also to train local leaders for the ordinary Mosques all over the country.

Muslims organized for Missionary outreach

The Muslim missionary outreach is not new. It started in Zambia some 20 or 10 years ago with groups of Muslims coming from various part of the world and staying in Zambia for a few months in order to visit Muslims and non-Muslims alike, propagating their faith and their religious way of life. Often enough those groups of visitors were based in Pakistan, even if those traveling were of mixed nationalities.

Nowadays, Zambian Muslims themselves have taken charge of the missionary outreach. And we can see on the road groups of Muslims with bags on the head, going from village to village.

Many conversions happened also through the pressure of foreign traders on their employees. Or, employees themselves preferred to join Islam in order to secure the job for themselves.

Others, have been searching for years and finally found peace and reconciliation in Islam. Those could be considered as genuine conversions with specifically religious motivations.

In this outreach, it is unfortunate to mention that Muslims are sometimes confusing the Christians in the way they present their faith and religion.

It is their belief that Islam is not a new faith but the climax or achievements of all the previous faiths : the Jewish and Christian ones. For them God had started with Abraham (the first Muslim), he carried on with Moses and Jesus (but not St. Paul or the apostles) and ended up the process of Revelation with Muhammad to whom he sent down the Holy Book of Qur'an, the final and total revelation. Therefore, following their understanding, all Jews and Christians should follow suite and become Muslims. Those who do not move towards Islam would be classified today as out-fashioned, outmoded, unable to understand and reasoning. Hence, Muslim firmly believe that Islam is not a new religion but only the re-establishment of the true and original religion. That is what they believe and we have to respect it. Nevertheless, it remains our fundamental duty to explain to the Christians how, according to us, Islam is fundamentally different from Christianity. And from that point of view, we may consider it as new religion.

Zambian Muslims, a growing minority

For all of us, it is quite clear that there are more Muslim today than 10 years ago. It is enough to walk around on the Muslim feast days and noticed the very many Zambian, dressed as full Muslims going towards the Mosque.

As mentioned above, the census of the year 2000 is questionable with regard to the number of Muslims. It seems nevertheless quite clear that Muslims have two main strong hold which are Lusaka Province and Eastern Province:

It may also be interesting to note that for each female Muslim, we have to recount 2 male Muslims.

With regard to percentage, we have pass from 0,2% in 1981 to almost 3% these days.

Therefore, Muslims are an expanding minority, a growing minority. How do we feel about that? Do we feel threatened? Are we going to be eaten up by them? If, we Christians, are claiming our right to expand, why not the Muslims themselves? And if they go around for a Missionary outreach, whom should we fear : the Muslim missionaries or ourselves unable to stand our ground? I am more worried by the superficial faith of our fellow Christians than by the dynamism of the Muslim missionaries.

Muslims today and tomorrow

These days, we do not over-worry concerning the Muslims. They are a minority which can be kept under control. And for the moment, they are rather a silent quiet minority. But what will happen tomorrow when they would be in a bigger number. Could they pick up this violent mentality which we have mentioned earlier and found in some trends of Islam?

We do not know about the future and the possible evolution of the Zambian Muslim community here in Zambia. This future does not depends on the Muslims alone but on all of us living now in Zambia. If we now try to live in harmony with one another, respecting our differences, then there should be nothing to fear about the future as they would have no reasons to be violent towards those who have always tried to respect them in a friendly way.

Moreover, if we believe that we are brothers and sister in humanity, that they are God's people as much as we are, called to receive God's grace, we shall be able to realize that God loves them already even before there is any sign of conversion towards Christianity if such is God's call to one or the other.

Conclusion : A Christian attitude

Yes, we are afraid of Islam, afraid of some trends within Islam as reported through the media. But our fears come mostly from those media, reporting about violent Islam outside Zambia. We agreed that the Muslims here present in Zambia are rather peaceful. Still we fear because even if we feel at ease with them today, we wander if they could not become violent in the future. We can see how dangerous it is to think like that : because one is dangerous today, we conclude that they could all become dangerous. We call that excessive generalization. We conclude far too quickly that all Muslims are indeed potentially dangerous.

We fear and we prefer to keep the Muslims at a certain distant. On their own side, feeling themselves as a minority, they live between themselves, while we remain on our own. We live side by side, with the minimum contacts between our two communities.

They are a minority and some of us wishes them to remain so. We are tolerating them within Zambia but many of us would prefer to have nothing to do with them. So we also look at them with suspicion when we see them getting organized in articulated society, putting in place a dynamic outreach in order to call other people to join Islam. Facing such development, we then feel more threatened as Christians and some of us, rightly or wrongly, have rejoiced at the declaration of Zambia as a Christian Nation.

We may fear the Muslims, but did we ask ourselves if the Muslims do fear us? If we mutually fear one another, what a terrible  world we live in! If we mutually fear one another, could we switch from mutual fear  to mutual acceptance? That will happen when we shall realize that Islam has a right to be in Zambia as much as Christianity; that will happen when Patrick and Yusuf, agreeing that they ignore one another, will start meeting one another and realize that they are brothers in humanity.

Farid Esack, a Muslim from South Africa, is quoting this saying from a Jewish writer :

"When one human being looks into the face of another and says :

this is my sister or this is my brother,

 then the night is over and the day has begun."

When Yusuf and Patrick will be able to look at one another in this way, then the fears of the today and tomorrow will have been overcome. Our fears are based on mutual ignorance and excessive generalization. Know Yusuf better, know him deep down in his heart, know him by living with him, learn to know his origins, his background; learn to respect him with all what make his life … and you will discover a man created to God's image, a pale image, sometimes distorted but still image of God, a man to be loved, a man not to be afraid of.

And if Islam is able to "produce" people like Yusuf, then it is not as bad as we thought it was. Definitely, Yusuf, my neighbor is more important than Islam in general.

Gilles Mathorel

Wednesday, February 07, 2007