"The Prospects of Islamism in Kenya as Epitomized by Shaykh Aboud Rogo's Sermons", The Annual Review of Islam in Africa, Issue No. 12/2, 2013-2014, p7-12 (original) (raw)
Kenya's Jihadi Clerics: Formulation of a “Liberation Theology” and the Challenge to Secular Power
The political reforms of 1990s in Kenya provided extremist Muslim activists the prospect to articulate a political vision that runs counter to the secular principle of plural co-existence. The liberalization of the political space led to the democratization of religious decree-issuing process, thereby undermining the credibility of “moderate” Muslim leaders in interpreting Islamic texts. The paper’s central argument is that the articulation of jihadi ideology is a deliberate recourse by sections of Muslims in Kenya to formulate their political discourse in religious terms. This trend has granted the country’s Muslims the choice to pick between Islamic and secular ideologies with the former being espoused by the jihadists. Through their activities and sermons, the jihadists have criticized the idea of a secular state by issuing fatwas that completely disregard religious mutual co-existence. This study traces the intellectual genesis and the ultimate growth of the jihadi ideology in the country to a prominent Muslim cleric Sheikh Abdulaziz Rimo whose efforts ushered in a new way of addressing political issues amongst Kenyan Muslims. It is concluded that this scenario draws impetus from the jihadists’ framing of the Muslims’ grievances along religious lines and thereby apply religion to “solve” political problems.
Kenya is not a stranger to terrorism. The country has experienced a number of attacks since the 1980’s, perpetrated by organizations such as PFLP, Al Qaeda and al-Shabaab. While Kenya was long considered a permissive environment for terrorist operations and for sanctuary, in the past decade the country has experienced a surge in the number of individuals being radicalized and recruited into radical Islamic movements such as al-Shabaab and Daesh . Islamic radicalization and terror has thus become a home- grown problem. Across Kenya’s northern border lies Ethiopia; a country with many similarities to Kenya in terms of religious demography, historical religious power relations, a long border with an instable Somalia and a significant presence of conservative factions of Islam stemming from the Arabian Peninsula. Ethiopia has not, however, experienced near as much religiously motivated terrorism, and reports of Ethiopian individuals being radicalized, or joining movements such as al-Shabaab, are few and far in between. This study attempts to explain this variation between the two countries, using a comparative case study approach. The thesis has its starting point in Social Movement Theory, in order to explain the growth of Islamic radicalization and jihadi sentiments on Kenyan soil and the absence thereof in Ethiopia. It argues that the presence of radicalization in Kenya and the near absence of the same in Ethiopia can, at least to some degree, be explained by the differences in the relationship between the state and its Muslim minority relative other religious groups. Muslims in in Kenya appear to be more deprived in relation to others, than Muslims in Ethiopia in terms of economic and political factors. Moreover, the Muslim population in Kenya are being disproportionally and often indiscriminately targeted by state violence, while the Ethiopian state, although being highly repressive, appear to target all political opposition equally. In Kenya, this creates resentment towards the state on a group level, while it reinforces narratives claiming that the state is waging war against Islam. These factors aid in the creation of an environment that is easily exploited by jihadist movements in their recruitment efforts.
The numerous killings of non-Muslims by Muslim jihadi groups in Kenya, have fuelled ethno-religious tensions manifested in hatred and anger against the entire Muslim community. Though anti-jihadi Muslims have rightly condemned the targeting of their non-Muslim countrymen by the jihadists, the Christian leaders have not been satisfied by their counterpart's internal self-criticism. There are suspicions from Christians, even when anti-jihadi Muslims disassociate themselves from the heinous criminal acts of the jihadists, that all Muslims are the same, and posing a threat to peace in the country. In this context, there has arisen two theories of why we do have jihadist Islam in Kenya, and, for that matter, in other parts of the world. The one argument is that it is due to the social and economic marginalisation and exclusion of Muslims from the dominant and governing hegemony of the mainly Christian-affiliated parties in the country. This causes discontent and dissatisfaction among Muslims, especially among the poor and underprivileged, with the result of their radicalisation, attraction and exposure to, the jihadi groups. The other argument, and this coming from the Christian side, is that Muslims are not the only ones economically marginalized in the country. For them, one of the main factors for the radicalisation of some Muslims and their joining of jihadi groups, is the indoctrination by charismatic Muslim leaders (imams). Foregrounding the potency of both these accounts for explaining why some Muslims join the jihadi movement, as well as why we have jihadi violence (especially against Christians in Kenya), this article addresses these two theories and attempts to point to a
Islam and Muslims in Kenya before and after the Nairobi Bomb Blast [1998]
This paper is highlighting the Muslims situation in Kenya before the 1998 bomb blast in Nairobi as well as after the blast. It is presenting a historical background of Muslim life from the colonial period, and post colonial time. Starting with the first president to the year 1998 when so many things had to change and Islam and Muslims became the victims.
The Phenomenon of Intolerance and Its Impact on Christian - Muslim Relation in Kenya
Research on Humanities and Social Sciences, 2015
One of the common euphemisms today is: "Religion is inherently violent, the cause of all major wars in history". The interlocutors accuse religion without remembering that the last two world wars were fought not on account of religion, but, because of other interrelated social, material and ideological factors, the chief of which being competition for scarce resources. Yet, when the observers cite the Crusades, the Inquisition and wars of religion of the 16 th and 17 th centuries, not to mention the recent spate of terrorism committed in the name of religion, it is hard to belittle euphemism. Like religion, terrorism is difficult to define. Generally, however, it is a deliberate use of violence or threat of its use against innocent people, with the aim of intimidating them specifically or others into a course of action they could not otherwise take. Terrorism is fundamentally political, even when other motives-religious, economic or social are involved. It is about power, acquiring it or keeping it. This is probably why, the discussion of apparent tension between Christians and Muslims here in Kenya can hardly be discussed without due consideration of the role of Al Shabaab and Al Qaeda. The association of Islam with terrorism in the recent past first came to global attention with the assassination of Anwar Sadat in Cairo, the then president of Egypt. This wave of violence claiming religious justification became more rampant in the 1980's finally culminating in the atrocity of September 11, 2001, in New York. Here in Kenya, there have been attacks against public institutions, bus stops and markets; an action of hostility which threatens amicable relationship between the two religions. This is why; critics of religion acknowledge that monotheism is prone to violence and intolerance. If however, there is one thing we can reliably predict about this century, it is that, an increasing share of Kenya's people is going to identify with either Christianity or Islam. And, examples of disastrous accounts of conflict can hardly enhance amicable coherence even if done in the name of religion. To meet the challenges of our time and create a desirable Kenyan society, we need to accurately assess our religious affiliations. It is not enough to assume the nature of these two Abrahamic religious traditions and their roles in Kenya. The central question this paper asks and attempts to answer is: If religion can be used as an instrument of destruction, how come it has continued to survive as the most influential social phenomenon? To facilitate our discussion the paper adopts theories of Emile Durkheim and Myerson to explain the functional relationship between religion and violence; and cultural interpretation of violence. The paper therefore, examines the following three objectives: • Ambivalent nature of religion, • Existential justification for hermeneutic of suspicion and, • Abrahamic tradition: A basis for interfaith dialogue.
2016
Vicious spectacles of terror—beheadings, crucifixions, lynching, abductions and enslavement of women or school girls, suicide bombings, and so on—have led many, non-Muslims and Muslims alike, to acknowledge that Islamic extremism is the greatest enemy of peace and security in the world today. The more the shock value of their dastardly acts, the more savory they seem to be for the extremists in their desire to garner infamous publicity. The unprecedented ethical disgust, which these acts have elicited globally, does not deter the perpetrators and their sponsors, who deride the anxiety of a world that seems helpless about how to stop them. In its statement on 22 April 2015, the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue acknowledges that the acts of terror to which they proudly claim responsibility cause many to ask: “Is there still space for dialogue with Muslims?”1 After the shock of 9/11 and as Nigeria, Kenya, Paris, Beirut, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India are painted in bloo...