Seeds of Conflict in A Haven of Peace by Frans Wijsen
Seeds of Conflict in A Haven of Peace by Frans Wijsen
Seeds of Conflict in A Haven of Peace by Frans Wijsen
in a Haven of Peace
This is No. 44 of Studies in World Christianity and Interreligious Relations.
The Studies are a continuation of the Church and Theology in Context
series.
General editor:
Frans Wijsen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Editorial board:
Michael Amaladoss, Chennai, India.
Francis Clooney, Cambridge, United States of America.
Diego Irarrazaval, Santiago, Chile.
Viggo Mortensen, Aarhus, Denmark.
Robert Schreiter, Chicago, United States of America.
Abdulkader Tayob, Cape Town, South Africa.
Gerard Wiegers, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Frans Wijsen
ISBN: 978-90-420-2188-4
©Editions Rodopi B.V., Amsterdam - New York, NY 2007
Printed in the Netherlands
Foreword
This study is the outcome of a research project that started in 2001, culminating
in three months of fieldwork in Nairobi in 2004. Because of its relative stability
Nairobi has quite a number of departments of religious studies and schools of
theology, as well as headquarters of continental ecclesiastic organisations (ecu-
menical, evangelical and African instituted). The exception is the Catholic one,
which is based in Accra. Our sources are the texts that are produced and repro-
duced by these institutions, as well as the academic discourses that are conducted
there. One of the aims of the fieldwork was to upgrade my knowledge of African
philosophy – a field that I have neglected in the past, I must admit, because of
my preoccupation with anthropological research. I found recent developments in
African philosophy very promising, drawing a true picture of Africa. That is why
the reader will find more philosophical insights in this book than in my previous
publications.
I would like to thank Dr Godffrey Ngumi, secretary of the Association of
Theological Institutions in East Africa, for helping me with data collection.
Dr Philomena Mwaura, senior lecturer of religious studies at Kenyatta University,
and Prof. Jesse Mugambi, professor of religious studies at the University of
Nairobi, kindly did the proof reading. I am grateful for their critical comments.
Marcelle Manley not only corrected the language but also clarified some of the
ideas. Last but not least, I thank staff and students of Tangaza School of Theology,
Catholic University of East Africa in Nairobi, Kenya, and staff and students of the
Graduate School of Theology, Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands,
for their critical questions and comments.
Table of contents
Introduction 9
Bibliography 249
Africans. Eventually, when the World Trade Centre in New York and the
Pentagon in Washington were attacked on 11 September 2001, and it became
known that Bin Laden had been trained in Sudan, that Al-Qaeda’s second-
in-command was an Egyptian, that the Muslim Brothers’ ideology had been a
source of inspiration, that the attacks in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi had been a
trial run for those in New York and Washington, and that ‘locals’ were actively
involved in these attacks, the African connection became manifest. Local had
become global, global had become local (Robertson 1995).2
Since the 11 September 2001 debacle there has been a mushrooming of activ-
ities in the field of interreligious dialogue, organised mainly by ecclesiastic and
religious organisations such as the All Africa Conference of Churches, the Project
for Christian-Muslim Relations in Africa, the Interreligious Council of Kenya
(formerly the World Conference on Religion and Peace – Kenya) and the United
Religions Initiative.3 In 2003 the National Agenda for Peace project of the National
Council of Churches in Kenya organised a three-day interfaith consultation on
violence and building cultures of peace, with contributions from the perspectives
of African Indigenous Religions and African Instituted Churches, as well as
Christian, Muslim and Hindu religious perspectives (Getui & Musyoni 2003).
Theoretical reflection on the practice of interreligious dialogue, however,
has yet to come. An investigation into Faces of African theology at the begin-
ning of the 21st century contains not one contribution on interreligious dia-
logue (Ryan 2003). Likewise, Sam Maluleke’s study of Emerging paradigms
in post-Cold War and post-apartheid African theology (2002) does not men-
tion dialogue as a paradigm, neither does Jesse Mugambi’s Christian theology
and social reconstruction (2003). The first two volumes of the Ecumenical
Symposium of Eastern African Theologians on Theological reflections of the
21st century contains no contribution on interreligious dialogue (Ndung’u &
Mwaura 2005; Chepkwony 2006). A theory of interreligious relations from an
African perspective is lacking.4 The most recent volume African Christianity: an
2 Egypt – both the religious ideology of the Muslim Brothers and the political ideology of
Jamal Abdul Nasser – remains a source of inspiration for many young Muslims in Africa.
3 These activities were happening all along, but they remained hidden or were disregarded.
Now interreligious encounters are advertised and organised in public places.
4 Theories of Africa’s peaceful coexistence such as Nkrumah’s Consciencism (1970) and
Mazrui’s Triple heritage (1986), could be interpreted as the beginning of such a theory. I
would argue, however, that they need revision in the light of present-day conflicts in Africa,
in which religion does play a role, although it is not the only factor involved. To some extent
Ali Mazrui’s Islam (2006) can be interpreted as a review of his Triple heritage (1986) in the
light of the contemporary globalisation process, though he does not change his earlier argu-
ment fundamentally. Mazrui (2006: 214) says: “Africa has had an impressive record of dia-
logue of cultures and civilizations. This record is now endangered both by internal tensions
in Africa and external pressures and stresses.” The danger becomes evident when Mazrui
(2006: 218) urges: “Speedy action is needed to restore the sense of dignity of Coastal and
Muslim Kenyans before Kenyan Islam is radicalized into a new Black Intifadah.”
Introduction 11
5 Obeng (2000: 22) says that there is some dialogue, “but largely on a theoretical level”. I do
not know what level of theory he has in mind. On the contrary, I would say that there is some
dialogue at the practical level of ecclesiastic organisations such as the All Africa Conference
of Churches and the Project for Christian-Muslim Relations in Africa (Mbillah 2001;
Mbillah 2002; Temple 2001), but not at the level of theory building in departments of reli-
gious studies and faculties of theology.
6 Some colleagues make a distinction between ‘African’ and ‘Africanist’ scholars. African
scholars are scholars of African descent. Africanists are foreign academics who conduct
African studies. I do not find this distinction very helpful. African descent does not tell us
whether the scholar allows for a view from below and from inside Africa. Inclusion of such
12 Introduction
The main questions that will be answered in this book are the following. Why
are African scholars of religion and theologians so remarkably silent about
interreligious relations? Is there an African model for interreligious relations?
If so, what does it look like? How should the subject of interreligious relations
be taught in departments of religious studies and schools of theology?7 Sub-
questions are: What are the religious developments and current trends in the
study of religion in Africa? What happened to the insights of the early pioneers
in this field of study?8 Is there any progress in this field?9 Have African
scholars of religion and theologians anything to contribute to the (inter-
national) debate on this subject?
This book focuses on East Africa, not only because it is the region that
I am best acquainted with, but also because it is highly pertinent to our topic.10
East Africa has a tradition of peaceful coexistence of religions. Its unique,
centuries-old association between Arab traders and Bantu people created a new
culture and a new language, Swahili. Coastal people have adopted and trans-
formed not only Islam but also Arab culture. They introduced Arab vocabulary
into Bantu languages and Islamic spiritual beliefs into African Traditional
Religion. Yet this very region is becoming a hotbed of Muslim extremism.11
Muslim extremism in Africa has its roots in the Muslim Brothers movement,
founded in Egypt in 1928, although its centre of gravity shifted to Sudan in
1989. From there it spread to other East African countries (De Waal 2004).
a view depends very much on the author’s identity construction and identification. I would
like to apply the term ‘Africanist’ to any academic who conducts African studies, irrespect-
ive of his or her colour or place of birth. The same would apply to European studies or
Islamic studies that are conducted by academics, insiders and outsiders alike.
7 As will be explained elsewhere, we are of the opinion that good leadership is crucial to solve
Africa’s problems, also in the churches. So leadership training is of the utmost importance.
8 One thinks of scholars like Byang Kato, John Mbiti, Charles Nyamiti, Bolaji Idowu, Samuel
Kibicho and Okot p’Bitek, to name only some pioneers of major trends in African studies of
religion (Westerlund 1985).
9 Whether or not there is ‘progress’ depends, of course, on one’s view of what the study of
religion should be. Some would see emancipation of religious studies from theology as
progress; others would see a shift to an all-embracing study of religion as the way forward.
We shall return to this point in due course.
10 West and South African developments are dealt with only insofar as they influence the dis-
cussion in East Africa. In contrast to the situation some decades ago, there is far more inter-
action between theologians in various regions in Africa today, attributable to such factors as
the greater availability of media and opportunities to travel, but also to a new sense of
African unity as a result of the African Union. I observed more influence from South Africa
than from West Africa in the academic study of religion in East Africa.
11 Various scholars have noted Arabisation in East Africa. Whereas madarasa were mostly
held in Swahili, more and more mosques are changing to the use of Arabic in religious
instructions. I noticed that Muslim walimu increasingly use the word ‘Allah’ for God instead
of the Swahili word ‘Mungu’.
Introduction 13
12 “A theory is defined as a system of explaining phenomena by stating constructs and the laws
that interrelate these constructs to each other. A construct is a concept, abstraction or idea
drawn from the specific” (Mugenda & Mugenda 2003: 6).
13 It is evident that the African perspective will lead scholars of religion to postcolonial dis-
course and its connection with postmodern discourse.
14 Samuel Kibicho was professor of religious studies at the University of Nairobi; John Mbiti
and Anatole Byaruhanga-Akiiki were professors of religious studies at Makerere University,
Kampala. The University of Dar es Salaam has not started a department of religious studies,
for reasons that will be explained later.
14 Introduction
religions is the biblical idea of the fruits of the Spirit, but he looks for empirical
evidence of the presence of these fruits in African religion. He finds his
evidence in the communitarian spirit and neighbourly love in African societies.
I made the criteria of empirical evidence and the biblical idea of fruits of
the Spirit my guiding ideas in writing this book, not only because they resem-
ble the spirit belief and pragmatism in African Indigenous Religion, but also
because they have close parallels in Qur’anic writings and in Pentecostal
churches, as well as in the prosperity gospel that seems to be so attractive in
present-day Africa (Omenyo 2003; Nwankwo 2004).
Various authors claim that African cultures are conducive to peaceful soci-
eties. They help people to live together harmoniously and respect each other.
“The way to social harmony and peaceful co-existence lies in going back to our
African past and emulating the rich treasures and precious strands of our cul-
tural heritage. Our law-making and law-enforcing must reflect our past –
African communalism,” says Eboh (2004: 219). Africa’s community spirit is
rendered with terms like ‘ubuntu’ (Mbigi 1997) and ‘ujamaa’ (Onwubiko
1999). What is needed is an African renaissance (Magesa 2002a). Thus Africa’s
community spirit and tradition of peaceful coexistence are interpreted as an
African model of interreligious dialogue. But do these claims hold water? Is
there ‘empirical evidence’?
Beyond Eurocentrism
For many people, at least in the West, the world is not the same as it was before
11 September 2001. This appears to be an overly Eurocentric view. For
Europeans and Americans life undeniably changed, if only because they have
to live with the – for them – new and frightening thought that ‘the centre’ of the
world can be attacked by ‘the periphery’ and that they have to protect them-
selves, their leaders and their prestigious buildings permanently by maintain-
ing tight security. But for many Africans the world is ‘not the same as it was
before’ the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the Berlin Conference, or the 7 August
1998 bomb blasts in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam mentioned at the beginning of
this introduction. All these events have coloured Africans’ collective memory
up to the present.
Whatever we say about interreligious dialogue in Africa, we have to realise
that for many, if not most, Africans Christianity is the white man’s religion,
closely associated with colonialism and imperialism. This immediately places
the discourse on interreligious dialogue, notably Muslim-Christian relations,
in the context of the tension between “the West and the rest of us”, to borrow
the title of Onwuchekwa Chinweizu’s book (1987). Africans like to remind
their European dialogue partners of the history of slavery, imperialism and
Introduction 15
Beyond culturalism?
Since 11 September 2001 ‘clash of civilisations’ (Huntington 1992; Becker 1999)
rhetoric has become quite fashionable. According to this view those events clearly
show that we are facing cultural differentiation, not cultural homogenisation. For
Huntington international conflicts are no longer about political or economic
ideologies but have become struggles for cultural hegemony. Three superpowers
are going to determine the future course of human history: Christian culture in the
West, Islamic culture in the Near East, and Confucian-Asian culture. Five other
cultural zones will switch sides periodically in tune with developments in the
aforementioned three: Japanese culture, Hindu Indian culture, Orthodox culture
in Russia, Latin American culture and African culture.
Obviously, these cultural entities are influencing today’s world trade and
political alignment. But there is quite a lot of culturalism in Huntington’s state-
ment, interpreting culture as a determining factor. In the 1960s scholars
thought that all problems were economic and political, calling for economic
and political solutions (Habermas 1984).15 This view was clearly reductive. At
present there is an opposite trend. Some scholars suggest that all problems are
cultural and religious and can be solved by intercultural and interreligious dia-
logue. This, too, is a reduction.
Many conflicts in Africa do not primarily relate to religious and cultural
differences, but to a struggle for fertile land and clean water, and for control
over natural resources like oil, gas, gold, diamonds and tropical hardwood
(Elbawadi & Sambanis 2000; Fosu & Collier 2005). Undoubtedly struggles for
scarce resources are breeding-grounds in which seeds of conflict can flourish
(Sherif 1966). But they are complex and require a multi-dimensional, poly-
methodical approach. Hence to believe that interreligious dialogue (alone) can
solve the problems is naive and simplistic.
Van Leeuwen (1964: 349–398) wrote a chapter on “The Western impact and
the ‘awakening’ of the non-Western world”. And in his preface to John Taylor’s
The primal vision, Max Warren (1963: 6) urged: “What we are called upon to
realise is that in the world of our time there is a widespread revolt against any
form of domination by the West” and that “the very cry of uhuru, freedom”
will affect African affairs deeply (Warren 1963: 11). This is exactly what hap-
pened. The collapse of the colonial system has led to the waning of Western
hegemony in the world at large and the demise of inferiority feelings in the
non-Western world. Consequently there is a revival of old cultures and reli-
gions, a rise of new religions in former colonies and a resurgence of a mission-
ary élan among non-Christian religions.
16 Despite much criticism of his work, Hendrik Kraemer remains the first scholar of religion
and theologian to have written systematically about interreligious dialogue (Kraemer 1960).
Introduction 17
individualism (McWorld) on the one hand, and on the other to ‘the retribalisa-
tion of the world’ (a phrase introduced in the discourse on globalisation by the
media expert Herbert Marshall McLuhan in 1962), in which individuals or
groups construct narrow-minded identities and start a holy war ( jihad ) against
other ethnic groups and a world culture that has no place for ethnic identities.
Disregarding his exaggerations, it is an interesting thesis.
For now it suffices to say that what we are seeing goes far beyond a clash
between Muslims and Christians. It is, in general terms, a clash between
Tradition and modernity (Gyekye 1997), in which modernisation stands for
Westernisation and – in the Western view – the rest of the world has just one
option: take it or leave it.17 As president Bush of the United States of America
put it, those who are not with us (in the struggle against terrorism) are against
us. Not surprisingly, many people in Third World countries, Christian and non-
Christian alike, sympathised with the people who made the 11 September
2001 attacks, albeit without justifying them.
17 As will be seen later, the clash ultimately questions the modernisation project and the
Enlightenment values of autonomy and rationality. This is where postcolonial critique and
postmodernism, however different they may be, meet.
18 Franz Fanon is considered a representative of the invention of tradition thesis avant la lettre
(Masolo 1994: 35; Mudimbe 1988: 92–93; Daniels 1996).
18 Introduction
21 Present-day studies suggest that the concepts of ‘race’ and ‘tribe’ based on genetic charac-
teristics should be properly defined or abandoned altogether.
20 Introduction
Do cultures exist?
Of course, modernist anthropologists were equally aware of the huge varieties
and even contradictions in cultural patterns, but these were brushed aside for
the sake of systematisation. They spoke about ‘the Nuer’ (Evans-Pritchard
1956) or ‘the Ndembu’ (Turner 1969). It is this modernist view of culture that
predominates in the discourse on African theology and African philosophy.
When present-day anthropologists say that cultures do not exist (Van
Binsbergen 2003) they mean that cultures do not exist in the way anthropologists
always thought they existed. There is a host of overlapping cultural orienta-
tions, with the result that everybody is committed to several orientations at once,
none of which coincides with a particular group or territory (Keesing 1994;
Brightman 1995). Cultural orientations are associated with language, gender,
religion, ethnicity, nationality, education, profession and social background. In
public life people are situated at the intersection of ever changing cultural orien-
tations with no systematic connection between them. Even in their private lives
people have multiple identities that cannot simply be integrated; they are poly-
phonic selves, constantly negotiating with (various voices inside) themselves.
The individual is a fragmented subject. Cultures in a holistic sense are simply an
illusion of the participants, according to Van Binsbergen (2003: 478).
I persist in using terms such as ‘culture’ and ‘cultural identity’, not only
because I do not think that dispensing with a problematic term will get us
much further, but also because in my view some anthropologists take construct-
ivism too far. Many ethnic groups in former colonies strive for liberation by
invoking practices and notions that anthropologists describe as essentialist.
Dismissing these as popular or pre-scientific knowledge that should make way
for the more profound anthropological insight that any alleged cultural identity
is a product of construction, an ‘illusion of the participants’ with no correlate
in the real world, is expressive of scientific self-overestimation, which is also
not very helpful to the emancipatory strivings of subaltern movements.
and a generality, without which people cannot live, say Shorter and Onyancha
(1998). And it does so by referring to a reality other than the visible world.23
23 From an African perspective, however, all definitions of religion that make a distinction
between this world and another world, human and supra-human, empirical and meta-
empirical, are problematic. We return to this problem in section 3.1.
24 Asad (1983) accuses Geertz of working with a theological presupposition: the assumption
that religion is a reality sui generis.
Introduction 23
25 This gave rise to the popular notion of mission as a frontier-crossing activity of the church,
as cross-cultural Christian communication.
24 Introduction
When the Irish monks who Christianised Europe referred to their activities
they called them peregrinatio ad Deum, a pilgrimage to God, hence the oppos-
ite of what is normally regarded as mission. It is not the missionary who brings
God to those who do not know him. God is already there, working in mysterious
ways. The missionary’s task is to discover and reveal God among them (Healey
1981). This understanding derives from the early Christian belief in the universal
presence of the divine Logos.
The technical meaning of mission as we know it now dates back to 16th
century Jesuit mission, when mission was equated with territory. ‘Going into
the mission field’ meant going abroad to serve the church in a foreign country.
In contemporary terms, however, missiologists regard mission as demonstrat-
ing the universal relevance of their own message. In Christian biblical terms
mission is to “[b]e ready at all times to answer anyone who asks you to explain
the hope that is in you” (1 Pet 3:15) or, as Jesus told his disciples: “You will be
witnesses for me . . . to the ends of the world” (Acts 1:8).26
26 In the preface to The Christian message in a non-Christian world, Hendrik Kraemer (1936:
vii) defines mission as “the witness of the church in relation to non-Christian faiths”.
Witness is not persuasion or propagation. See also Tariq Ramadan (2004: 208) in his chap-
ter on “Interreligious dialogue”.
Introduction 25
and Pentecostal circles, other religions do.27 On the religious market in Africa
a real battle for converts is being waged between Christianity and Islam, which
is often misunderstood in the West.
Primacy of practice
In trying to avoid the dilemma between theology and religious studies I referred
to empirical theology. It is called empirical because it uses empirical methods.
Moreover, its object is not God or any other meta-empirical reality, but people
who believe in God and in those meta-empirical realities. As such an empirical
theological approach differs from a systematic theological approach. Systematic
theology is primarily concerned with beliefs, or conceptualisations of God. It
analyses and explains the content of beliefs and tries to present it coherently
and systematically. Empirical theology is not so much interested in belief sys-
tems as in believers and their practices.
Classical approaches to the study of religions and interreligious relations
examine beliefs as recorded in texts. They adopt a historical literary approach.
Thus scholars of Islamic-Christian relations study the Bible and the Qur’an.
A good example is Badru Kateregga and David Shenk’s study, Islam and
Christianity.28 In their preface the authors write: “Badru has relied heavily on
the Qur’an for his presentation and David has based his writing primarily on
the Bible” (Kateregga & Shenk 1980: xvii). Another East African example is
Comparative study of religions, which adopts a historical phenomenological
approach (Mugambi 1990: 9). In most studies of African Indigenous Religion
the emphasis is on reconstructing African worldviews from narratives.
However worthwhile these studies may be, in my view there is little progress
in systematic theological approaches to interreligious dialogue. This is because
of an apparently fundamental incompatibility between two beliefs: belief in
God’s universal will to save, and belief that Christ and/or the church is neces-
sary for salvation. Since the early 1970s positions have ranged from radical
discontinuity to radical continuity between Christianity and other religions,
with many positions between those extremes (Bediako 1998: 61–63). This
study focuses on believers, not beliefs. The object of an empirical theological
approach is practitioners of religion and their practices. A good example is
Kim’s study, Islam among the Swahili.29 Following Kraft, Kim is not primarily
27 The plea for a moratorium on mission in the West can be understood as a reaction, prompted
by shame about past mistakes of mission.
28 Both Kateregga and Shenk were lecturers in the department of philosophy and religious
studies at Kenyatta University, Nairobi.
29 Caleb Chul-Soo Kim is a Korean who lectures at the Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School
of Theology.
26 Introduction
interested in the “structure thing” but in the “people thing” (Kim 2004: 3), not
in Islam but in Muslims and the way they reproduce and manipulate their
beliefs. If one compares Kim’s study with Kateregga and Shenk’s, one dis-
covers that an empirical approach does make a difference.
It is not easy, however, to find an appropriate name for such an approach.
I have already pointed out that the name ‘empirical theology’ strikes me as
problematic, since it seems to be a contradiction in terms. The label ‘socio-
scientific and theological approach’ has the disadvantage that it refers to classical
disciplines, whereas the boundaries between these disciplines have become
increasingly fluid and make little sense in the non-Western world anyway. The
term ‘studies’ is preferable to the term ‘discipline’. The labels ‘multi-’, ‘inter-’
and ‘intra-disciplinary’ have the same drawback. Maybe trans-disciplinary is
the better option. In this book, however, I use the label ‘multi-perspective and
poly-methodical’. The implications of this choice will become evident at the
end of the study.
30 Between 1986 and 1992 the University of Utrecht and the University of Zimbabwe con-
ducted a joint project to research religious education. It focused on multifaith issues and
African Traditional Religions rather than interfaith issues and Islam (Nondo 1991).
31 Hassan Mwakimako (2000: 43), former lecturer of Islamic studies at the University of
Nairobi (currently attached to the Centre for Modern Oriental Studies in Berlin), points out
the importance of Islamic leadership in the Muslim community in the context of power.
32 Obeng (2000: 19–23) wants interreligious dialogue to be part of ‘ministerial formation’.
Mugambi (1995: 28–29) sees a need to include religious plurality in training for pastoral
ministry, but regards it as a comparative enterprise. “It will be possible to introduce courses
in Islam and oriental studies.”
33 Various scholars, including Landes (1998), have showed that poor leadership contributes to
the ‘crisis’ in Africa. Good leadership is crucial for Africa’s development, it is said.
Introduction 27
34 To some extent these perspectives could be linked to Geertz’s concepts of ‘model of’ and
‘model for’, which are interrelated but distinct (Geertz 1973: 93).
35 In my earlier work I dealt extensively with the issue of ‘objectivity’ of research (Wijsen
1993: 19, 36, 102). I argued that “no research is neutral, free from biases” (Wijsen 1993: 39
n. 5). I tried to overcome subjectivity by advocating participatory and intersubjective
research. I now advocate Bourdieu’s participatory objectification. By this Bourdieu means
the objectification of the objectifying subject, that is the researcher him- or herself. For the
past twenty years I have participated in the discourse on African religion and theology. In
terms of Bourdieu’s participatory objectification theory the aim is not to analyse the
researcher’s experience but to analyse its societal conditions.
28 Introduction
of that reality. Following the French philosopher and sociologist Pierre Bourdieu,
we consider this approach too subjectivist. We take into account objective fac-
tors such as power relations. On the other hand, we reject the objectivist view
that the reality we observe is not real. Structuralists claim that ‘real’ reality lies
behind observed reality in the deep structures of the mind.
Bourdieu started studying philosophy in Paris in 1950. In those days exist-
entialism reigned supreme. On completing his studies he did his military ser-
vice in Algeria (1955–1958). During the colonial war, when European and African
realities clashed, Bourdieu experienced existentialism as too subjectivist. He
became aware of the impact of power relations. After completing his military
service Bourdieu wanted to stay on in Algeria to express his solidarity with the
people. He worked at the university of Algiers (1958–1960), where he switched
from philosophy to anthropology. In the early 1960s he returned to France, lec-
turing at the universities of Paris and Lille. At that time the intellectual elite in
France was enthralled by a new fashion called structuralism. But this fashion,
too, did not interest him. Structuralist analyses are purely internal or intra-
textual; they remain within a symbol system, ignoring socio-historical condi-
tions. In addition they ignore the position of the analyst, Bourdieu maintained.
Bourdieu’s theory of practice or praxeology is an attempt to move beyond
objectivism without relapsing into subjectivism. The key concept is habitus. A
habitus is a set of dispositions which incline agents to act and react in certain
ways. Dispositions are inculcated, structured, durable, generative and embodied.
Habitus gives people a practical sense. Particular practices are not the product
of habitus as such, but of the relationship between habitus on the one hand and
the social context, ‘field’ or ‘market’ on the other. A field or market is a struc-
tured space in which different positions are determined by different kinds of
resources or ‘capital’: economic, social and cultural capital. Fields allow one
form of capital to be converted into another.
36 Later I will argue that this market mechanism applies also to indigenous or primal religions.
In this sense they are missionary, just like other religions.
30 Introduction
Preliminary explorations
Africa is a continent with 800 million inhabitants, but also with great numbers
in diaspora. Africa is a continent that has been marginalised on the world mar-
ket and in world politics, but it is working at a comeback, an African renais-
sance. Africa is a continent threatened by droughts, diseases and civil wars, but
it has spiritual power to survive and a long tradition of peaceful coexistence of
religions and cultures. Africa is a continent where 40 percent of the people are
Muslims, 40 percent are Christians (14,5% Catholics) and 20 percent are adher-
ents of Indigenous Religions; where religious extremism is growing,37 both in
Islam and in Christianity, but where dual allegiance (syncretism) is the religious
orientation of the majority; where Christianity grows fast but Islam grows
faster;38 where there is a real battle raging between Islam and Christianity to
win the hearts of the ‘untouched’, but where Indigenous Religions remain the
foundation of most people’s everyday lives.
37 I prefer the term ‘extremism’ to ‘fundamentalism’. Believers who have extremist views go
to extremes; the term shows that extremism is the exception rather than the rule.
38 The African continent has more Muslims than any other continent. Nigeria has more
Muslims than any Arab country, says Mazrui (2006: 181–182). Jenkins (2002: 79–105)
describes the rise of Christianity in Africa; Nigeria has one of the five largest Christian com-
munities in the world.
32 Chapter One
Crisis of a continent
One must view religious dynamics in Africa against its wider background
(Stamer 1996: 54). In the de-colonisation era most African countries had high
expectations. Slave trade, imperialism and colonialism were over and Africa
looked forward to a bright future. But the links with the former colonial powers
remained and little by little most African countries got caught up in Cold War
tensions. For ideological and neo-imperialist reasons many African countries
received a lot of development aid and African dictators were kept in power.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 the situation changed. The United
States of America and Russia no longer had an interest in Africa. To some
39 What was said about the identification of Europeans and Africans (see introduction) applies
also to Arabs and Africans, and to Africans among themselves. ‘Place of origin’ is a tricky
concept, as is evident in many ethnic conflicts (e.g. Rwanda, West Sudan, South Africa).
Does origin mean where one was born, or where one’s parents or grandparents were born?
Partly because of intermarriage, place of origin would be difficult to determine. Language
or dialect presents similar difficulties: some people speak several languages, others do not
speak the language of the region where they were born.
40 When we later advocate a subaltern approach we mean that we want those intellectuals to
study and speak about interreligious relations from within and from below.
Preliminary explorations 33
extent the Islamic-Arab bloc filled the gap left by the superpowers. Whereas
once there had been a scramble for Africa, albeit motivated by sheer self-
interest, now nobody seemed interested (Maluleke 2002: 170).41
Much deeper than the economic and political crisis, however, was the iden-
tity crisis (Stamer 1996: 59–60). After independence the spotlight was on the
national identity of African states and their links with the superpowers, ‘West’
and ‘East’, although some remained non-aligned. Today some of those new
nation-states are disintegrating and their people are looking for new identities,
which they find in the security of Islam with its strict rules, as well as in
Christian sects (Gifford 1996). Moral erosion in African societies, manifesting in
social evils such as alcoholism, drugs and prostitution, is blamed on the influ-
ence of Western culture, disseminated by the omnipresent television, videos and
newspapers (Mazrui 2006: 232) and not always distinguished from Christianity
as a system of sacred values (Mazrui 2006: 224). The impression is created that
without Western Christian civilisation all will be well.
Some Muslims think Islam is the only religion that can help people solve
their problems, basing themselves on the Qur’an: “You are the best of peoples,
evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and
believing in God” (Sura 3: 110). Also Afrocentric thinkers (e.g. Odak) and
neo-traditional groups (e.g. Mungiki) think that they are better off without
Western Christian civilization. Other factors contributing to the crisis on the
African continent are drought and ecological disasters (deforestation, erosion),
rapid population growth, corruption and self-enrichment among political elites
and businessmen, rampant unemployment and the collapse of the family struc-
ture, and last but not least, diseases such as aids.
Christian-Muslim tensions
The universal and thus missionary nature of Islam and Christianity cannot be
ignored. Matthew 28:19, “Go then to all peoples everywhere”, has its parallel in
Sura 34:28, “And We have sent you to all humankind.” Both religions lay exclu-
sive claim to divine revelation and have programmes to convert Africa. The
objective of the Islam in Africa Organisation “to support, enhance and co-ordinate
Da’wah work all over Africa” (Alkali et al. 1993: 435) had its parallel in the
objective of the Evangelisation 2000 campaign of the Catholic Church “to give
Jesus Christ a more Christian world as the best 2000th birthday gift possible”.42
41 An exception must be made in the case of the United States of America, which continued
undercover meddling in the internal politics of oil-rich African countries. To a large extent
the same applies to China.
42 In a magazine of the sister organisation Lumen 2000, published in Swahili in East Africa, it
read: “[T]he objectives of the Decade of Evangelization are to unite all Catholics in the
common effort, and to inspire all Christians to the common goal of giving Jesus Christ the
2000th birthday gift of a world more Christian than not.”
34 Chapter One
Jihad against Christians is countered by crusades for Christ (Wijsen & Mfumbusa
2004).43
The adjustment to a free market economy in Africa saw the introduction of
videocassette recorders and videocassettes that were used in religious cam-
paigns. The emergence of a free press allowed people to express their opinions
in ways that were not possible before. Sects began to publish newspapers.
Some of them are also active on the internet.44 The introduction of multi-party
politics led to the formation of political parties and free expression of opinions
(although many dissidents ended up in prison, exile, or dead). Some political
movements, both Islamic and Christian, are manifestly sponsored by outside
agencies, but the religious dynamics within African countries cannot be
ignored.
The complacency of the world’s most industrialised countries (G-7) is said
to be at the root of Muslims’ problems. This is what Mazrui (2006: 96) calls
global apartheid. Six of the seven most industrialised countries are predomin-
antly Christian and prevent predominantly Islamic countries from securing an
equal share in the world market. Historical and demographic reasons are also
cited, such as the former identification of Christianity with colonialism and
bad leadership after independence. In the post-independence era most African
leaders were Christians. Since many of them amassed vast wealth, leaving
their subjects wallowing in abject poverty, all the evils that engulfed Africa
were identified with Christianity. Sometimes Muslims claim to be a majority,
as in Nigeria; sometimes they claim they are second-class citizens and under-
represented in government and at universities, as in Tanzania.45 Jumbe (1994: 15)
says about Tanzania: “Muslims are not the cause, they are in fact the victims of
a deliberate build-up of a hostile system which exploits both religion and polit-
ics to marginalize them and suppress them.”
43 Probably the first confrontation between the West and the Muslim world occurred in 1099
when Jerusalem was taken after the first crusade. But that crusade in its turn was a reaction
to the Muslim conquest of southern Spain four centuries earlier (Hall 1992: 287).
44 An example is the numerous videotapes, books and brochures spread over all of Africa by
Ahmed Deedat (1993, 1994). Ahmed Hoosen Deedat was born in India in 1918 but emi-
grated to South Africa with his father soon after his birth. He dedicated his life to defending
Islam against distortion by Christian missionaries. A comparison with the preaching of the
German evangelist Reinhard Bonnke (Gifford 1996: 199–204) would, I expect, reveal many
similarities.
45 In many countries in Africa, religious statistics are highly politicised, so the figures are
unlikely to be accurate. In Tanzania it was claimed for many years that one third of the popu-
lation is Christian, one third Muslim and one third indigenous believers. At present 40% of
Tanzanians are said to be Christians, 40% Muslims and 20% adherents of Indigenous
Religion. But again one has to question whether these percentages are based on reliable stat-
istics, or on a political desire to preserve harmony between the largest religions.
Preliminary explorations 35
46 Global forces not (only) oppose local ones; the local situation is to a large extent a product
of global forces. Robertson (1995) uses the term ‘glocalisation’ to refer to this complex
interplay of local and global forces.
Preliminary explorations 37
cultural-religious domination.47 Last but not least, the old model saw power
relations as a one-way traffic. It looked at African affairs from the perspective
of dependence. Europeans were the oppressors and Africans the oppressed:
Europeans were the rulers, Africans their victims. The new model looks at
African affairs from the perspective of interdependence between oppressors
and oppressed, and stresses local reactions to domination – both local oppos-
ition to domination and local collaboration with oppressors. Thus the new
model moves beyond the fatal impact theory (Wijsen 1999).48
The post-Cold War model allows “a slightly different view of Africa”, says
Maluleke (2002: 172), one that takes into account African agency and respon-
sibility for its present state. Slavery and colonialism play a role. Yet various
parts of the world were colonised and their people enslaved, but this did not
stop them from developing.49 Artificial boundaries and foreign languages may
cause conflicts. Yet many countries in Asia have artificial boundaries and for-
eign languages and it does not prevent them from becoming stable and
united.50 The neo-liberal system causes the marginalisation of Africa. Yet most
Asian tigers operate in the same system and are doing extremely well (Van der
Veen 2004: 356–357). When President Kufuor of Ghana visited Singapore in
2002 he noted that four decades ago Ghanaians and Singaporeans were about
equally poor. At present Singaporeans on average earn about seventy times
more than Ghanaians. How come? According to this president, it is largely
attributable to poor leadership in Africa.
47 Cultural (symbolic) systems and social structures are interrelated (Hannerz 1992: 10, 15).
Although not all problems in Africa can be attributed to culture, culture does matter
(Harrison & Huntington 2000).
48 A fresh look at missionary history in Africa shows that in this field, too, scholars must move
beyond victimisation thinking. There was much more interaction between Africans and mis-
sionaries than was thought (Peterson & Allman 1991).
49 There are countries in Africa that were never colonised and perform badly (Ethiopia).
Others were colonised and perform well (Botswana). The criteria of ‘bad’ and ‘good’ per-
formance are economic growth, accountable governance, infrastructure, social welfare,
trade deficit, inflation, child mortality, literacy, and so on. The situation on the ground is
often more complex. Botswana, for example, is the main producer of diamonds in the world.
The country invests in roads, clean water, electricity, education and health care for its
people, but income disparities are enormous. Kenya recorded an economic growth of 5,8%
in 2005, but only 20% of Kenyans are making progress: 80% of Kenyans did not profit from
the growth. Kenya is the country with the highest income inequality in the world (57% on
the Gini index; in Tanzania this is 37,4% and in Uganda 38,2%).
50 Sometimes African people themselves voted for independence from their fellow Africans in
the same territory, as in the case of French Somaliland, which became the independent state
of Djibouti in 1977. There are African countries that have one ethnic group and one lan-
guage and still have civil war on their territory.
38 Chapter One
51 Even “the postmodern anthropologist does not deny that cultures may be made up of taken-
for-granted meanings, or may be given shape by stable configurations of cultural elements,”
says Tanner (1997: 56).
Preliminary explorations 39
52 According to the Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci (1991), who reverses the classical Marxist
view of religion as the opium of the masses by saying that popular religion is a source of cul-
tural identity to subaltern classes, and thus enables them to resist the ruling classes.
53 Whether St Augustine is a true representative of ‘African’ theology is a moot point. Some
see him only as a collaborator with the Church of Rome (Oduyoye 1986: 18–19, 22–24).
40 Chapter One
to African theologians, who cite the monastic tradition and the catechetical
school of Alexandria. What would tap-dancing be without African dance? What
would cubism be without African masks? What would holistic healing be with-
out African medicine? What would pop music be without African rhythm? The
‘new wave’ of African music attests the prominent place of sub-Sahara Africa
in world music.
In world politics one thinks of Bouthos Gali and Kofi Anan, former and
present secretary general of the United Nations. In religion there is Samuel
Kobia, secretary general of the World Council of Churches who, on taking
office on 1 January 2004, said he would run the council the African way. In his
view ubuntu philosophy contains insights conducive to peaceful coexistence of
peoples, cultures and religions. According to South African president Thabo
Mbeki the African renaissance offers hope for all African people. Last but not
least there is the African contribution to intercultural management and
Afro-Business, headed by South African Lovemore Mbigi (1997).
The new spirit of optimism is manifest in the New Partnership for African
Development (Nepad). This was the message of a paper read by Moody Awori
(2005: 9), vice president of the Republic of Kenya and minister of home
affairs, at a congress organised on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the
Institute of Social Ministry at Tangaza College, Nairobi:
“The rebirth of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) is a renewed hope for
Africa. It lays clear objectives and action plans for the rejuvenation of the socio-economic
programme and governance of our continent. Its ideals and vision require all governments to
work in partnership with one another, and more so, with our development partners, the private
sectors, civil society and religious organizations. It presents us with a golden opportunity for
the African leadership to break away from the civil strife, poverty and other factors that
impede development.”
descent who participated actively in the Algerian revolution, voiced his African
cultural critique of France long before Edward Said wrote his Orientalism.
Fanon’s work is considered to be “a prelude to the idea of invention” (Masolo
1995: 35; Mudimbe 1988: 92–93; Daniels 1996). In a nutshell, the argument is
that Western scholars constructed images about ‘the others’ in order to domin-
ate them. Thus they furthered domination by colonial powers. These images
must be deconstructed by the colonised peoples in order to reclaim their
history and identity.
However worthwhile the legacy of postcolonialism is, cultural scholars
have come to realise that cultures are complex, that knowledge is never a pure
reflection of reality and that all knowledge is constructed. In the process of
reclaiming their history and identity, Africans construct their own images of
themselves and of ‘the others’. This is what Buruma and Margalit (2004) call
occidentalism. In this study, therefore, I use the term ‘postcolonialism’ to
analyse the relation between knowledge formation and exercise of power, not
only in former colonies, but anywhere and everywhere in the world. Thus it
also applies to categorisation and domination (e.g. of minorities) in postcolonial
states (Desai & Nair 2005: 10). The hermeneutics of suspicion must become
mutual and permanent.
of the Jew Moses Maimonides and the Muslim philosophers Averroës and
Avicenna. Theology of religions could be defined as theological reflection on
(the presence of) other religions from the perspective of one’s own religion. In
most cases it adopts a systematic theological perspective and the theologian is
supposed to argue coherently in terms of her own belief system. The aim is to
reinterpret that system with reference to other religious traditions. Theology of
interreligious dialogue also operates from within the theologian’s own belief
system,54 but it differs from theology of religions in that its object of reflection
is the practice of interreligious dialogue. The scholar is often a practical theo-
logian who reasons primarily from the dialogue partners personal perspectives,
not those of their belief systems. Again the aim is to provide a new theory (the-
ology), but one focused on new (better) practice. Whereas the systematic the-
ologian’s main tool is philosophical reflection, the practical theologian’s main
tool is socio-scientific analysis.
Interreligious theology goes a step further, in that theologians of different
religious traditions theologise together in a ‘diatopical’ way (Panikkar 1978).
They switch from the position of their own theology (insider perspective) to that
of another religion (often called outsider perspective), seek to coordinate the
two in an intrareligious dialogue, than test their newly acquired insights for
their authenticity (Krieger 1991: 75–76). Whereas theology of interreligious
dialogue primarily aims at improving the quality of dialogue, interreligious
theology seeks to produce a new system. In this sense interreligious theology
theologises in the terms of more than one religion. I hesitate to use the name
‘comparative theology’, favoured by some scholars as a designation for this
field of study (Valkenberg 2006: 200). Comparison is primarily a method used
by scholars to discover similarities and differences between theological expres-
sions of religions. It is used in both intercultural and interreligious theology.
In Germany the term ‘comparative theology’ has been applied to comparisons
between various expressions of Christian theology since the 1970s. Theologians
of Eastern Orthodox traditions use the term for what Western theologians would
call ecumenical theology – that is, comparison of Eastern and Western theo-
logical traditions.
As will be explained in section 8.3, the terms ‘insider’ and ‘outsider’ per-
spective are ambiguous. Sometimes they are used to refer to the perspective of
54 In this respect I differ from Küster (2004: 74), who says that a theology of religions has to
argue coherently within its own system, whereas a theology of dialogue integrates the pos-
itions of the dialogue partners. Valkenberg (2006: 196–197) seems to endorse Küster’s view.
In my view the difference is not that theology of religions is intra-religious, whereas the-
ology of dialogue is interreligious. When I see the publications in this field I cannot but con-
clude that theology of dialogue is equally based on a Christian point of view: both theology
of religions and theology of dialogue are intra-religious. I reserve the name ‘interreligious
theology’ for an interreligious approach.
Preliminary explorations 43
55 Emic and etic are primarily linguistic terms used to distinguish the language of actors in a
field from the language of analysts of that field.
56 The issues of ‘double belonging’ (dual allegiance) or ‘multiple (religious) identity’ (Cornille
2002) are dealt with in greater detail in section 6.1.
44 Chapter One
57 The same tendency exists in the West, where the shift in terminology from religion to spir-
ituality is an effect of postmodernism and de-institutionalisation. Spirituality can be found
outside institutionalised religion: in nature, sexuality, aesthetic experience, etc. But I think it
is unwise to broaden the meaning of the term ‘spirituality’ to include experience outside
religion as defined above: reference to a reality other than the visible world. If we wish to
develop a theory of interreligious relations, we have to deal with all the complexities and
ambiguities of religion.
58 The book African spirituality, edited by Jacob Olupona (2000) and part of a series on world
spirituality, gives no definition of spirituality as a phenomenon distinct from religion. In the
preface Ewert Cousins says, “no attempt was made to arrive at a common definition of spir-
ituality”. The series studies “that inner dimension of the person called by certain traditions
‘the spirit’ . . . It is here that the person is open to the transcendent dimension” (p. xii). Most
contributions to the volume are not much different from those found in other volumes on the
study of African Religions. I tend to agree with Mugambi’s (1995: 141) assumption “that
‘spirituality’ is synonymous with religiousness or religiosity”.
Preliminary explorations 45
59 This is not to deny that interreligious organisations such as the World Parliament of
Religions, the United Religions Initiative or the World Council on Religion and Peace, all of
which are active in East Africa, do speak about ‘dialogue’. Critics would say that they have
a Christian background.
60 Consequently Talal Asad (1983: 245) accuses Clifford Geertz of “taking up the standpoint
of theology”.
61 See the critique by Olabimtan (2003) of Platvoet and Van Rinsum (2003) in section 3.1.
46 Chapter One
Muslim scholars at Islamic and public universities are not looking for collabo-
ration with scholars of religion who operate in terms of methodological atheism,
as they feel that they will not be understood by them. These scholars are met
with suspicion.
What interreligious relations actually are is a question that can be answered
by sciences of religion, such as history and phenomenology, psychology, soci-
ology and anthropology of religion. How interreligious relations should be is a
question that can be answered by theology, and to some extent by philosophy
of religion as well. Scientists of religion show a certain reluctance to engage in
interreligious dialogue. At most they can formulate conditions for the possibil-
ity of such dialogue. But promoting interreligious dialogue as an objective of
science of religion is going too far, according to present-day scholars of reli-
gion – though religionists in their ranks (e.g. Wilfred Cantwell Smith, Mircea
Eliade, Ninian Smart) would have no problem with such a claim.62
were considered pre-logical and their religions ‘primitive’ (Moore 1994: 8–10).
Encounter with the others was focused on assimilation. In this respect, mission
and modernisation were the same; both applied an apologetic universalism
(Krieger 1991: 18–37). Before the First World War cultural and religious stud-
ies were largely conceptual. After the war they became more empirical, based
on fieldwork (Moore 1994: 10–14). The particularity of cultures was dis-
covered. The others were seen as unique, completely different, non-identical,
strangers. Cultural relativism reacted against the speculative universalism of
the previous period. There is no common ground, no meeting point between
religious cultures. Thus tolerance of, and respect for, the others’ otherness are
imperative. At present there is a search for a new, concrete universalism, care-
fully balanced between identity and alterity. We and the others are similar. There
are ‘family resemblances’ between us, but we are not the same. Encounter
between religions focuses on complementation.65
To some extent the mono-, multi- and intercultural models are comparable
to the exclusivist, inclusivist and pluralistic models, introduced in philosophy of
religion and theology of religions by John Hick and widely used in the dis-
course on interreligious relations (e.g. Mbillah 2004: 171–175). The inclusivist
model can be seen as equivalent to the mono-cultural (identity) model: one’s
own religion is the (only) religion. The others are already included in our reli-
gious system, although they are not aware of it. Fulfilment theology is an
expression of this model in Roman Catholic theology. The exclusivist model
can be seen as equivalent to the multicultural (alterity) model: the two religions
are completely distinct; there is no meeting point or common ground between
them. This is what dialectical theology is all about. The pluralist model, how-
ever, differs from the inter-cultural model. It can be seen as another expression
of the multicultural model, in that it views all religions as different ways to the
Ultimate. We shall examine this further in due course. What interests us here is:
what is an African model of interfaith dialogue (Temple 2001)?66 In other
words, how is Africa’s peaceful coexistence of religions to be understood?
65 For sake of clarity the models are presented in a chronological order, but at present they
exist side by side. Sometimes they are also called the modern, postmodern and post-
postmodern models.
66 Temple (2001) summarises the conservative Evangelical model, the mainline Protestant
model, the Roman Catholic model and the pluralistic model, as identified by Knitter, and
then asks what an authentic model for Africa would be.
48 Chapter One
contexts they make little sense. Liberation theology, once a hallmark of missiol-
ogy, is now more at home in social ministry. This is not to deny that interreli-
gious dialogue always relates to integral liberation, and rightly so. In the same
way inculturation, another hallmark of missiology, is now more at home in
church development and even in liturgy. By the same token interreligious dia-
logue is now slotted into religious education (Kasonga wa Kasonga 2001).67
Neither fundamental theologians nor missiologists can claim interreligious
dialogue as their preserve; interreligious dialogue is and should be a concern
for all theological disciplines. I consider the theology of interreligious dia-
logue to be the core of missiology, which was mainly concerned with the study
of and reflection upon the missio ad gentes. This is not to deny that missiology
deals with other subjects as well, or that other disciplines also deal with inter-
religious dialogue. But it is not their main business. I think missiology spe-
cialised in this field more than any other discipline.
Comparative theology studies and reflects on various themes, such as God
and Goddess, salvation and spirits. Of special interest for a theory of interreli-
gious relations is the comparative study of other religions’ views and of interre-
ligious relations in various religions, for instance concepts like dhimmi, tabligh
and da’wah in Islam,68 or sanata dharma as eternal religion in Hinduism. In
this study we will explore the Muslim division of the world into Dar al-Islam
(Abode of Islam) and Dar al-Harm (Abode of War), and the Christian (mainly
Evangelical) distinction between the Saved Ones and the Lost Ones. Thus a
comparative missiology can lead to interreligious missiology.
Another field in which missiology specialises is intercultural theology, that
is theology in different cultures’ terms. If religion is seen as a cultural system,
interreligious theology is included in intercultural theology. More often it is
seen as reflection on the interaction between adherents of the same faith (thus
intra-religious) but originating from different continents: African and European
Christians, or Muslims of African and of Arab descent. However the terms are
defined, the interreligious and intercultural discourses are closely related. Since
Christianity is the ‘white man’s religion’ and Islam is identified with Arab
civilisation, geographical notions like North and South, Western and non-
Western feature in the interreligious discourse.
In the introduction I said that this study adopts a socio-scientific and theo-
logical approach, often called an empirical theological approach. I explained
briefly what an empirical theological approach entails and what distinguishes
it from a systematic theological approach. I also said that the classification
‘empirical theology’ is itself problematic, as it seems to harmonise two per-
spectives that appear incompatible: a theological and a social science perspec-
tive. Hence I prefer the designation ‘multi-perspective and poly-methodical
approach’. Below I explain what such an approach entails and what it implies
for a theory of interreligious relations.
enough. What was called ancillary sciences, such as cultural, social and reli-
gious anthropology, remained largely under theological control. Also in 1972,
Camps’s colleague Jan van Engelen (1972) reported on his extensive fieldwork
in Brazil in the late 1960s, which was based on Hugo Assman’s praxeology. In
pursuing his search for an empirical missiology Van Engelen (1996: 174)
urged the use of socio-scientific methods in missiology as far back as 1952.
Camps’s predecessor, Alphons Mulders, gave mission studies in Nijmegen
a broad orientation. In 1948 Mulders introduced such disciplines as history
and phenomenology of religion (including Islamic studies), cultural anthropol-
ogy and general linguistics (including the study of oriental languages) in his
Missiological Institute, which was the start of these disciplines at Radboud
University Nijmegen. What was propagated in 1961 (at the celebration of fifty
years of missiology in Münster, the cradle of Catholic studies of mission),
namely the study of ethnology, linguistics and science of religion, was already
happening at Nijmegen, Mulders (1963: 156) pointed out.
The first professor of cultural anthropology at the Missiological Institute
was Bernard Vocklage. Vocklage was a member of the Societas Verbum Divini,
a confrère of the founders of the Wiener Schule, Wilhelm Schmidt and Wilhelm
Koppers, and a member of the editorial staff of the leading Catholic ethno-
logical journal Anthropos.69 In those early years cultural anthropology at
Nijmegen more or less followed the example of the mission ethnology of the
Wiener Schule. Vocklage’s successor to the chair of cultural anthropology was
a fellow student, the German priest Richard Mohr, who had been introduced by
Koppers from Vienna. Gradually Mohr developed cultural anthropology inde-
pendently of missiology, until the chair became part of the newly established
faculty of social sciences in 1964 (Meurkens 2002).
The collaboration between missiology and science of religion, however,
continued. In 1966 the Missiological Institute became the Institute for Missiology
and History of Religions and the institute, which until 1966 had functioned
independently of the faculty of theology, was incorporated into that faculty.70
Collaboration with Etienne Cornélis, professor of comparative religion, and
his successor Wilhelm Dupré, also trained in Vienna, remained close.71 This
short history shows that since 1948 mission studies in Nijmegen has had a
strong empirical orientation. Gradually disciplines such as mission linguistics,
69 Another member of this school and former member of the same society, Johannes Fabian,
became professor of anthropology at the University of Amsterdam in 1979.
70 At the first staff meeting of the new institute Arend Van Leeuwen’s Christianity in world his-
tory (1964) was discussed. Later Van Leeuwen, a student of Hendrik Kraemer, held the chair
of social ethics in the same faculty (1973–1985).
71 Camps obtained his PhD from the University of Freiburg, where Wilhelm Schmidt became
a professor after his departure from Vienna (1940–1948). In his autobiography Camps
(2006: 27–30) describes Schmidt’s dramatic departure from Vienna.
Preliminary explorations 51
72 In German speaking countries there are still some chairs (e.g. in Heidelberg and Rostock)
that combine missiology and the study of religion. At other universities (e.g. Salzburg) these
disciplines merged into a broader field of study called intercultural theology, or intercultural
theology and the study of religions. In Africa the boundaries between theology and religious
studies have been less rigid. On the one hand the departments of religious studies inherited
the secular tradition of the parent universities in Europe. On the other hand the founders of
these departments were often trained theologians and even ordained ministers in their
churches.
73 Placing the debate in the context of African studies, Magesa (1997: 29–32) says: “Due to the
inseparability of the religious and secular models of African existence, the link between
anthropology and theology is especially important” (p. 31).
52 Chapter One
with missionaries. The main debating point was whether methodological athe-
ism and methodological agnosticism were the best approaches when studying
‘the others’. Whereas some anthropologists were sympathetic towards missiol-
ogists, others were sceptical (Bonsen, Marks & Miedema 1990). Ten years later
the discussion was repeated. From a postcolonial perspective it was noted, “that
the debate has already slipped out of our hands” as “it has become part of the other
peoples’ reconstruction of their history” (Borsboom & Kommers 2000: 10).74
As far as “the other peoples’ reconstruction of their history” is concerned,
it must be noted that the boundaries between the traditional disciplines are less
strict in the non-Western world than in the Western world. Some early Latin
American theologians were sociologists and economists. They insisted that
theological reflection is only a ‘second step’. Various pioneers of African the-
ology studied anthropology or religious studies and taught religious studies at
public universities. Nevertheless the relation between missiology and religious
studies remains complex. A group of missiologists gathered in Lund in 1990
supported the idea of missiology as an independent academic discipline.
However, “this discipline has won its emancipation from theology and locates
itself within the larger area of religious studies rather than within the field of
theology”. It has “a strong empirical orientation” and “deals with the dynamic
change” as a result of “interaction between religion and society” and “the inter-
action between this larger community and the religious bodies”. Its academic
location is “outside theology, perhaps within a department of religious studies”
(Ustorf 2001: 74–76). Whereas the link between missiology and science of
religion remains strong – not so much in the Netherlands as in Germany and
other European countries – I am of the opinion that in the new academic loca-
tion proposed by the Lund symposium ‘mission studies’ should be renamed
‘interreligious studies’.
74 As noted already, the ‘objects’ of religious studies have become ‘subjects’ (Platvoet 1996)
and there is a need for dialogue between the two. Postcolonial scholars of religion (e.g.
David Chidester 2004) analyse the links between forms of knowledge and colonial power
formation with reference to the development of religious studies in South Africa.
Preliminary explorations 53
75 This clearly shows that methodical atheism as such is not a dividing line between the dis-
ciplines. As said before, Asad (1983: 245) accuses Geertz of “taking up the standpoint of
theology”.
76 In his overview of Dutch contributions to the study of African religions in faculties of the-
ology Platvoet (2004: 88) distinguishes between those in which the particular theology of the
scholar “is no longer traceable” and those in which scientific description and analysis are
“clearly kept distinct” from theological interpretation. He mentions his own and Ter Haar’s
work as examples of the former, and my work as an example of the latter approach.
54 Chapter One
procedure”. From the third stage onwards the researcher “ceases to do phe-
nomenology and commences to do theology”.79 These stages are optional,
according to Turner (1979: 354–355). Anthropologists like Andre Droogers
(2003), Mathew Schoffeleers (1989), Michael Singleton (1977), Michael
Kirwen (1987) and Aylward Shorter (1985) do not hesitate to engage in theo-
logical evaluations and even propose pastoral innovations.
We reiterate our earlier point: conflict between science of religion and the-
ology is a greater problem in Western than in non-Western societies, where the
division of scientific labour is less strict. African scholars such as Samuel
Kibicho, Anatole Byaruhanga Akiiki and John Mbiti were trained anthropolo-
gists who taught religious studies. Introductions like A comparative study of
religions, edited by Mugambi (1990), and Religions in Eastern Africa, edited
by Mugambi and Getui (2004), see these disciplines as different but related.
The envisaged theory of interreligious relations must deal with the issue of
theology and science of religion in a postmodern (African) perspective.80
A theory of practice
The study of religious practice requires a theory of practice. I see religion, and
especially the interaction between religions, in light of Pierre Bourdieu’s sym-
bol and practice theory. As explained in the introduction, Bourdieu presents
a ‘third way’, which he calls participatory objectification and which goes
beyond the dichotomy between objectivism and subjectivism, between interac-
tionism and structuralism. He calls himself an essentialist constructivist, or a
constructivist essentialist, to underscore that he wishes to go beyond the
dichotomy between actor and structure, habitus and market.
Bourdieu assumes a link between actions and interests. While he rejects the
notion that interests are always narrowly economic, they invariably apply an
economic logic. This is his basic assumption about human action, his theory of
practice. But it is also a heuristic principle. It requires the researcher to elucidate
the interests at stake in the practices occurring in certain fields. What the inter-
ests are can only be determined through meticulous empirical and historical
79 It is noteworthy that scholars like Wilfred Cantwell Smith, Mircea Eliade and Ninian Smart
did science of religion for humanitarian ends. In his inaugural lecture Cantwell Smith
explicitly defined the aim of the discipline as creating understanding between people across
religious boundaries with a view to establishing a world community.
80 In this study the practical or hermeneutic circle is followed fairly eclectically. We use data
obtained from both fieldwork and the literature throughout all chapters. And we correlate
them with normative notions from African theology and African philosophy. The steps of
description, interpretation, evaluation and innovation feature in all chapters. However, the
first few chapters are more descriptive; the remaining chapters incline to be normative.
56 Chapter One
inquiry. The fact that some actions appear to be disinterested (in a narrow eco-
nomic sense) does not mean that they are interest-free.
Bourdieu’s theory of practice has methodological consequences. It requires
systematic reconstruction of the field in which practices are produced and
reproduced and its relation to the broader social arena: a rigorous reconstruc-
tion of the fields, and of the links between the positions and agents within
them. The problem with semiotic analysis is that it remains internal (intra-
textual) or formal.81 It fails to take into account the socio-historical conditions
in which the object of analysis is produced and reproduced. On the other hand
these phenomena cannot be reduced to socio-economic processes. The prob-
lem with most forms of Marxist analysis is that they treat the social world as a
one-dimensional space. This is antithetical to Bourdieu’s approach.
81 The editor of Bourdieu’s Language and symbolic power, John Thompson (1991: 28), speaks
about semiotics or ‘discourse analysis’, but it is doubtful whether his qualification ‘internal
analysis’ applies to discourse analysis. There are at least three forms of discourse analysis
and they all seem to stress that speech acts shape the social world, albeit in varying degrees
(Jørgensen & Philips 2002: 18).
82 For the same reason Ulf Hannerz (1992: 35) goes beyond the modern understanding of cul-
ture as shared meaning system to “the view of culture as an organization of diversity”.
Preliminary explorations 57
The most ‘neutral’ scientific verdict helps to modify the object of science.
‘Scientific’ mythologies can produce their own verification if they manage to
gain collective credibility and create the conditions for their own realisation.
In their orientation towards an objectivist or subjectivist view of the rela-
tion between the scholar and the object of study, social scientists are deter-
mined by social factors such as the status of their discipline among other
disciplines and the prestige of their specific research strategies (Bourdieu
1991: 226). But if they submit their own practice to sociological criticism, they
will keep together what goes together in reality: on the one hand objective clas-
sifications, on the other hand the practical use of the classifications by agents
in pursuit of material or symbolic interests.83 Cultural identity (be it ethnic,
social, religious) is a resource or ‘capital’ which people or groups use to serve
their own interests, that is to gain material (financial) or symbolic (prestige)
‘profit’. Identities are not so much natural as social, the product of social clas-
sification or categorisation. Practical (identity) classifications help to create
what they ostensibly describe or designate. They bring into existence what is
named in performative discourse by virtue of the authority of the classifier but
also of the objective existence of the group thus classified.
83 Again and again, Bourdieu stresses the analysis of the social position of the analyst. In the
lecture that he gave on the occasion of his retirement as professor of sociology at the
Collège de France, Bourdieu spoke about participatory objectification: the objectification
of the subject of objectification, i.e. the analyst him- or herself.
58 Chapter One
Conclusion
84 In the same vein Wilfred Cantwell Smith (1963: 63–66) argued that Hinduism is a Western
construct. Yet there are undeniably millions of people who consider themselves Hindu, and
Hinduism has become a powerful political ideology of national unity with a Hindu party
based on it.
Chapter Two
Some decades ago John Mbiti (1969: 1) wrote, “Africans are notoriously reli-
gious.” Indeed, it is no exaggeration to say that religion is active and alive in
Africa (Ellis & Ter Haar 2004). But what exactly is that religion? How reli-
gious are the religions? What Mbiti had in mind was that the African world-
view is not (yet) compartmentalised, that religion in Africa is not a separate
domain but a dimension that runs through all other domains. The trouble is that
when everything is religious, ultimately nothing is. It cannot be denied that
secularism is growing in Africa and that it has always been there (Metogo
1997; Shorter & Onyancha 1997). Early anthropologists already referred to the
materialism and pragmatism of the African worldview (Evans Pritchard 1937).
Maybe a better question would be, not how religious are Africans, but how are
they religious? One thing is clear: there is a plurality of religions and growing
interaction between them, and as a result quite a lot of religious dynamics and
change (Olupona & Nyang 1993).
85 The proper name for these religions is subject to debate. In general I prefer the name
‘Indigenous Religions’, because ‘traditional’ suggests that they are something of the past. It
is, however, not always possible to avoid the other names. Another debating point is whether
one should speak about African Religions in the singular or in the plural. I use the plural,
because there are major differences between religious traditions in Africa. There is undeni-
ably a basic pattern, but it is shared with all primal religions or religions without scriptures
and is not uniquely African.
60 Chapter Two
Some ethnic groups resisted conversion to any of the world religions and
remain so-called ‘untouched people’ up to the present. A Dutch missionary,
who worked in Sukumaland, Northwest Tanzania where I did most of my field-
work, recorded a conversation with an old man (mzee) in his diary. The old
man said (Wijsen 1993: 7):
“Padre, you trouble yourself for nothing. I will never agree to join your religion. All people
have their own religion. The Germans were here and they had their own religion. The British
came; they also had their own religion. The Protestants at Ng’wagala also have their own reli-
gion. The Ba-Swahili [Muslims] of Shanwa have their own religion. You Padres also have your
own religion. And we black people also have our own religions. Our religion is the one of
Masamva [ancestral spirits]. All religions are good.”
“All people have their own religion” and “all religions are good”. The old
man’s attitude is shared by most people in Sukumaland, and in other parts of
Africa as well. Even in places where modernisation is far advanced the indigen-
ous religions survive.
Secondly indigenous religiosity persists beneath the surface of Islam and
Christianity, on an individual or institutional level, in folk religiosity and
African Instituted Churches. This leads Kwame Bediako (1992) to speak,
not about “Primal Religions and Christianity”, but about “Primal Religions
within Christianity”. We deal with syncretism and dual religious allegiance in
section 6.1.
Thirdly, there is a process of de-conversion or revival of African Indigenous
Religions (Hackett 1991). In response to globalisation there is a worldwide
search for alternatives in indigenous spiritualities. Many Africans feel a need
to break free from the world market and return to the way of their ancestors
(Odozor 1999).86 This is apparent not only in the call for an African renais-
sance (section 10.1) but also in neo-traditional cults (section 6.3).
86 In section 10.1 we will show that there is not (only) a resurgence of indigenous religion but
a production of it. In the process of globalisation, local traditions are not (only) redis-
covered, but to a large extent (also) invented (Robertson 1995: 35).
Transformation of religion in Africa 61
world, it is recognised that an organisation has a spirit, which represents its val-
ues and essence. No organisation can function well if the spirit is not good.
Thus Lovemore Mbigi (1997) predicts an African renaissance in which the spir-
itual power of Africa and Africans will bring prosperity and fullness of life.
In a uniquely African approach to management and consultancy Mbigi
employs the communitarian, spiritual and emotional resources of African trad-
itions as ‘social capital’. Unlike Westerners who run companies and govern-
ments via democratic majority rule, Africans rule by consensus. A company
operates efficiently only if decisions are taken and shared by all. This may take
more time, but in the long run it is more efficient. Moreover, unlike in the West
where choices are made on rational grounds, Africans know that emotions are
important.87 You cannot rule out emotion. If there is not a good spirit in the com-
pany, the company will not function efficiently. We have noted that Samuel
Kobia, on taking office as secretary general of the World Council of Churches
in January 2004, said he would rule the Council the African way – that is to
say, ubuntu style (Kobia 2003).88
that we are all under mental bondage and colonisation and we have to unchain
ourselves. I have released myself from the ‘chain’ and I want to release those
still in chains” (Sarpong 2002; Damuah 1983).
Another example is Osaga Odak, a professor of anthropology at the
University of Nairobi, who propagates Kemeticism as the world religion for
black peoples. He urges black people “who are still members of the colonial and
slave religions to quit them and join this true religion of African Spirituality”
(Odak 1997: 16). There are also neo-indigenous grassroots movements such as
the Mungiki movement in Kenya (Kagwanja 2004), modelling itself on the Mau
Mau freedom fighters. We will discuss this movement in section 6.3.
89 This was the message of an open letter written to his bishop by a Roman Catholic priest in
Rulenge diocese, Tanzania, on 15 May 1995 during the preparations for the first centenary
of that diocese (letter in my possession – FW).
90 Mazrui (2004: 1–2) writes: “It is often not realized that Africa has more Muslims than any
Arab country, and that Africa is probably the first continent to have a Muslim majority.”
64 Chapter Two
91 Opinions on the influence of brotherhoods differ. Nimtz (1980) gives them a prominent
place. Trimingham (1964: 97) says that “they affect only a small proportion of the popula-
tion directly”.
Transformation of religion in Africa 65
To establish Islamic Tertiary and Vocational Centres 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.
To promote unity, spiritually and materially, among Muslims all over the world, particularly in
Africa.
To promote peace, harmony and general human development and strive to remove all forms of
discrimination.
To support, enhance and co-ordinate Da’wah work all over Africa on Islamic matters and pub-
licize the research findings.
To actively pursue the respect for and observance of human rights in Africa and elsewhere.
To support the establishment and application of the Shar’ia to all Muslims.
To ensure that women are accorded their due rights and roles in society in accordance with the
Shari’a (Alkali et al. 1993:435–436).
The central idea is da’wah. Sura 16:125 reads: “Call men unto the path of your
Lord by wisdom and goodly counsel.” Da’wah is the fulfilment of this command-
ment “to call men unto the path of Allah”.92 Shortly after the Islam in Africa
Conference, in the spring of 1990, another version of the Abuja Declaration was
circulated. The resolutions of this version go much further than the version pub-
lished in the Proceedings of the Islam in Africa Conference in 1993. Among other
things it urges Muslims in Africa –
To ensure the appointment of only Muslims into strategic national and international posts of
member nations.
To eradicate in all its forms and ramifications all non-Muslim religions in member nations
(such religions shall include Christianity, Ahmadiyya and other tribal modes of worship
unacceptable to Muslims).
To ensure the declaration of Nigeria [as] a Federal Islamic Sultanate at a convenient date after
28 March 1990, with the Sultan of Sokoto enthroned the Sultan and Supreme Sovereign of
Nigeria.
To ensure the ultimate replacement of all western forms of legal and judicial systems with the
Shari’a before the next Islam in Africa Conference.
To ensure the transformation of a national political party into a national Islamic political party
in all member states.
The Conference ratifies unanimously Nigeria’s full membership of the Organisation of
Islamic Conference.
The latter resolution shows clearly that this version is a forgery, as the
Conference did not have the authority to ratify membership of the Organisation
of Islamic Conference. Moreover, some of the resolutions not only cannot be
executed but are also in stark contrast with Islam’s official teaching, for example
the resolution to eradicate all non-Muslim religions. However ‘unofficial’ the
copy may be, it nevertheless demonstrates the presence of a more militant Islam
in Africa.
92 Esack (1997) comments that it is not a call to convert non-believers and adherents of other
faiths to Islam, but to make them do the will of Allah.
66 Chapter Two
The Muslim Brothers call for a return to pure Islam and avoidance of the
Western world. According to them Islam is the answer to all the needs of the
people.93 Minorities – Jews and Christians – must be confined to strict dhimmi
status; that is, they are ‘protected’ people, but they have various obligations
(e.g. paying a protection tax) and are not allowed certain behaviour (e.g. marry-
ing a Muslim).
The movement has a particular appeal for Muslim youth. The Brothers
influenced such groups as al-Gamia’a al-Islamiya that killed 58 tourists and
four Egyptians at Queen Hatshepsut Temple in Luxor, southern Egypt on 17
November 1997, and another tourist party at Sjarm al-Sjeik on 23 July 2005.
In Sudan the Muslim Brotherhood was transformed into a political party, the
93 There is a striking parallel here with some evangelical Christian groups, who proclaim that
Christ is the answer to all problems.
Transformation of religion in Africa 67
National Islamic Front, which took power in 1989 under the leadership of Hassan
al-Turabi. In the early 1990s Khartoum was a hotbed of Muslim extremists
from all over the world. Muslim extremism spread to neighbouring countries.
Because of national and international opposition, al-Turabi was removed from
office in 1999 (De Waal 2004). It is said that the Muslim Brothers now focus
on Pemba and Zanzibar, where they expect the support of people of Arabic
descent. This is the connection with the United States embassy bombings in
1998 and Bin Laden’s terrorist network through its second-in-command, the
Egyptian Al Zawahiri.
94 Mazrui (2006: 230) refers to the good relations between pope John Paul II and the Muslim
world. This pope “has gone further than any previous Pope to foster good relations between
Catholics and Muslims”.
68 Chapter Two
95 Outgoing Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa donated a site to the Muslim community to
establish an Islamic University in Morogoro. The Protestants and the Catholics have univer-
sities; the Muslims should have one as well, said Mkapa. There is also an Islamic university
in Zanzibar, next to the (public) University of Zanzibar, and there is an Islamic university in
Mbala, Uganda. Nairobi has an Aga Khan University. There was a plan to upgrade the
Kisauni Islamic Institute in Mombasa to an Islamic university, but so far this has not materi-
alised. The same applies to the Islamic Training Centre in Maragua in Kenya’s Central
Province.
Transformation of religion in Africa 69
96 Here again there is a striking parallel to establishing Christian villages. This shows that
Muslim da’wah is doing the same as what Christian mission used to do, and still does.
70 Chapter Two
many separate churches. Jesse Mugambi (1995: 115–121) classifies the denom-
inations according to their ecclesial structures. In the Episcopal model
authority is vested in the bishop (e.g. Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Anglican
Churches). In the Presbyterian model authority is vested in a council of elders
(e.g. Reformed Churches). In the Congregational model authority is vested in
the entire congregation (e.g. Baptist Churches). In the Pentecostal model
authority is attributed to the Holy Spirit and every member of a Pentecostal
church is expected to manifest the power of the Holy Spirit. In the Charismatic
model authority is ascribed to a charismatic leader, who is considered to
possess special spiritual gifts.
Danfulani Kore (1998: 266) also categorises denominations and churches
according to their views of religious authority. The first group comprises
denominations and churches that accept the Bible as the infallible, inspired
word of God and authoritative in all matters of faith and practice. They can
broadly be classified as Evangelical. The second group comprises denomin-
ations and churches that have drifted away from adherence to the authority and
reliability of Scripture and have substituted human reason and social or cul-
tural consensus as the basis of religious authority. This group may be labelled
liberal or ecumenical Protestants. The third group consists of those who accept
church tradition as equal to or greater than Scripture, for example Roman
Catholics. The fourth group consists of all those who base their religious author-
ity on direct revelation, either through an inspired prophet or through members
of the community in general. Many African Instituted and Pentecostal churches
fit into this category.
In this section we take communication with the African religious heritage
as our criterion for classifying the various forms of Christianity and their
views and practices in relation to non-Christian religions. In section 3.1 we
deal with dogmatic differences, as reflected in their theologies of revelation
and salvation.
themselves as the true heirs of the Reformation’s sola scriptura principle. They
stress that revelation is found only in the Bible and that salvation is only by
grace. For this reason they see a radical discontinuity between biblical Chris-
tianity and African Indigenous Religion or Islam in Africa. As one informant,
interviewed at the Nairobi office of Life Challenge Africa, explained: “We
promote knowledge of Islam. If you want to attack your enemy you have to
know him.” Another informant in the same office said:
“It is better to die of aids than to die as a Muslim. When you die of aids you die only physic-
ally, but if you die a Muslim you die both physically and spiritually.”
97 Nowadays Madagascar is omitted from the official name. The association was founded in
1973 and has its headquarters in Nairobi.
72 Chapter Two
98 It is also good to distinguish between the old Pentecostal churches that originated in the
United States of America, some of which became pretty much ‘mainline’ and joined
national councils of churches, and the newer Pentecostal churches.
99 This shift from classifying African Instituted Churches as African reform movements to
classifying them as Pentecostal movements seems synchronous with Barrett’s relocation
from Africa to the Unites States of America in 1975.
100 The All Africa Conference of Churches was founded in Kampala, Uganda in 1963 and has
its headquarters in Nairobi.
Transformation of religion in Africa 73
This corresponds with the notion, especially since the Second Vatican Council,
of the Roman Catholic Church as a community of communities with the pope
as their unifying symbol. There is a world of difference between the Roman
Catholic churches in the former English, French or Portuguese colonies.101
Catholic churches in Africa are united in the Symposium of Episcopal Con-
ferences of Africa and Madagascar.102
In the Roman Catholic view other religions are a preparatio evangelica, as
the seeds of the gospel (semina verbi) are already there. But the supreme reve-
lation and full salvation are found in Christianity. Thus non-Christian religions
contain imperfect knowledge of God. This perception leads to a practice of
101 The difference between French and British colonial rule was tremendous, as can be seen in
their language policies (Mazrui & Mazrui 1995). Whereas France promoted assimilation,
Britain favoured indirect rule. This had an impact on the churches in these colonies as well.
102 The Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar was founded in
Kampala, Uganda in 1969. It has its headquarters in Accra, Ghana. One of its regional
organisations, the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa, is based
in Nairobi.
74 Chapter Two
103 The Organisation of African Instituted Churches (formerly called Organisation of African
Independent Churches, also referred to as Organisation of African Initiated Churches) was
founded in Cairo in 1978. It has its headquarters in Nairobi.
104 This classification follows the one given by Harold Turner (1967). See also Philomena
Mwaura (2004) and Marthinus Daneel (2001).
Transformation of religion in Africa 75
Conclusion
105 In her Anthropology and Africa Sally Moore (1994) gives an overview of European and
American pioneers of African studies in anthropology. The two discourses, religious studies
and anthropology, are distinct but partly overlap.
106 Wilfred Cantwell Smith said that a statement about a religion is not true unless it is con-
firmed by the believers. In this sense religious studies has changed completely in the post-
colonial era. The objects of science of religion have become subjects (Platvoet 1996). It is
promising that professional organisations, such as the African Association for the Study of
Religion, have Northern and Southern, Christian and non-Christian members. It is no longer
true (if it ever was) that when the centre speaks, the periphery listens. When the centre
speaks, the periphery does talk back.
107 Interestingly, the University of Dar es Salaam has never had a department of religious stud-
ies. It is said that president Nyerere did not want to establish one because he felt it would
create antagonism in Tanzania’s multireligious society (Chepkwony 2004: 54).
78 Chapter Three
Westernisation or Africanisation?
In the early 1970s Okot p’Bitek started a debate with his African Religions in
Western scholarship. In this book p’Bitek accuses scholars like Idowu and
Mbiti of hellenising African deities (p’Bitek 1970). Mbiti and p’Bitek represent
two positions in a methodological battle between two or three schools of
thought in African studies that exist up to today.108 The debate centres on the
invention-of-tradition thesis of Terence Ranger and others, as was briefly
explained in the introduction. Just as colonial rulers and anthropologists cre-
ated ethnic groups for administrative purposes, Christian missionaries and
phenomenologists of religion invented Africans religions in order to dominate
them, it is said.
In tracing the origin of the invention of African Religion various scholars
mention Geoffrey Parrinder, who was the first to use the term in his African
Traditional Religion (1954). It was adopted by African scholars of religion like
Bolaji Idowu and John Mbiti, who popularised its use. Henk van Rinsum
(2003: 57) refers to Edwin Smith and other Christian missionaries as the first
to pioneer the concept. Although they did cite evidence that African ‘pagans’
had their religions, which they described in their own terms, they considered
African Religions inferior, seeing them as preparation for the gospel and in
need of purification and fulfilment. “Not only Western but also African
scholars of religion have tended to ‘Westernise’ African religions,” says
Westerlund (1993: 54). Recently various African scholars of religion have
challenged the idea of ‘fulfilment’ as an attempt to fit African Religions into a
Christian framework. Instead of the erstwhile Christianisation of African
Religion, they seek to Africanise it (Westerlund 1993: 55).109
108 The most prevalent ones go under names like reductionism and religionism (Cox 2003:
27–30). Platvoet (1989) calls them positivist, religionist and empirical studies of religion;
Olabimtan (2003) speaks about atheism, agnosticism and religionism.
109 Jacob Olupona (1991) and Laurenti Magesa (1997) could be mentioned as examples.
Magesa’s African Religion is rapidly replacing Mbiti’s Concepts of God in Africa as a text-
book in East African departments of religion and faculties of theology.
The study of religion in Africa 79
110 Platvoet and Van Rinsum (2003: 139) rightly note that p’Bitek criticised Mbiti for
Westernising African Religion. But p’Bitek did the same, drawing his inspiration from John
Robinson’s Honest to God.
111 Stoecker (2004: 169-174) indicates that Westermann saw a similarity between the African
High God or Sky God and the Christian God. Nevertheless he advised missionaries to act
ruthlessly against so-called tribal religions.
80 Chapter Three
a dialectical relation between reality ‘out there’ and the representation of reality
in the mind (Bourdieu 1991: 220), as was explained in the introduction.
The ‘social magic’ that brings into existence the thing named (e.g. African
Traditional Religion) is proportional to the authority of the namer. The object-
ification may succeed if the person is able to impose a new vision (of the fron-
tier) and a new di-vision of the social world. But the objectification in
discourse also depends on the degree to which the discourse is grounded in the
objective existence of the group to which it is addressed, that is, in recognition
by the members of the group, as well as in the economic and cultural proper-
ties they share in common (Bourdieu 1991: 224).
112 With respect to Olabimtan’s definition of religiosity as recourse to the transcendent, we has-
ten to reiterate that the transcendent is not supernatural, other-worldly or meta-empirical.
All these terms presuppose a distinction between this world and another, a distinction made
in Western sciences of religion but inappropriate from an African point of view.
The study of religion in Africa 81
with the invisible world, which they participate in and venerate; their attitude
towards meta-empirical realities is relational rather than instrumental. This
was a reaction against earlier scholars, who claimed that Africans manipulate
the invisible world to satisfy their own needs. Their religion was utilitarian and
pragmatic, magic rather than religion: power versus piety; egocentric manipu-
lation versus other-centred veneration.
According to some scholars of religion Africans’ magico-religious pragma-
tism and utilitarianism explain the present-day attraction of a prosperity gospel
and prosperity churches, just as earlier ‘rice Christians’ were attracted by the
schools and hospitals of mission churches. Others argue that when scholars of
African Religion say that African pragmatism and utilitarianism give rise to
secularism and unbelief, magic rather than religion, they take a ‘clerical’ view
of religion, using the elite or official religion as their norm instead of folk or
popular religion (Olabimtan 2003: 334). It is a conceptualised religion, not the
real religion of every day (Van Beek 1975).
113 One informant noted the parallel in understanding of the terms ‘tribe’ in Africa and ‘pillar’
in the Netherlands: both were more or less closed (confined), coherent, stable and reified.
‘Pillarisation’ is equivalent to what was called ‘religious tribalism’ by one of my inter-
viewees (section 4.2).
The study of religion in Africa 83
way.114 Platvoet and Van Rinsum refer explicitly to this new generation. They
speak about the shift in departments of religion at anglophone universities in
Africa after 1970. The secularist and rationalist climate of unbelief that their
alma mater, the University of London, had fostered among staff and students
of African university colleges “gradually lost control over them” (Platvoet &
Van Rinsum 2003: 131).115 Now there is “a much stronger religious presence
at universities and institutions of higher learning, in particular through the
Departments of Religious Studies”, say Platvoet and Van Rinsum (2003: 152).
Shorter and Onyancha (1997: 21) likewise note that “the last quarter of a cen-
tury has witnessed a stronger religious presence at universities and institutions
of higher learning and, with it, a certain erosion of academic unbelief ”.116
For the theme of this book this is important. What are the implications for
the teaching of interreligious relations? Should the subject be taught from
a secular or a religious point of view (Cheetham 2005)? Platvoet and Van
Rinsum (2003: 143) opt for a neutral approach based on verifiable historical
data.117 Like Harold Turner (1981) and James Cox (2003), Olabimtan (2003:
322) points out a paradox in the secular-scientific study of religion. He doubts
whether this approach is able to grasp its object, because the scholar tries to
understand an invisible reality from visible data only.
Ellis and Ter Haar’s approach (2004: 7) “takes full account of the content of
people’s belief, rather then regarding religion primarily in terms of social struc-
tures or processes”. This refers to the age-old distinction between studying the
substance (what religion is in itself ) and the function (what religion does for a
person or society) of religion. Using Horton’s distinction between symbolism,
fideism and an intellectual approach, Ellis and Ter Haar (2004: 17) opt for the
latter: “The main feature of the intellectualist approach is its propensity to
114 Burama and Margalit (2004: 5) see Occidentalism as a “dehumanising picture of the West
painted by its enemies”. “The view of the West in Occidentalism is like the worst aspects of
its counterpart, Orientalism” (p. 10). Some Orientalists perceived non-Western people as
“less than full adult human beings,” say Buruma and Margalit (2004: 10). “Occidentalism is
at least as reductive … To diminish an entire society or a civilization to a mass of soulless,
decadent, money-grubbing, rootless, faithless, unfeeling parasites is a form of intellectual
destruction.”
115 Platvoet and Van Rinsum (2003: 131) speak about the period between 1945 and the 1960s.
It must be noted that the founding fathers of the departments of religious studies were often
clerics such as bishop Stephen Neill and White Father Joseph Donders at the University of
Nairobi (Chepkwony 2004: 56).
116 It is noteworthy that the same applies to the United Kingdom, where their alma mater was.
Some scholars of religion there plead for a return of theology (Hyman 2004) or theological
religious studies (D’Costa 1996).
117 The problem is that for the sake of academic enquiry scholars of religion not only aban-
doned their specific religious affiliation (as is the case in seminaries and schools of divinity)
but all links with religion altogether.
The study of religion in Africa 85
118 Wiegers (2005: 162) notes rightly that emic and etic approaches are not equivalent to insider
and outsider approaches. He wants an alternative to the notions of reductionism and reli-
gionism. I prefer to distinguish between a hermeneutic and a contextual approach. The
hermeneutic approach interprets religious data by relating them to other religious data.
A contextual approach explains religious data by relating them to extra-religious data. The
two approaches are complementary.
86 Chapter Three
imperialism of the West. According to Hountondji there have been two reac-
tions to the superiority of the ‘white man’: acceptance, leading to rejection of
traditional cultures and a quest for modernisation, and rejection of white super-
iority, leading to romanticising of traditional cultures and going back to the
past. Both positions are ideological simplifications.
Ethno-philosophy and nationalist-ideological philosophy are expressions of
traditionalism; professional philosophy can be seen as an expression of mod-
ernism, whereas sage philosophy looks for a middle way. The labels ethno-
philosophy, nationalist-ideological, professional and sage philosophy are taken
from Oruka (1990: 13–22).119 We conclude this section with a reflection on self
and other, but we start with a philosopher who may be considered the founding
father of African philosophy, the Belgian Franciscan Placide Tempels.
Bantu philosophy
Placide Tempels wrote his Bantu philosophy 60 years ago. In this book he
argues against the widespread idea, propagated among others by Hegel and
Levy-Bruhl, that Africans are primitive and hence incapable of logical think-
ing. Tempels argued that every culture is organised round a set of philosophical
principles that are implicit in its language, beliefs and customs, though not
always explicated by all members of that culture (Hountondji 1983: 15–17).
Both proponents and opponents of Tempels’s theory attach paradigmatic status
to the work of this Belgian missionary. Up to the 1960s anthropologists still
spoke about Africans as primitive people. Okot p’Bitek experienced this while
studying at Oxford. p’Bitek (1971: vii) writes:
“I first met a number of Western scholars at Oxford University in 1960. During the very first
lecture in the Institute of Social Anthropology, the teacher kept referring to Africans or non-
Western peoples as barbarians, savages, primitives, tribes, etc. I protested; but to no avail. All
the professors and lecturers in the Institute, and those who came from outside to read papers,
spoke the same insulting language.”
Tempels dealt with one of the basic issues in African philosophy up to the pre-
sent: ‘white’ superiority and oppression of African people, European expan-
sionism and domination of Africa (Withaar 1986: 168–170). Since Tempels’s
time the basic issues in African philosophy have become political independ-
ence and the cultural identity of Africans and Africa. A distinctive feature of
African philosophy certainly is that it is closely linked to current political and
cultural issues, issues of development and identity, hence it is more ‘practical’
than European philosophy (Oruka 1997).
119 In his Sage philosophy Oruka (1991) adds two other trends in African philosophy, artistic or
literary philosophy and hermeneutic philosophy. We will not deal with them here, as they do
not really offer new dimensions for the purpose of this book.
The study of religion in Africa 87
Ethno-philosophy
The main point of traditionalism is to demonstrate that there is an African phil-
osophy, just as there is European, Indian or Chinese philosophy (Withaar 1986:
166–175; Oruka 1990: 14–16). The existence of this philosophy must ‘prove’
that Africans are not primitive and that European and African thinking are on
an equal footing. This philosophy is hidden in language, beliefs and customs.
According to traditionalist thought philosophy’s primary task is to explicate
the hidden wisdom of African culture.
The dominant form of traditionalism, and of African philosophy for that
matter, is ethno-philosophy. Its object of research is the popular worldview and
its main task is to systematise that worldview. The premise is that analysis of
collective thinking or worldview can produce a philosophy. This is the position
of Alexis Kagame from Rwanda and John Mbiti from Kenya.
The ontological opposition between African and European ways of being is
combined with the epistemological opposition between African and European
ways of thinking, represented by Leopold Senghor of Senegal. His théorie
negritude postulates a uniquely African way of acquiring knowledge via affect-
ive participation and emotion. This non-propositional way of thinking does not
result in the logical systems found in European philosophy, but in the mythical
and symbolic systems of African culture.
Whereas Tempels rejects European superiority by showing that African
thinking is no less logical, Senghor rejects European superiority by assigning
superiority to the primitive mentality. The dichotomy between African and
European thinking is the framework for ethno-philosophy; it is refined but not
criticised. The aim is to show that African philosophy is unique and thus
distinct from other philosophies, European or otherwise.
Nationalist-ideological philosophy
A second form of traditionalism is the nationalist-ideological philosophy of
Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, Jomo Kenyatta of
Kenya and Julius Nyerere of Tanzania (Withaar 1986: 176–179; Oruka 1990:
17–18). These philosophers have in common that they revert to traditional cul-
tural norms and values with a view to philosophical justification of a political the-
ory. Modern African society should be built on traditional African social values.
In various nationalist-ideological philosophies traditional African society
is seen as a harmonious community in which the collective is more important
than the individual. The only hierarchical principle is age (gender is not men-
tioned by these philosophers). In short, for nationalist-ideological philosophy
traditional African society is the ideal-type of modern socialism.
In his ujamaa socialism Nyerere is a pure ‘traditionalist’. In Kaunda’s
humanism and Nkrumah’s consciencism traditionalism is less dogmatic.
88 Chapter Three
Professional philosophy
Both forms of traditionalism, ethno-centrist and nationalist, are highly polit-
ical and ideological. Modernism, also called professional philosophy, is a cri-
tique of traditionalism. According to Wiredu (1980) traditionalism is based on
the methodological mistake of confusing different categories. By locating the
alternative to Western philosophy in common sense thought one compares unequal
entities, namely traditional, pre-scientific African thinking and modern, scien-
tific European thinking. This mistake reinforces a widespread misconception,
namely that Europeans are scientific and Africans are pre-scientific (Withaar
1986: 180–185; Oruka 1990: 18–20). Philosophers have to disconnect modes
of thought from geographical territories. Traditional, pre-scientific or common
sense thinking is not typically African; it is typical of pre-modern societies.
Europe also had and still has its traditional or common sense thinking. A con-
textual, intercultural analysis of modes of thought leads to the conclusion that
modern societies still maintain traditional modes of thought. A case in point is
alternative medicine.
Kwasi Wiredu’s analysis concurs with Robin Horton’s, but Horton is not
concerned with the critique of traditionalism. His sole interest is intercultural
analysis. Wiredu is not concerned with the political consequences of his analy-
sis, although these consequences are certainly there. The methodological error
referred to above can only be corrected by distinguishing strictly between two
modes of thought, namely traditional, pre-scientific thinking and modern, sci-
entific thinking, and relating these modes to specific societal and historical
contexts in which they function. They usually overlap, as I pointed out above.
Hountondji (1983) asks why traditionalists made the mistake of equating
African wisdom with philosophy. He answers the question by examining the
context in which traditionalism occurred. The aim of traditionalism was to refute
Lévy-Bruhl’s concept of a primitive mentality that served as a justification for
The study of religion in Africa 89
Sage philosophy
Sage philosophy is an attempt to answer the critique of professional philoso-
phers while maintaining the heritage of ethno-philosophy (Oruka 1990:
34–69). Sage philosophers hold that professional philosophers are good at
criticising ethno-philosophers but offer nothing of their own. Like ethno-
philosophers, Oruka and Ochieng’-Odhiambo’s main preoccupation is to
retrieve philosophic trends in traditional African belief systems and thought
120 Gyekye (1997: 32–33) distinguishes between contingent and essential universalism.
Whereas the latter’s universal status is intrinsic to human nature, the former acquires univer-
sal status over time as people situated beyond the cultural cradle of certain ideas or values
accept them as appropriate to their own situation.
90 Chapter Three
121 We found the same argument used by religionist scholars of religion against their atheistic
colleagues. See section 3.1.
122 In African theology one finds a parallel in two schools of thought: theology of African
renaissance and African reconstruction theology.
The study of religion in Africa 91
overstaffing, inefficiency and laziness (see section 1.1), there are also evils
perpetrated on people outside the group. “It is common knowledge that uneth-
ical acts committed by a member of one cultural group are condoned, if not
positively accepted, when done against members of another group” (Gyekye
1997: 255). Trans-ethnic unethical conduct is often allowed to pass as ethical.
We come back to this in section 5.1.
124 Kamstra (1985) says that for the ordinary faithful syncretism is what dialogue is for reli-
gious clergy. The first is spontaneous, the second is an intellectual enterprise.
The study of religion in Africa 93
By and large we shall use this classification, adding two related trends and
positions not specifically mentioned by Mugambi: Pentecostalism and
Orthodoxy. We use the theologies of revelation and salvation as our criteria
and apply our conclusions to interreligious learning. In each section we take
one contemporary East African theologian as an example.
125 Mugambi (2003: 118) says that there is a difference between the missionary and African use
of the Bible. Whereas missionaries used the Bible to condemn African culture (discontinu-
ity), Africans used it to affirm their dignity (continuity).
94 Chapter Three
in Africa, based in Nairobi. After his sudden death in 1975 Byang Kato was
succeeded by Tokunboh Adeyemo, also a Nigerian. In 1997 Tokunboh Adeyemo
published a revised, amplified edition of his Salvation in African tradition,
originally published in 1979.126 In his introduction to the second edition the
author says that, in the context of African religious pluralism, adherents of
Islam, African Traditional Religion and Christianity live together peacefully
under one roof. Some challenge the biblical claim of Jesus, “I am the way, and
the life and the truth. No one comes to the father except through me” (John
14:6). Many advocate universalism. Adeyemo argues to the contrary, maintain-
ing “there is only one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus”
(1 Tim 2:5).
Adeyemo says that he does not make dogmatic statements. He arrived at
his conclusions after careful investigation of traditional African beliefs and
practices regarding revelation and salvation. “The issue to settle is not whether
or not the Africans knew God before the advent of Islam and Christianity to
the continent; rather it is whether or not such knowledge is capable of bringing
man back to God,” says Adeyemo (1997: 8). He identifies five mistakes in the
salvation debate: pluralism, universalism, second chance-ism, syncretism and
humanisation. He counters with an Evangelical response:
“As Evangelicals we must guard against these pitfalls. We must tenaciously hold to the pri-
macy of God’s Word. God’s eternal unchanging Word must remain supreme in matters of faith
and practice. It is not a product of the literary activity of the Church. Rather the Church bows
before the authority of the Word. Sola Scriptura must ring loud and clear in our day”
(Adeyemo 1997: 109).
The second edition of Adeyemo’s Salvation in African tradition has two new
chapters, taking into consideration the contemporary cultural mix of Africa. In
“Issues in African Christian theology” Adeyemo dwells on the idea of salva-
tion in world religions. He concludes that salvation is by grace, obtained solely
through faith in Christ.
Although very different from Evangelical theologians, Pentecostal theolo-
gians share their negative evaluation of non-Christian religions and consequent
commitment to evangelism. Whereas Evangelical theologians hold that salva-
tion is found only through Scripture (sola scriptura), Pentecostal theologians
stress salvation through ‘direct revelation’, through inspired prophets or through
members of the community in general. Broadly speaking, those who are not
baptised and reborn in the Holy Spirit are believed not to be saved (Kalu 2003;
Asamoah-Gyadu 2005).
126 Other examples are Tite Tienou and (with some provisos) Kwame Bediako and Kä Mana
(see Dedji 2003, pp. 93–165 on Mana, and pp. 166–219 on Bediako). See also Ngewa, Shaw
and Tienou (1998) for an overview of Evangelical theology in Africa.
The study of religion in Africa 95
127 See also the analysis of Mugambi’s work in Dedji 2003, pp. 45–92. Other examples in East
Africa are Mary Getui and Zablon Nthamburi, both at Kenyatta University with long careers
as scholars of religion. At present, Getui is dean of the faculty of humanities. Nthamburi,
first chairman of the department of philosophy and religious studies, served a second term
from 2004 till 2006.
128 Most of Andreas Tillyrides’s publications are written under the name ‘archbishop
Makarios’. He is member of the Pontifical Council for promoting Christian Unity.
96 Chapter Three
powers, yet it is one of the oldest centres of Christianity in the world. Mark the
evangelist brought Christ to Africa at the time of the first Pentecost. “Alexandria
was a primary centre of theological study and growth” (Tillyrides 2000: 395).
Tillyrides frequently refers to the catechetical school of Alexandria and its dia-
logue with the Greek philosophers.129 “This is not to suggest, however, that
anyone will ever save his soul through Greek or any other species of philoso-
phy” (Tillyrides 2000: 401).
“Although the religious instinct is found everywhere, religion outside of
Christ, at its best, is distorted and inadequate,” says Andreas Tillyrides (2000:
467). Many Christians in the interfaith movement seek inspiration in other reli-
gions. This movement has also penetrated other churches at the very highest
level. In October 1986 an amazing interfaith service, presided over by pope
John Paul II, was held in Assisi. The animist representative was an African
‘witchdoctor’ (Tillyrides’s term). At this service the pope’s forehead was anointed
by a Hindu priestess, Tillyrides (2000: 268) reports. “This syncretism may pos-
sibly contain elements of value but it constitutes a grotesque caricature of true
Christianity, degrading Christianity to a level of all other religions; by stark
contrast the authentic catholicity of Orthodoxy stands eternally as the true
faith for all men and for every era.” African Orthodox theology has a great
responsibility for purifying faith. Why is this? “Precisely because Orthodoxy
is the religion instituted by our Lord Himself. This is the sole answer, and the
answer that is decisive against all arguments for syncretic experimentation,”
says Tillyrides (2000: 468).
The Coptic Orthodox Church does not accept the Chalcedonian profession
of faith, which says that Christ has two natures, one fully divine and one fully
human. For Coptic Orthodox Christians this curtails his full divinity. The
Coptic belief is that Christ has only one nature, which is divine, though fully
incarnated in a human body. In 563 there was a schism between the Greek and
Coptic Orthodox Churches, resulting in two patriarchates in Alexandria.130
The Coptic patriarch later relocated to Cairo. After many years of isolation the
Coptic Orthodox Church expanded to sub-Saharan Africa and established
a diocese in Kenya in 1978 (De Gruchy 1997). The Coptic Orthodox Church is
a founding member of the World Council of Churches and plays a significant
role in Muslim-Christian relations in Africa (Assad 2001).
129 The catechetical school of Alexandria promoted communication and understanding between
Christianity, Judaism and African Religion. Clement of Alexandria used neo-Platonist phil-
osophy to mediate between various religious and ideological systems in the 2nd century
Mediterranean world. This can serve as an example for a present-day theory of interreli-
gious relations (Shenk 1983: 1).
130 The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All of Africa also calls itself the African
Orthodox Church to distinguish itself from the Coptic Orthodox Church.
The study of religion in Africa 97
131 Other examples are Patrick Kalilombe, former bishop of Lilongwe and presently back in
Malawi as a university professor after a long stay in the United Kingdom, and Patrick
Wachege, the first PhD graduate at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa. He is a senior
lecturer at the University of Nairobi.
98 Chapter Three
Christianity and African culture must consist of the ongoing process of correl-
ating and integrating two resources. This discourse must take into account
God-inspired values inherent in African religious consciousness. These must
be correlated with values revealed in and through the Christian historical con-
sciousness. … The encounter is meant to enable the gospel to claim what
belongs to God in culture … When this happens, African Christians are not
alienated from their African identity. They are made instead to feel and see
themselves more radically as African, finding God in their African-ness.” Thus
Magesa remains in the inclusivist paradigm. God is already present among
African peoples, working among them in mysterious ways. Accordingly “mis-
sion can only mean the ‘discovery’ or ‘re-discovery’ of the Spirit within cul-
ture” (Magesa 2004: 162).
132 In section 7.1 it will become clear that I choose this label deliberately: it also refers to the
theological conviction that there is salvation in non-Christian religions independently of
Christ. This conviction may be held by theologians of African Instituted Churches, but not
necessarily so.
The study of religion in Africa 99
133 Other examples are Bolaji Idowu (1973), then at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and
Gabriel Setiloane (1976), then at the University of Botswana and Swaziland.
100 Chapter Three
“we collaborate with the All Africa Conference of Churches to bring them on
the right path,” the secretary general said. “We stress ecumenical cooperation.”
With respect to dialogue with Islam, the secretary general hesitates, for the
same reason. According to Muslim thinkers there is no continuity between African
culture and Islam. There is no inculturation in Islam: Muslims are not African
but Arab. “We collaborate with them on national issues in the Ufungamano
talks,” says Wambugu, “but we refuse Qa’dhi courts to be included in the
national constitution.” Recently the Muslims dropped out of the Ufungamano
talks: “There is no dialogue anymore.”
Conclusion
In this chapter we investigated the study of religion in Africa. We have seen
that religion, society and culture are not perceived as separate domains, and
that religious studies, philosophy and theology are interrelated. In the dis-
course about the study of religion in Africa there is a debate on whether meta-
physical neutrality and empirical testability are to be accepted as universal
criteria for academic enquiry, or whether these criteria are themselves rooted
in the (European) tradition of the Enlightenment, and thus biased. Much the
same debate is happening in African philosophy and theology. It is a tug-of-
war between advocates of the need to adapt to global modernity and the chal-
lenge of secularism on the one hand, and proponents of safeguarding and even
reviving African traditions on the other. With a view to the theory of interreli-
gious relations to be developed in this book we explored in particular how
scholars of religion, philosophers and theologians perceive the relation
between self and others. Is the traditional African heritage characterised by
peaceful coexistence of religions? Or is it itself divisive? We conclude that we
must be careful to avoid either/or positions.
Chapter Four
134 Some interviews were held earlier (April 2003) or later (October 2004). In those cases it is
indicated in the overview of interviewees (appendix 1). Some information was added in
footnotes while editing the manuscript. This information was gathered during a visit to
Tanzania and Kenya in June 2006.
135 Throughout this study I use the phrase ‘scholars of religion’ in an inclusive sense. The
boundaries between philosophy, theology and religious studies in Africa are fluid. In his
study of African scholarship in non-theological departments at state universities, Westerlund
(1985: 9) notes that as a rule these scholars are trained as theologians, and that normally
studies of African Religion are implicitly theological (Westerlund 1985: 44). To the best of
my knowledge this still holds true in East Africa.
136 Throughout this study I distinguish between departments of religion (or religious studies)
and faculties of theology, but here, too, distinctions are not always clear-cut. Departments of
religion are found at public universities, faculties of theology are found at private univer-
sities. Alternatively I may speak about ‘colleges’, ‘schools’ or ‘institutes’. Some universities
in Africa have departments of theology and religious studies, as is the case at the University
of Sierra Leone (Shyllon 2003). The term ‘divinity school’ is rare in East Africa.
137 I visited only academic institutions with a department of religious studies and/or a faculty of
theology. Other institutions have programmes related to our subject, such as the ethics
course offered at Strathmore University Nairobi, an Opus Dei initiated institution, and the
course in intercultural communication and international relations offered at the United
States International University in Nairobi.
102 Chapter Four
in the process of being registered for offering academic degrees. In all cases I
saw the registrar and/or the academic dean. I interviewed them about their edu-
cation in interreligious relations in the department or school and collected aca-
demic handbooks and other written sources. Last but not least, through the
secretary of the Association of Theological Institutions in Eastern Africa,
Godffrey Ngumi, I distributed a questionnaire among 80 of its members.
4.1 Documents
Although in most cases we started with interviews and then asked for written
documents, I first give a content analysis of the written documents, as this pro-
vides the general background to the interviews. Besides academic textbooks,
I looked at billboards and in newspapers, magazines and journals published by
the various institutions, as well as advertisements of educational programmes
and invitations to attend conferences and meetings.
138 As was the case at British universities, the religious studies curriculum at public universities
in the former colonies was influenced by the requirements of the subject religion or reli-
gious education in primary and secondary schools (Getui & Nelson 1997: 14). This dis-
tinguishes universities in former British colonies from those in former French colonies.
Because of the strict separation of church and state, universities in former French colonies
do not have faculties of theology or departments of religious studies (Platvoet 1989:
110–111).
139 The University of Nairobi started as the Royal Technical College of East Africa in 1949,
merged with the Ghandi Memorial Academy, an initiative of the Asian Community in East
Africa, in 1954, and become the second Inter-Territorial University College in East Africa
(after Makerere) in 1961. In 1964 the college was renamed University College of Nairobi
(Calendar 1997–2000, pp. 27–30).
Education in interreligious relations 103
140 Kenyatta University started as Kenyatta College in 1965, specialising in teacher training.
In 1970 it became a constituent college of the University of Nairobi, which transferred its
faculty of education to Kenyatta University College in 1978. In 1985 it acquired university
status, making it a fully fledged university.
141 Wamue (2004: 369) reports that the department wants to expand in various fields, such as
languages, ethical and theological studies, African and cultural studies, Oriental and com-
parative religious studies. Interreligious studies are not mentioned. In June 2006, however,
the department of religious studies and philosophy was revising its curriculum. It planned to
offer a BTh to meet students’ demand. Interfaith dialogue will be one of the compulsory
modules.
142 At present (June 2006) neither of the two universities employ a Muslim staff member to
teach Islamic studies, because the academic credentials of Muslim candidates are doubtful;
Islamic studies is taught by Christians and by Muslim student chaplains at both universities.
For the same reason, when I speak about African theologians or scholars of religion in this
study, I have in mind African Christian theologians and scholars of religion, unless specified
otherwise. There are, however, various Muslim scholars in other fields of study.
104 Chapter Four
143 There is one other public university in Kenya, making a total of six, namely Jomo Kenyatta
University, but it specialises in agriculture. The main private universities are the Catholic
University, Baraton, Nazarene, Methodist, Presbyterian, Daystar, Strathmore and United
States International University. Except for the last one, all have a religious orientation.
Many more are in the process of registration.
144 Hekima College is a constituent college of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa and its
degrees are accredited by that university. It is founded and maintained by the Major
Superiors of the Society of Jesus in Africa and Madagascar.
145 Tangaza College is a constituent college of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa and its
degrees are accredited by that university. It started in 1986 from the cooperative enterprise
of a number of religious and missionary institutes to provide theological education for their
respective students.
Education in interreligious relations 105
146 The Apostles of Jesus Major Seminary is the Theologate of the Society of Apostles of Jesus.
It started in 1973 and since 1989 it has been affiliated to the Pontifical Urbanian University
in Rome.
106 Chapter Four
147 St Paul’s United Theological College was started in 1903 and is run by the Anglican,
Methodist, Presbyterian and Reformed Churches and the National Council of Churches of
Kenya. It is in the process of obtaining a charter from government. At present the college
offers an MA in theology in collaboration with the University of Aberdeen (2003–2004
Catalogue, p. 68).
148 The Presbyterian University of Eastern Africa started as a pastoral institute in Zambezi. The
Pastoral Institute offered ministerial training for the Presbyterian Church of East Africa.
Since 1990 it has offered a three-year programme in theology in collaboration with St Paul’s
United Theological College, in which the Presbyterian Church of East Africa participates.
Education in interreligious relations 107
religious studies section. Its courses “teach the student the articles of faith and
to think about the faith in a systematic, coherent and analytic fashion, so that
they might present the Christian faith to the world more effectively. The study
of other faiths helps in the area of apologetics” (p. 3 x). The programme
includes an introduction to the world religions, Islam and ATR, and missiology
(p. 3 x–xi).
The department of theology of the Kenya Methodist University (Meru) has
no statement of faith.149 Under “Vision” its 2002 Academic Programme says:
“The university is dedicated to furtherance of the Christian faith and promo-
tion of the required activities for the restoration of relationship between human
beings and God the Creator. It strives to apply its Christian principles and prac-
tical evangelism in all its endeavours” (p. 3). The BTh programme has courses
in phenomenology of religion and African Traditional Religion (pp. 11–12)
and offers an African religious studies concentration, but no course in Islam or
Muslim-Christian relations (p. 13). The applied theology concentration offers
a course in world religions (p. 12). There is an elective course in history of reli-
gion (p. 47) and one in principles and practice of missiology, but no reference
to interreligious relations (p. 52).150
There are several Christian or Bible colleges in Nairobi, such as Bethany
College (Methodist orientation),151 Grace College (Baptist orientation), and
Carlile College (Anglican orientation).152 These colleges offer courses leading
to a diploma in biblical studies and/or theology that can be upgraded to a degree.
Carlile College has a Centre for Intercultural and Contemporary Studies. This
college offers degrees through the University of South Africa and, along with
other partners, is in the process of establishing Concord University. The Univer-
sity of Eastern Africa Baraton (‘Baraton University’) is owned and operated by
the Seventh-Day Adventist Church and is located in Rift Valley Province,
Kapsabet. It offers BA degrees in theology and religion. The African Orthodox
Church has the Orthodox Patriarchal School – Makarios III Archbishop of Cyprus,
in Riruta. The 2003 Yearbook and Review mentions courses in missiology in
149 The Kenya Methodist University is an autonomous Christian institution of higher learning
facilitated by the Methodist Church in Kenya. According to its 2002 Academic Programme
(p. 3) the university maintains an ecumenical Christian atmosphere.
150 Recently two modules in interfaith dialogue were introduced into the curriculum of the
department of theology at the Kenya Methodist University (Meru).
151 Bethany College started at the private initiative of a Methodist minister who had cut links
with his church. It now has a link with the Kenya Methodist University, which is situated
some 275 kilometres northeast of Nairobi, and serves as its city campus.
152 Carlile College is run by the Church Army and defines itself as a college for training evan-
gelists. It is recognised as such in the Anglican Provinces of Eastern Africa. It is part of a
consortium that will run a new private university, Concord University, which is in the
process of being registered by the Commission of Higher Education.
108 Chapter Four
year two (p. 115) and year three (p. 116), but not in world religions and inter-
religious relations. Students are awarded a diploma in theology. The Coptic
Orthodox Church conducts its theological and ministerial training in Cairo.
The Organisation of African Instituted Churches does not have its own theo-
logical college. In the late 1990s there was a plan to start one at its headquarters
in Nairobi, but it did not get off the ground because of financial constraints.
However, the Organisation of African Instituted Churches offers theological
education by extension at seven regional centres. For further studies they send
students to Daystar University and Tangaza College, and sometimes to the
United Kingdom (University of Birmingham) or the United States of America.
153 The Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology was founded by the Association of
Evangelicals in Africa in 1983 and is maintained by that association.
154 Scott Theological College was established as the national theological college of the African
Inland Church in 1962. Its purpose was to provide training for church ministers at a more
advanced academic level than was available through its Bible colleges.
Education in interreligious relations 109
155 In its brochure the Africa Nazarene University says: “The University is affiliated with
the Church of the Nazarene International, a Holiness Church in the Wesleyan (Methodist)
tradition.”
110 Chapter Four
156 Daystar University was originally known as Daystar Communications in Zimbabwe, but
moved to Nairobi during the Zimbabwean civil war. In 1976 Daystar Communications
offered a two-year post high school diploma programme in Christian communication. In
1978 it started a two-year MA programme in Christian communication and Christian min-
istries. In 1984 it launched a four-year BA programme and changed its name to Daystar
University College. In 1994 the college was granted a charter by the Kenyan government
and became Daystar University.
157 It was founded in the early 1970s as a ministry of the Campus Crusade for Christ
International, which operates in Kenya under the name of LIFE Ministry.
Education in interreligious relations 111
immediately into eternal, conscious separation from the Lord and awaits the
resurrection of his body to everlasting judgement and condemnation” (p. 5).
The school offers a two-year MA degree programme with a concentration in
mission and a three-year MD degree programme with a concentration in mis-
sion (p. 35). The mission concentration in both the MD and MA programmes
has a course in theology of missions and evangelism to the unreached.
Pentecostal Institutes of Higher Learning stress God’s action through his
Spirit. As the 2003–2005 Prospectus of the Pan African Christian College says
on its cover: “Academic excellence with spiritual anointing.”158 In its doctrinal
statement of faith (p. 11) it says, inter alia, that the Bible “is inspired by God
and the only infallible and authoritative Word of God” (p. 11) and that “the
baptism of the Holy Spirit with the outward evidence of speaking in tongues
according to Acts 2 is given to believers who meet God’s conditions for receiv-
ing [it]” (p. 12). It believes in “the resurrection of both the saved and the lost,
the one to everlasting life and the other to everlasting damnation” (p. 12). The
college offers a BA in Bible and theology and a BA in Bible and translation
studies through the International Correspondence Institute, Global University
in Springfield, Missouri. The division of church ministries offers courses in
evangelism and missiology (pp. 48–49). Under general education the college
offers courses in world religions in Africa (p. 53), Islam in Africa (p. 55) and
African Traditional Religions (p. 56).
The East Africa School of Theology (Buru Buru) says in its doctrinal state-
ment in the 1995–1999 college catalogue: “We believe: The Bible to be the
inspired and only infallible and authoritative Word of God . . . That the regen-
eration of the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential for salvation” (p. 18), “That
the baptism of the Holy Spirit according to Acts 2:4 is given to all believers who
ask for it” (p. 19), and “that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is witnessed by the
initial physical sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of God gives
them the utterance” (p. 19), “That there will be a final judgement in which the
wicked dead will be raised and judged according to their works . . . Whoever is
not found written in the Book of Life . . . will be consigned to everlasting pun-
ishment in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone” (p. 20).159 The college
offers a BA degree with majors in Bible and theology through the International
Correspondence Institute, Global University in Springfield, Missouri. Under
general education it offers courses in ATR and Islam (p. 69) and world religions
(pp. 70–71). The BA degree programme offers introductions to evangelism and
158 The Pan African Christian College was founded in 1978 by the Pentecostal Assemblies of
God of Canada, which is still its prime sponsor.
159 The East Africa School of Theology is a ministry of the United States of America
Assemblies of God serving East and Central Africa. It was founded in 1968, originally in
Arusha, Tanzania, and is now run by the Kenya Assemblies of God.
112 Chapter Four
missions in the church ministries component (pp. 77–78). Under general edu-
cation it offers a course in African Traditional Religions from a historical per-
spective (p. 81), and an introduction to Islam and world religions from a social
sciences perspective. Introduction to missions is prerequisite for both courses.
Besides an overview of the history and theology of Islam, Muhammad and the
Qur’an, the introduction to Islam includes methods for ministry to Muslims.
The course in world religions offers a survey of eight non-Christian living reli-
gions that are contrasted with Christianity and biblical teachings with a view to
establishing meaningful communication with non-Christians for the purpose
of evangelism (p. 84).
4.2 Interviews
160 In: 1999–2002 Catalogue, Daystar University, p. 6. One finds similar formulations, for
instance in the 2001–2003 prospectus of Scott Theological College (p. 14) and the 2002–2006
prospectus of Nairobi International School of Theology (p. 7). The latter adds: “We allow lati-
tude of beliefs on matters not specifically mentioned in the Statement of Faith.” Students are
required to sign forms containing the profession of faith as an admission requirement.
Education in interreligious relations 113
general conclusions I will come back to the answers and reflect on them in
light of the previous investigations.
Historical reasons
“Since 7 August 1998 there are many activities in the field of interreligious
dialogue. But theological reflection on these activities is lacking,” one inter-
viewee said. Asked why this is so, another interviewee said: “After independ-
ence everything was at peace in Africa. Unlike some Asian countries that had
to face religious plurality after independence, for example India and Pakistan,
for Africa the main challenge after independence was cultural identity and eth-
nic diversity.” Whereas contextual theologies in Asia had to face religious plur-
alism right from the start, for Africans dialogue with different cultures was
more important. Thus one finds plenty of publications on Christianity and
African cultures, gospel and culture, and inculturation.
Another interviewee stated: “From the British we inherited a tradition of
comparative religion. Thus African universities started departments of reli-
gious studies, where religion is studied in a neutral or objective way.” Theology
was left to the seminaries, this interviewee said. In these seminaries they have
so far followed traditional curricula comprising classical subjects such as
apologetics, mission and evangelism, but theology of religions and theology of
interreligious dialogue are not included. “We have yet to learn to understand
and appreciate other religions.”
A third informant relativised present-day talk about interreligious dialogue.
“There were Arabs in Africa before Islam started as a religion.” Trade between
Africans and Arabs has a long history. In various African countries there have
always been Qa’dhi courts and there have been Muslims in government for
quite some time. In Kenya the attempt to form an Islamic party failed, not
because it was forbidden by the government, but because people did not feel
the need to have a party based on religion. “The ufungamano talks have never
been a problem up to the constitution review process.”161 This is not to deny
the current problem, but to put it in a proper historical context.
Missionaries brought religious tribalism, one interviewee said: “Just as the
colonialists divided our peoples into ‘tribes’, the missionaries divided us into
‘denominations’.” Another interviewee added: “There is a link between European
ethnicity and European denominationalism. Cuius regio, eius religio! This eth-
nic denominationalism was exported to Africa with colonial and neo-colonial
invasion of Africa, and produced African denominationalism which has
161 Ufungamano talks refers to the gatherings of religious leaders at Ufungamano House, in
which they discussed their relations with government, especially under president Moi.
114 Chapter Four
Cultural reasons
“Dialogue is not a big problem for us,” some interviewees said, “we have always
lived harmoniously in mixed communities.” The African tradition of peaceful
coexistence has continued right up to the present, but you do not hear about
that. “In my own country, Sierra Leone, we have had a Muslim president with
a Catholic wife. There was no attempt at Islamisation.” Two of his children were
Muslim, two were Catholic. “If I have not been able to Islamise my family,
how would I be able to Islamise the nation, this president said.” The inter-
viewee continued: “Malawi has a Muslim president; the majority of the popu-
lation is Christian. Religion was not a factor in the election. The same applies
to Senegal. Ninety-four percent of the population of Senegal is Muslim. But
the people there elected Léopold Senghor, a devout Roman Catholic, to be the
first president. He remained president for twenty years without Muslims argu-
ing for the introduction of sharia. His successor, Abdou Diouf, was a Muslim
but his wife was a Roman Catholic. And he also remained president for twenty
years. You only hear about the bad practices, not about the good practices.”
“We are not ready for dialogue,” I was told, “We are still struggling to find
an African Christian identity. So dialogue with others would be too ambitious
at this stage.” One interviewee said, “We are not invited to international confer-
ences. In the West, Africa is still regarded as the ‘dark continent’. So it is pre-
supposed that no light can come from Africa.” Another interviewee said: “We
are not invited to these international conferences. People in the West do not
like our uncompromising views. People in the West say: I’m okay, you’re okay.
But we are not okay. The strong opposition in Africa against the ordination of
a homosexual bishop in the Anglican Church is just one example.”
162 Possibly referring to 1 Cor 1:12–13: “Each one of you says something different. One says,
‘I follow Paul’; another ‘I follow Apollos’, another ‘I follow Peter’, and another ‘I follow
Christ’. Christ has been divided into groups.”
Education in interreligious relations 115
163 Referring to the marginalisation of religion in Europe in the 1960s and 1970s, and the
renewed interest in the relationship between religion and development now.
116 Chapter Four
4.3 Questionnaire
Independent or integrated?
Asked whether the study of interfaith relations is part of the curriculum,
15 respondents answered affirmatively and 5 negatively. If the answer was
affirmative, the next question was whether this study is done in (an) independent
course(s) or whether it is integrated with (an)other course(s). Seven informants
answered that it is independent, 8 that it is integrated. If they answered ‘inte-
grated’, they were asked, “with what course(s) is it integrated?” Ten informants
answered this question. The courses mentioned were: comparative religions;
Christian mission/missiology/mission studies; mission and evangelism; ecu-
menism; African Traditional Religion; Islam (mentioned twice)/Islamic stud-
ies; Christian and other religions; Christian worldview; Islam and African
Traditional Religion; Christianity and world religions; African studies; reli-
gious education; introduction to religious studies/introduction to religion;
world religions; contemporary religious trends; faith studies and apologetics;
human studies and religion (combinations are mine).
Asked whether they offer one or more than one course in interfaith relations,
9 informants answered ‘one’ and 5 answered ‘more’ To the question, “Is this
course/are these courses (a) compulsory or (an) elective course(s)?”, 14 inform-
ants answered ‘compulsory’ and 2 ticked both options. Asked about the level on
which the course(s) is offered, 3 informants answered ‘diploma’, 6 answered
‘bachelor’, 4 ticked both diploma and bachelor level, and one informant ticked
bachelor and master level. None of the informants ticked doctoral level.165
164 The Association of Theological Institutions in Eastern Africa started as an accrediting asso-
ciation. At present, ATIEA comprises some 80 partner institutions.
165 This can be attributed to the fact that most partner institutions of the Association of
Theological Institutions in Eastern Africa teach at undergraduate level.
Education in interreligious relations 117
Conclusion
168 Note: 7 out of 20 responses to my questionnaire state that interreligious relations are dealt
with in an independent course, but this finding is not confirmed by my sample of academic
handbooks.
169 By ‘comparative’ in this context I mean the teaching of different religions as separate
entities in schools, a practice that is reflected at university level (Hinga 1996: 223; Wamue
2004: 367).
170 Note that the word ‘missionary’ is used here the way it is used in East Africa. In the explan-
ation given in the introduction, a missionary and a dialogical approach are not necessarily
antithetical.
Chapter Five
171 China is not in favour of a United Nations intervention in Darfur. This country gets 7% of its
oil supplies from Sudan. It recoups part if the expenses from arms traffic, backed up by
president Omar Al Bashir.
172 At present (June 2006) 18 of the 54 member states of the African Union have civil wars
raging on their territory. Four of the five largest refugee populations in the world are
African. This clearly shows that something went seriously wrong in Africa.
173 Two theories are current in the literature. The realistic group conflict theory (Sherif 1966)
holds that inter-group conflict is caused by conflicting goals (perceived or actual) or compe-
tition for scarce resources. The social identity theory (Tajfel 1978) holds that inter-group
conflict is not necessarily caused by competition; other causes are strong in-group identifi-
cation and categorisation into groups per se.
122 Chapter Five
religions catering for the needs of one specific group. Many conflicts in Africa
are ethnically oriented (Chepkwony 2002: 142–146), and very often they are
motivated by religious sentiments. This is why African Religion, like any other
religion, can become intolerant and violent. Many ethnic groups believe that
they are ‘the only people’ and other ethnic groups are non-people. Not infre-
quently there is a religious myth underpinning the superiority complex. The
Maasai cattle raiding among the Kikuyu is justified by a myth that all cattle
were given to the Maasai by God and belong to them. The same applies to
Akamba kidnapping of Kikuyu women (Getui 1999: 13–14). Ellis and Ter
Haar (2004) show the interconnectedness of politics and religion in Africa. To
some extent this applies to the Rwanda tragedy. While religion may not be the
sole cause of conflict, it certainly contains seeds of conflict.
174 The same applies to bodily features. Some Rwandans are tall and thin, others are small and
thickset. But it would be difficult to link these features to ethnic background.
Religion, conflict and reconciliation 123
‘real’ Africans and as such more acceptable to the colonists. After independ-
ence Kayibanda ruled, not as a Tutsi noble but as a unifying symbol, detached
from the ethnic fray. Opposition was mainly regional. This changed when
the international ‘community’ enforced structural adjustment programmes on
Rwanda, resulting in growing unemployment and rural poverty. In addition,
multi-party democracy, also enforced by Western agencies as a condition for
development aid, meant that belonging to an ethnic minority or majority
became a political factor (Linden 1995: 257–258).175
Undoubtedly this brief analysis does not do justice to all the complexities
of the multidimensional problem. But it is evident that in this case international
oppression and domination went hand in hand with intra-national oppression and
domination (Aguilar 1998: 21). The conflict in Rwanda would certainly not
have assumed such tragic proportions without outside influences, but the Tutsi’s
superiority complex and their oppression of the Hutu antedate the European
presence.176
175 Chepkwony (2002: 140) suggests that the re-introduction of multi-party politics in Kenya in
1991 was a factor in the ethnic violence in that country’s Rift Valley province and in various
other African countries. If this is true, it challenges the African model of multiculturalism.
176 Conflicts in Africa are quite often between agriculturalists and pastoralists, for instance
between the Maasai and the Sonjo in Nogrongoro district, Tanzania, and between the Maasai
and the Kikuyu in Kenya. With growing populations, both groups vie for land and water.
Increasingly access to water will be a cause of friction between ethnic groups in Africa.
124 Chapter Five
177 Recently the introduction of Qa’dhi courts in the Kenyan draft constitution caused great
concern among Christian groups. However, Qa’dhi courts have existed on the East African
coast for centuries. They were included in the 1895 treaty between the British and the sultan
of Zanzibar and in the 1963 Kenyan constitution (Hashim 2005).
178 Probably the first civil war in post-independence Africa that challenged Africa’s tradition of
peaceful coexistence was the Biafran war (1967–1970). In retrospect this war demonstrates the
danger of a convergence of ethnic and religious sentiments (Ibo Christian identity), economic
power (oil reserves) and international involvement (the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union
supported the federal government, France supported the Ibo). The federal government was
supported by the non-Ibo minority in Iboland. Above all, this war shows that one cannot build
a multi-ethnic and multi-religious state on exclusive ethnic or religious enclaves.
Religion, conflict and reconciliation 125
179 In Sudan the British administrators adopted a secular approach to the task of government.
They categorically forbade any attempt by missionaries to proselytise north of the Nilotes
and the Nuba mountains (Gray & Hasan 2002: 19).
180 A video speech by Osama bin Laden that appeared on the internet on 30 June 2006 shows
that this danger is not imaginary. In this speech, which is not about Sudan but about
Somalia, Bin Laden explicitly warns the international community not to intervene in
Somalia.
181 Even now (June 2006) China is Africa’s third most important trading partner, after the
United States and France but ahead of the United Kingdom. Whether this is a win-win situ-
ation or a form of neo-colonialism remains to be seen. China seems to be less strict than the
European Union about making observance of human rights a condition for loans to African
countries. Although Chinese have been active in East Africa since and even before inde-
pendence (e.g. in railway construction and health care), for Africa’s traditional partners
China is a relatively new player in the field. Its presence is bound to put Africa’s relations
with its traditional partners under pressure and change relations between superpowers.
126 Chapter Five
benefited from the civil war when they could exploit the rich oil fields in
Sudan. The situation in Darfur shows that conversion to the same religion does
not necessarily lead to racial integration (Mugambi 2004: 25).182
182 The situation in Somalia would certainly make another interesting case study. In June 2006
the Islamic Courts Union in Somalia took control of the capital Mogadishu and
various other towns. American officials said that they backed the Alliance for the Restor-
ation of Peace and Counter-terrorism against the Islamic Courts Union, which is said to
harbour three al-Qaeda leaders who were involved in the 1998 United States of
America embassies bombings in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi. Somalia has only one ethnic
group and one religion, yet there are conflicts. Thus religion and ethnicity alone do not
explain conflict; a multi-dimensional analytical model is needed to explain (religious)
conflicts.
183 In Nigeria, for example, Muslims and Christians traded with each other because they had
a common interest: to make profit. This is what Sundermeier (2003: 71) calls a trader’s
model. The other party is evaluated not in terms of equality or alterity but of usefulness.
Religion, conflict and reconciliation 127
mass media and state organs consistently spread the message that the others were
cockroaches (Ter Haar 2000: 18). It has been observed in various contexts that
less than ten percent of believers are ‘extremists’. Most of them simply want to
live a prosperous life, more or less in harmony with their neighbours. But the
normal state of affairs is not ‘news’. Only the extraordinary, when people go to
extremes, is exciting enough to be newsworthy. In addition religious and cul-
tural identity is often used as ‘symbolic capital’ to serve the interests of a spe-
cific group (Bourdieu 1991). In present-day Africa identity derives not only
from secular nationalist ideologies but increasingly also from religion (Van
Binsbergen 2003: 492). For this reason I find Ellis and Ter Haar’s (2004: 106)
statement that “there has been rather little violence on religious grounds in
African conflicts” a trifle superficial.
Unity is strength
Serving the interests of specific groups is exactly what cultures do. Culture is
no longer considered to be a shared meaning system in the sense that unity is
presupposed and given once and for all. Culture is the organisation of diversity
(Hannerz 1992). It unites people who are otherwise divided, and it does so in
situations of distress. When security is threatened people seek the support of
other people, with whom they share ethnic, national, gender or religious orien-
tations. As was observed among the Sukuma of northwest Tanzania, they did
not have regular communal rituals except during severe droughts or Maasai
raids (Wijsen & Tanner 2000). Hence culture is a unifying factor in situations
of economic deprivation or political oppression. The motto ‘umoja ni nguvu’
(unity is strength) was a pillar of ujamaa socialism. As the Swahili proverb
goes, one finger cannot kill a louse. This is the essence of ethnic cooperation
(harambee), says Chepkwony (2002: 150).
The advantages and blessings of African community spirit (ujamaa) are
well known (Eboh 2004; Onwubiko 1999). It is seen as the foundation of
peaceful coexistence of African people. Less well known are the disadvantages
and risks of the same community spirit, both internally and externally.
Internally there is strong solidarity and neighbourly love, but consequently
also group pressure and social control. Not infrequently this leads to witchcraft
accusations and violence against members of the in-group, especially those
who prosper, thus giving rise to jealousy (Gyekye 1997: 252–257; Signer
2004; Van der Veen 2004). Externally, outsiders or strangers are not seen as
neighbours, hence neighbourly love does not apply to them. Among the Ashante
(Ghana) it was accepted that outsiders were sold as slaves (Schildkraut 1997);
the same applies to the Nyamwezi (Tanzania). Among the Pokot (Kenya) steal-
ing from fellow Pokot is considered a sin, but stealing from non-Pokot is con-
sidered heroic (Visser 1989).
128 Chapter Five
Is inculturation helpful?
Missionary approaches to ethnicity have been ambiguous. Sometimes the eth-
nic identity of a people was squashed as devil possession, to be replaced by
Christianity. In other cases the missionaries preserved and even promoted eth-
nic identity as resources for local theology and church development. Sometimes
churches became channels for ethnocentric and nationalist sentiments, as was
the case when Belgian missionaries supported Tutsi political aspirations in
Rwanda.
Inculturation theology is not always helpful in solving conflicts. If incultur-
ation means embroiling the church in the divisions of a divided society, if it
reinforces ethnic identities rather than criticising them, this is certainly not
going to further reconciliation.184 The church must challenge the givenness of
ethnic boundaries. This requires a critical theory of ethnicity and culture and
a critical theology of acculturation (Linden 1995: 261–263).185 In our study
Bourdieu (1991) helps us to see that boundaries are social through and through,
rather than natural. Mugambi observes that “corporate identity is essential in
African thought”. According to him, “Kinship relation is the basis for corpor-
ate identity. . . . [I]t is this fact that makes ‘tribalism’ a great problem in Africa”
(Mugambi 1989: 136). “At the beginning of the third millennium, it is
important to strongly affirm that African identity transcends race and religion”
(Mugambi 2003: 112).
A critical theory of culture and a critical theory of acculturation are build-
ing blocks for the theory of interreligious relations that this study is aimed at.
As we said in the introduction, a theory is a system that explains phenomena
by postulating constructs and the laws that interrelate them (Muganda &
Muganda 2003: 6). In the introduction we spoke about multicultural societies
in terms of a fruit cocktail, and about multicultural persons in terms of mul-
tiple identities. What we have learnt so far is that in Africa peaceful coexist-
ence tends to be interpreted as live and let live. “I let you do your business as
long as you let me do mine.” As the old man (mzee) quoted above said, all
people have their own religion and all religions are good. Thus the African
model of interreligious relations tends to be multicultural. It is a step ahead of
the European mono-cultural model, which seeks to adapt the other to one’s
own point of view. But does this step go far enough?
184 If inculturation merely affirms culture, it may compromise the Christian message, as in Nazi
Germany where the concept of Volkskirche bound theology to culture. The same applies to
the Orthodox Church and Serbian ethnic identity in Bosnia Herzegovina.
185 This is what I try to develop in this study using a hermeneutics of suspicion and critical dis-
course analysis. As mentioned already, I believe that Mazrui’s concept of triple heritage and
the discourse on Africa’s tradition of peaceful coexistence needs revision.
Religion, conflict and reconciliation 129
186 The African Charter was adopted on 27 June 1981 at the 18th assembly of the heads of state
and government of the Organisation of African Unity. It took effect on 21 October 1986. So
far 38 African states have ratified the charter.
130 Chapter Five
187 The question is to what extent Bujo’s observations apply to the continent as a whole or just
to specific parts of Africa, and to what extent they still apply to contemporary Africa. I dis-
cussed Bujo’s chapter on human rights (Bujo 1997: 143–156) with various groups of
African students, both in Nairobi and in Nijmegen, and the reactions were mixed. Some
recognised what Bujo says; others said that Bujo’s observations did not apply to their ethnic
group or that they did apply in the past but not anymore.
Religion, conflict and reconciliation 131
Islamic law remains popular among Muslims. In the previous section (5.1) we
mentioned the introduction of sharia in Nigeria, which materialised in the twelve
northern states in 2000. Politicians promoted Islamic law because it was the
only way to get the support of the people. Those who opposed the sharia had
no chance of winning the elections. Most people wanted Islamic law as an
alternative to the prevailing political and judicial system, which was chaotic
and corrupt. They believed that the sharia would cure all ills, Allah himself
would see to that. So the introduction of Islamic law was a consequence of the
restoration of multi-party democracy in Nigeria. Many people in the northern
states always wanted sharia, but politicians did not listen to them. The multi-
party political system changed all that.
Why did people prefer the sharia to other legal systems? Various answers
are given to this intriguing question. First, Muslims consider sharia a religious
duty. A Muslim who does not observe the sharia is not a ‘good’ Muslim,
according to popular belief. Second, there is social pressure. Most Muslims
cannot explain why sharia is good but simply say that ‘this is the way we
inherited from our fathers’. Third, sharia is more efficient. It is strongly ori-
ented to the community (ummah), in which everybody knows everybody else,
so it is less bureaucratic. Fourth, sharia is an alternative to the corrupt state. It
gives the law a transcendent character and is thus a powerful instrument against
human self-interest; it is to a large extent a protest. Fifth, sharia has many
loopholes and interpretations differ in various countries. For example, the veil-
ing of Muslim women, hotly debated in the West, is not a big issue in the
sharia or in the Qur’an; and Islamic family law and rights of inheritance guar-
anteed women more rights than they had in the West until modern times. The
bad image of sharia is Western propaganda, it is said.
The introduction of sharia seems part of a general anti-Western feeling, the
last step in the de-colonisation process. The former European colonies are
politically and economically free, but culturally they have yet to gain their
freedom. Introduction of sharia means liberation from yet another Western
influence, in this case the legal system inherited from the colonialists and still
used in many countries, and a revival of local culture. When people in the West
oppose sharia they behave like the old colonialists did, it is said. Afrocentrism
and Islamism have a common root in anti-Western sentiments: Occidentalism
(Buruma & Margalit 2004). Christianity, too, is seen as a Western influence,
a ‘white man’s religion’. This shows once again that the clash between
Islam and Christianity is a counterpart of the clash between the West and the
rest of the world (Mazrui 2006: 223–224). It is important to clarify, however,
that ‘the West’ is a historical, not a geographical, construct. The West refers to
societies which are industrialised, urbanised, capitalist, secular and modern.
They arose in the 16th century as a result of economic, political, social and
cultural processes. Nowadays any society, wherever it is located, which pos-
sesses the aforementioned characteristics belongs to the West. The word
132 Chapter Five
‘Western’, therefore, means much the same as the word ‘modern’ (Hall
1992: 277).
188 Without making differences absolute, there is a stark contrast between the Western claim of
autonomy (rooted in the Enlightenment) and non-Western ‘submission’ to authority (e.g.
that of the Bible or the Qur’an). Kim (2002: 19) speaks about “Independent Self-
Construals” and “Interdependent Self-Construals”.
Religion, conflict and reconciliation 133
and again, as was observed by the Parliament of the World’s Religion in Cape
Town in December 1999 (Ter Haar 2000: 2–5).
189 In section 2.2 I spoke about the Abuja Declaration and the Muslims’ campaign to influence
political parties and government leaders. A similar campaign is underway in certain Christian
churches. “We do not want to mount a coup, but we certainly do have a plan,” says Bishop
Bonifes Adoyo, head of the Christ is the Answer Ministries Church in Nairobi and chairman
of the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya. In June 2006 I witnessed an ‘explosion’ of evangelism
in Mwanza, Tanzania. Twenty-two members of a small American Baptist church came to
Tanzania on a Crusade for Christ. “Our pastor invites volunteers to a mission trip annually,”
my informant said. “This year we came to Tanzania. . . . We go to market places to proclaim
Christ.” “Are you successful?” I asked. “Oh yes, many have come to know Christ,” my
informant answered. Similar ‘evangelism explosions’ happen all over East Africa.
190 The Secretariat for the non-Christians was established in 1964 and was renamed the
Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue in 1988 by Francis cardinal Arinze.
191 The Congregation for the Propagation of Faith was established in 1622 by Pope Gregory XV
and was renamed the Congregation for the Evangelisation of the Peoples in 1967.
192 In February 2006 the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue ceased to exist as an inde-
pendent body and merged with the Pontifical Council for Culture. According to some Vatican
watchers this indicates that interreligious dialogue is less important to pope Benedict XVI than
it was to pope John Paul II. Others say that it was purely a matter of cost-cutting. Yet others say
that the president of the council, archbishop Michael Fitzgerald M.Afr., was considered too
liberal. Fitzgerald became apostolic Nuncio to Egypt. The President of the Pontifical Council
for Culture denied that the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue ceased to exist.
134 Chapter Five
Globalisation of the church’s social teaching offered a way out of this funda-
mental dilemma. It meant that mission theology was increasingly interpreted
as a theology of development, later as a theology of liberation, leaving the
dilemma of religious freedom versus proclamation where it was.193
In the current debate the conflict between missionary and diaconal work
remains unresolved, as will be seen below (section 9.1). Partly because of the
proliferation of charismatic and Pentecostal churches, this is a hot issue in
a theory of interreligious relations. As is well known, the evangelical churches
did not accept the reduction of mission to the social consequences of the
gospel. Moreover, the tension between group solidarity and individual free-
dom becomes an issue in less individualised societies where corporate iden-
tities are stressed, as happens in most African societies (see section 3.2). For
example, however tolerant of other people’s religious beliefs traditional Akan
may have been, persons disagreeing fundamentally with the Akan worldview
risked isolation from the community. Yet if these persons were prepared to per-
form their civic duties without bothering too much about underlying beliefs,
they could live in peace with their kinsmen (Wiredu 1996: 167).
193 One can, however, interpret the existence of two separate institutions for dialogue and evan-
gelisation as a sign that the Vatican sees dialogue and evangelisation as two distinct ecclesi-
astic activities that are not to be confused or reduced to each other.
Religion, conflict and reconciliation 135
Everyone knows that religions often cause conflict and violence, but they can
also be instrumental in promoting peace and reconciliation. This is because
they teach people not to look at the world from their own narrow perspective
but from that of the world as a whole (Hick 1981; Karecki 2005). A positive
feature of African Religions is their rich tradition of reconciliation and purifi-
cation rituals (Magesa 1997: 234–240; Eboh 2004: 148–154; Van Binsbergen
2003: 349–371). They can be fruitful for present-day conflict resolution. But it
should be noted that in most cases these rituals are limited to relations between
kinsmen; they are seldom effective at meso and macro level (Van Binsbergen
2003: 369–370).
194 In similar vein, Mazrui (2006: 76–77) argues against the ‘good cop, bad cop’ strategy in the
war against terror. Muslims around the globe are not more sinning than sinned against
(Mazrui 2006: 97).
195 According to Tarimo (2004: 13) neither holistic nor closed communitarianism is an alterna-
tive to individual liberalism.
136 Chapter Five
With respect to the second prerequisite, government has started to pay indi-
vidual reparation grants. But it is asked whether these are sufficient. Whether
reconciliation was achieved depends on the definition of reconciliation, and
that definition was unclear. One observer, Peter-John Pearson, states that,
whereas some members of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission spoke of
peaceful coexistence as ‘absence of killings’, others had a deeper understand-
ing of reconciliation: reconciliation is a struggle against all forms of injustice
with a view to “new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells”
(2 Pet 3:13). What needs to be reconciled is not the divide between the white
colonists and the black peoples, but the divide between rich and poor, the power-
ful and the marginalised, which continues to exist and in fact to widen. The
issue is not one of race but of poverty. Another observer, Marcelle Manley,
says that in her view Mbeki and the other leading lights in the ANC world –
both political and economic, many of them highly capable – embody the old
capitalist world without racial strings attached.
As far as the first prerequisite is concerned, the following statistics are per-
tinent. A national survey indicated that most black and brown South Africans
(90%) were satisfied with the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commis-
sion; only one third of white South Africans were positive about it, one third
was negative and one third was undecided (Meiring 2002: 285–286). What
about the Muslims? Farid Esack (2002: 296–297) cites the Christianisation of
the Truth and Reconciliation process as a reason for Muslims to remain on the
sidelines. There are “many Christians who do not understand that Christianity
as a privileged religion and discourse must make way for a more humble one
which regards all other faiths as co-equals,” says Esack. And he continues:
“On the day of testimony, I spoke critically of the symbolism of having Jews,
Muslims and Hindus coming to testify to an all-Christian panel, headed by an
archbishop sitting under a huge crucifix in a church hall.”
196 In his No future without forgives, Tutu (1999) puts forward Christian and Africa’s tradition
of forgiveness as resource for overcoming experiences of dehumanisation and oppression.
Tutu’s view was not shared by all – many of the witnesses and appellants were critical. Quite a
lot of bitterness was expressed in the media. However sincerely intended by Tutu and others,
it was at least to some extent (political) histrionics. There has been a lot of very real recon-
ciliation – incredibly much – but it comes more from give and take in a free society, from chil-
dren sharing desks and playgrounds, from ordinary life and a common struggle against crime.
138 Chapter Five
Role of religion
Since the 11 September 2001 events there has been a lot of discussion about
the role of religion in conflict and reconciliation. Can we expect religion to
play a positive role? Is religion a solution to conflict or part of the problem?
Following Habermas and others, modernists would rely on rationality more than
religiosity in conflict resolution. But according to postmodernists 20th century
198 Panikkar (1978) and Krieger (1991) make the same point when they speak about cosmo-
theandric solidarity, as does Hick (1981) when he speaks about the transition from self-
centredness to reality-centredness.
140 Chapter Five
The purpose of the United Religions Initiative is to promote enduring daily interfaith cooper-
ation, to end religiously motivated violence and to create cultures of peace, justice and healing
for the earth and all living beings.”
Religion, conflict and reconciliation 141
At the first meeting, in which the present author participated, the Africa coord-
inator of the Global Communication Network, Mitch Odera, gave an overview
of threats to peace in the world, especially in Africa. As the 1998 bombings of
the United States embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam showed, conflicts
have become global. The speaker dealt with the major conflicts in Africa and
their causes: the struggles about land, oil, diamonds and water. The week before
the meeting Nairobi had hosted the summit of the Nile Council of Ministers,
which negotiated about the utilisation of the waters of the Nile. “If there will
be a new world war, it will be about water,” the speaker concluded. After this
overview of conflicts, Hamad Ehsani, chairman of the United Religions Initiative
Circle in Nairobi and member of the Baha’i community, presented the Circle’s
commitment to peace and harmony. The programme included prayer, dance
and poetry from various religious traditions presented by their adherents. It
concluded with St Francis’s prayer, “Make me a channel of your peace”. The
meeting at the Village Market struck me as the direct opposite of my visit to
the office of Life Challenge Africa, also in Nairobi, which I described in
section 2.3.
Conclusion
In this chapter we looked into the relation between religion, conflict and recon-
ciliation in Africa. What does our investigation signify for a theory of interre-
ligious relations from an African perspective? Our brief analysis of conflicts in
Rwanda, Nigeria and Sudan showed that, while these are not in themselves
religious, religion certainly plays a role. This applies to African Religion as
well. The term ‘religious tribalism’ (paralleling ‘ethnic tribalism’), used by one
of my interviewees and narrated in the previous chapter, is pertinent. Conflicts
are not only inter-ethnic but also interreligious; the distinction is often hard to
make. In the discourse on human rights the question is whether and to what
extent these rights are universal. We advocate concrete universalism. Moral
values are created in particular cultures but can become universally accepted
through cooperation and interaction. In the process of reconciliation religion
can play a purifying role, but scholars of religion should be aware that religion
is also part of the problem. Thus caution and a hermeneutics of suspicion
remain necessary.
Chapter Six
199 We abstract this from the theory that it was the tower of Babel that first brought divisions
among peoples (Van Binsbergen 2003: 520). Genesis 11:5–8 reads: “Yahweh came down to
see the city and the tower that the sons of man had built. And Yahweh said, ‘See! The people
are one and their language is the same for all of them. And now they have begun to do this;
in the future nothing that they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down
and let us confuse their language so that they will not understand each other’s language,
each will not understand their fellow.’ So Yahweh scattered them from there over the face of
the entire earth, and they stopped building the city.”
200 As said before, I try to avoid the term ‘fundamentalism’ wherever possible, first because it
is overly Christian, and secondly because the alternative, ‘extremism’, indicates more
clearly that this attitude is an exception to the rule.
201 The term ‘syncretism’ has negative connotations. I use the term ‘synthesis’ as an equivalent.
Agnosticism is often called atheism, but this is incorrect. Maybe a better term would be
‘indifferentism’. People with this attitude are indifferent to religion, not necessarily against it.
144 Chapter Six
To an outsider the first and the fourth attitude seem almost identical, yet there are
some essential differences between dualism and synthesis. The latter (synthesis)
is an expression of Christianity, in which African Religion and Christianity are
mixed; in the former (dualism) they are not. Dualistic believers leave the two
systems as they are, using both according to their needs. They are Christians
on Sunday and adherents of Indigenous Religion the rest of the week. In the
synthesised form Christian symbols get an indigenous meaning, or indigenous
symbols get a Christian meaning. Thus traditional amulets may be interpreted
as Catholic rosaries, or Catholic priests referred to as indigenous healers (Wijsen
1993: 93–93).
202 Communication theory postulates that people strive for cognitive consistency. Cognitive
dissonance is an uncomfortable state of mind that people seek to avoid by harmonising con-
tradictions. The question is whether this is culturally universal or culturally relative. We
come back to this issue in section 7.3.
203 This view differs from a Fanonian approach, which stresses alienation and the task of over-
coming it (Daniels 2000).
146 Chapter Six
Truth or truthfulness?
Very often European partners in interreligious dialogue are mainly concerned
about the truth of religious beliefs – whether they correspond with reality,
whether thinking accords with being. For African Christians the truth of reli-
gious beliefs is not a primary concern, as the question cannot be answered.
Their main concern is not what the spirits are but what they do for believers.
Most African Christians, and indeed most ordinary faithful, do not seek dog-
matic precision (‘true faith’) in their religion, but practical help in time of need.
For them religion is a problem-solving strategy (Wijsen 1993: 137–138). As
subsistence farmers they have a utilitarian, pragmatic approach, called ‘magic’
by earlier scholars of religion. For these farmers, the meaning of religious
symbols is their use/usefulness.
If the main question in interreligious dialogue is whether religious beliefs
are true or not, there is a danger of intellectualism and elitism. For most ordin-
ary believers religion is a problem-solving strategy. This is not to say that it is
the best way of looking at religion, but if scholars of religion want to promote
interreligious communication and understanding, they should look at religion
and interreligious relations from the perspective of people’s everyday thinking
(Wijsen1997b: 142–43).204 If religion as problem solving is not taken ser-
iously in interreligious dialogue, if its meaning is limited to an intellectual
debate between professionals, the dialogue will remain irrelevant to ordinary
believers – a misunderstanding based on different epistemological interests.205
204 This is what we called a subaltern approach: an approach from within and from below.
When I spoke about African intellectuals there, I had the research object in mind, not the
research perspective.
205 As mentioned already, Kamstra (1985) said that for the ordinary faithful syncretism is what
dialogue is for the religious leaders. It requires an intellectual point of view.
206 It is to the credit of early comparative philosophers – Franz Wimmer, Ram Adhar Mall’s
predecessor at the University of Bremen, and Heinz Kimmerle, Wim van Binsbergen’s pre-
decessor at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam – that they drew attention to these differ-
ences in Europe.
148 Chapter Six
207 Shehe Mbaraka Rusheke of Sirari had a different interpretation. Confronted with the popu-
lar saying, ‘Mungu mmoja, njia mbalimbali’ (one God, many paths), he said: “No, there are
only two paths [njia], one leading to heaven and the other to hell. And these two paths are
present in all the religions.”
208 This formulation modifies my conclusion to section 5.1, where I said that the African model
of interreligious relations tends to be multicultural.
Synthesis, extremism and dialogue 149
African thought. This attitude is profoundly biblical: “By their fruits you will
know them” (Matt 7:16).
Happily, in this respect Christians have the support of their Muslim neigh-
bours, as the same notion is found in the Qur’an (Wijsen 1997a). “To each
among you have We prescribed a Law and a Way. If God had willed, He would
have made you a single people, but . . . [his plan is] to test you in what he has
given you. So strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is to God; it
is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which you dispute” (Sura
5:48). The context of this verse is Muslims’ relationship with the ‘people of the
book’, Jews and Christians. The text expresses a fundamental recognition of
religious pluralism. It also posits that responsibility for a just society is the aim
of all (book) religions, says Esack (1997: 166–172). Ramadan (2004: 202–203)
adds a rider: the text not only shows that religious diversity is willed by God
but also that interreligious dialogue is indispensable.
In the previous section we explored two attitudes towards contact between, and
interconnectedness of, religious cultures, namely dualism and synthesis. In
this section we consider two other attitudes towards cultural contact: secular-
ism and extremism. The former is the rejection of both religious cultures out of
sheer pragmatism, indifferentism or even atheism, saying that all religions are
false. The latter completely accepts one religion (one’s own) and regards all
others as false. Having dealt with secularism in section 3.1, here we focus
more on extremism.
Secularism
In their study of Secularism in Africa, Aylward Shorter and Edwin Onyancha
(1997) distinguish between four types of secularism in Nairobi: the philosoph-
ically argued atheism of university staff and students, the sheer indifferentism
of the urban poor and that of the extremely rich, and the pragmatism of the
nominal Christians. Secularism in their study “refers to a situation in which
religious faith, for one reason or another, is felt to be superfluous” (Shorter &
Onyancha 1997: 14). The fact that in Africa churches are full does not imply
that Africans are ‘notoriously religious’. Shorter (2004: 255) notes “that church
attendance and participation in urban parish life is relatively low in African
cities and towns”.
Shorter and Onyancha (1997: 19–20) mention the unbelief of intellectuals and
elites at universities and institutions of higher learning. They consider religious
authority repressive and opposed to academic freedom. Academic scholarship
150 Chapter Six
209 Platvoet and Van Rinsum (2003) omit to add that in his private life Okot p’Bitek was a
staunch Roman Catholic. He died in 1986 and was buried in the graveyard of Gulu cathedral
in northern Uganda.
210 Kwame Nkrumah (1970), for example, had considered training for the priesthood and his
“consciencism” was born of a religious ideal (Mazrui 2004: 1).
211 Prosperity churches are based on prosperity theology, popular in new Pentecostal and
charismatic movements, which states that if people are faithful to God they will prosper in
life: if we believe in God and give money to the church all our problems will be solved
(Nwankwo 2004: 29–34).
Synthesis, extremism and dialogue 151
better to ask in what way they are notoriously religious. Religion is a Western
concept based on division of labour. In the African worldview, the sacred and
the profane are distinguished but not separated. Thus it is not clear what is reli-
gion and what is not. The statement that Africans are notoriously religious could
be as true as the statement that Africans are notoriously secular, as both cat-
egories are Western constructs and do not seem to reflect African realities.212
For the same reason scholars of African religion must be careful not to
describe the religious domain in terms of superhuman, other-worldly, meta-
empirical or transcendent realities, as they represent distinctions that are not
made in Africa. Monica Wilson referred to nature religion or cosmic religion
as the basis of all religion. Thus the secular is not intrinsically opposed to the
sacred.213 In this sense one can understand secularism as the counterpart of
cosmic religiosity (Shorter & Onyancha 1997: 13, 26–27).
Extremism
The second attitude is that of identifying with only one religion. Fundamental-
ism or extremism may be defined as absolutist belief systems (Brouwer,
Gifford & Rose 1996: 9). To some extent it is the opposite of the previous
option. It is ‘anti-syncretism’ (Stewart & Shaw 1994), but it is inappropriate to
see fundamentalism as anti-modern. The picture of fundamentalism as a reac-
tion against modernism and globalism overlooks the way fundamentalism itself
is tied up with globalism and modernism (Brouwer, Gifford & Rose 1996: 3).
Although the word ‘fundamentalism’ originated in early 20th century Prot-
estantism, it is now used for trends in all world religions. Islam in Africa and, to
a certain extent, African Indigenous Religion also have fundamentalist trends.
Afrocentrism and Islamism, although different in their manifestations, have
a common root and feature: black-and-white thinking, in which everything
in African culture or Islamic faith is good, and non-African or non-Islamic
cultures are bad.214 Sometimes it is said that the African community spirit
212 Again a caveat is needed. Religious attitudes may vary over place and time. Scholars of reli-
gion must be careful not to use Western concepts to refer to African realities. I would not try
to apply secularisation theory to the study of religion in contemporary Africa, as Mugambi
(2004: 8) does.
213 In the same way one could reason, with Arend van Leeuwen (1964), that Christianity itself
is a secularising force in world history. When missionaries started to build churches and
chapels in Africa they localised the sacred in specific places and thus secularised the rest of
the earth. This interpretation presupposes, however, that Africans had a special reverence for
nature, which was not the case always and everywhere.
214 Muslims make a distinction between the dar al-harb and dar al-Islam; Pentecostals make a
distinction between the born again or saved and the lost; Afrocentrists make a distinction
between ego-centrists (Europeans) and communo-centrists (Africans); and so on.
152 Chapter Six
215 An example is Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, the Tanzania citizen born in Zanzibar, who was
actively involved in the bombing of the United States of America embassy in Dar es Salaam
in 1998.
216 A clear manifestation of anti-Western sentiments was the speech by Zimbabwean president
Mugabe at an FAO meeting in Rome on 17 October 2005, in which he criticised president
Bush and prime minister Blair for their global colonialism and compared them with Hitler
and Mussolini. This is an extreme example. Shortly before his re-election president
Museveni of Uganda also blamed the West for all the evils in his country and said that
Uganda no longer needed the West. It is hypothesised that many Africans tacitly agree with
Mugabe and Museveni’s public statements.
Synthesis, extremism and dialogue 153
217 It is expected that in the near future more African governments will look for allies in the
non-Western World, e.g. Saudi Arabia, Iran and China, but possibly also some Latin
American countries, e.g. Brazil and Venezuela.
154 Chapter Six
218 The present author happened to be in Uganda shortly after the Kanungu events and wit-
nessed the debates about how this could happen and how to prevent it.
Synthesis, extremism and dialogue 155
Following Friedrich Max Müller and other historians of religion, who make
distinctions such as those between mythic/prophetic, closed/open and introvert/
extrovert religions, it is generally presupposed that only monotheistic religions
with their exclusivist truth claims are missionary in the sense of expansionist.
According to this classification, African Religions and primal religions in gen-
eral are not missionary. But the classification is problematic. Judaism is
monotheistic, but is not normally seen as missionary religion.219 Buddhism is
a mythic religion, but it has been missionary right from the beginning. If one
adheres to Gerardus van der Leeuw’s Phänomenologie der Religion (1956),
briefly explained in the introduction, one can even say that mission forms part
of the essence of religion, hence that every religion is missionary in one way or
another. The question, then, is not ‘are African Religions missionary?’ but ‘in
what way are they missionary?’
219 Blauw (1961: 60–70), however, notes that Jewish proselytism not only took place during the
Diaspora but also before that, for instance by receiving foreigners into the Jewish commu-
nity. In later biblical books, too, there is a universal missionary trend, for example in the
wisdom literature and the prophetic texts.
156 Chapter Six
“Witchcraft is not cured in modern hospitals but it takes thousands of lives of people everyday
through ordinary illnesses, like twinges, ulcers, blood pressure, diabetes, hiccup, psychical
sickness, mental retardation, delivery, fever, diarrhoea, swelling of the stomach, swelling of
legs, anemia, asthma, things moving around the body, paralysis of one side, blindness (given
by somebody), serious headache, pains of organs, spirits and many others. Dear citizen, if you
notice that you are not cured by modern medicines, go and see this famous doctor for your
problems. He is Dr. Nathani Misi, traditional healer who has saved thousands of patients who
could not be treated in some of the modern hospitals within the country. There are also some
medicines to remove bad omen for short time. Treatment services will continue to be given
daily from his clinic, situated at Keko Magurumbasi near the Keko jail.”
The religious market approach is criticised, among other things, for concen-
trating only on the supply side. In section 8.3 we criticise rational choice the-
ory, which parallels the religious market model.220 In Bourdieu’s (1991) terms
practical sense (habitus) is not only rational but also emotional and even
embodied. People may have many reasons to choose one or another religious
alternative, or a combination of both, and not all of them are rational; some
may even be irrational. Yet the religious market approach remains helpful to
understand missionary movements within religions.
Mission as conversion
The market mechanism is the basis of the concept of mission as conversion in
African Indigenous Religions. Some spirit mediums say that it is better not to
adopt Christian beliefs, since they do not bring peace and harmony. Christian-
ity was and remains the ‘white man’s religion’, essentially linked with colo-
nialism and imperialism (also their present-day forms of globalism and
neo-liberalism) and consequently all the evils ‘of the West’. This was the case
among the Kenyan Mau Mau freedom fighters, as we already saw. Among the
Sukuma of northwest Tanzania I heard people say that they de-converted from
Christianity to African Religions because “it is better to go back to the path of
the ancestors, since the God of the Christians does not liberate us”.
220 In September 2004 the Free University of Amsterdam organised a symposium to stimulate
theoretical discussion of the concepts ‘conversion career’ and ‘religious market’. Some of
the papers presented at the symposium appeared in a special issue of the journal Exchange
(Bakker 2006).
158 Chapter Six
“Father, your religion has Christ as your ancestor. I know Christ was a European. Your fore-
fathers tortured him. He died through beating. He died a very bad death, hanging from a tree,
as you have been showing me in the pictures. This man has turned into a very fierce ancestor.
He has tortured you very much. You kill yourselves by wars. You are not at peace because of
this ancestor. For years you have tried to appease him through your sacrifices and prayers. I
think you need us to help you to appease your own ancestor when you want us to become
Christians.”
Bourdieu’s theory of practice, which says that actors try to serve their interests
in competition or (as in this example) in coalition with others.221
During the 2002 election campaign the Mungiki supported Uhuru Kenyatta,
a rising star within the ruling party, grandson of Kenya’s founding father and
an inspiration for nationalism. But during the December 2002 elections the
ruling party suffered a devastating defeat. The new president, Mwai Kibaki,
was in his seventies and his election was seen as not only a political but also a
generational defeat. After the election there was widespread violence, in which
25 people in Nakuru lost their lives. Since then Mungiki behaves like a gang of
criminals seeking to control the public transport sector (Kagwanja 2005:
100–105).
Conclusion
221 See also Mazrui (2006: 224, 232) on the convergence of Islam and Christianity. A Roman
Catholic bishop in Tanzania once told me: “The Muslims are our best friends.” This, of
course, is not true in general. The bishop had a specific issue in mind: the common struggle
against the use of condoms in combating aids. It is often seen at international conferences
that Roman Catholics and Muslims join forces in pro-life issues. A shehe in Sirari, Mbaraka
Rusheke, told me that he regularly gathered with Catholic and Protestant pastors to prepare
sermons on the same topic, on Friday (for Muslims), on Saturday (for Seventh Day
Adventists) and on Sunday (for Christians). “Only together can religious leaders fights
issues like aids and injustice,” said this shehe.
Chapter Seven
In the early 1980s a silent revolution took place in European and North
American theology of religions, described as the “crossing of a theological
Rubicon” (Knitter & Hick 1987: viii). Some scholars proposed a shift from an
inclusivist to a pluralistic theology of religions. Less well known is that this
shift had already happened a decade or more earlier in the so-called ‘young
churches’ of the southern hemisphere. Whereas religious pluralism only
became an issue in the Western world in the latter part of the 20th century, it
had always been a reality in the churches of the southern hemisphere, most
profoundly in Asia where a small minority (3%) of Christians lived in a pre-
dominantly non-Christian context, but also in Africa. This chapter explores the
roots of what might be the beginning of an African model (Temple 2001) in the
theory of interreligious relations.
222 Recently (June 2006) an updated version of Kibicho’s doctoral dissertation was published
by Acton Publishers (Kibicho 2006). In this study I use the original version (1972). I had the
pleasure of writing “An appreciation of Samuel Kibicho’s work” in the updated version
(pp. 6–14).
Fully committed and fully open 163
of God than their Christian missionary opponents. Finally, the African God
concept continues into the modern period, even via and within Christianity
(Kibicho 1981: 33–36).
223 Interestingly, John Taylor, author of The primal vision, made the same point in his The
go-between God, also published in 1972.
164 Chapter Seven
African Religion independently of Christ. The saving Spirit of the one God has
been there since the creation of the world and it has got many manifestations in
various genuine religions. The saving Spirit of God is manifest in Christ, but
not only in him. So you can say: salvation in African Religion exists independ-
ently of Christ, but not completely independent, since it is the same Spirit who
is active in Christ and African Religion.” Maybe with our present insight we
could say that whereas salvation in African Religion is not dependent of the
Christ event, the salvations through Christ and the Spirit are interdependent.
trans-ethnic mission. “In the present-day pluralistic society, each religion must
evangelise as if it is the only carrier of the only fully-saving revelation,” says
Kibicho (1984: 24–25). “However, in its continuing dialogue and cooperation
with other religions, every religion must acknowledge and accept the claim of
uniqueness and ultimacy or finality in every other genuine religion.”
Are Kibicho’s two seemingly contradictory ‘musts’ a translation of what
the intercultural model with its partial cultural overlaps could mean in Africa?
And does such a position pass the tests of theology and social science? How,
then, are “Christ as the Saviour of the world” (Kibicho 1983: 172) and the
“Fruits of the Spirit” (Kibicho 1983: 171) to be related?
The idea that there is revelation and salvation in other religions through God’s
action in his Spirit independently of Christ seems far removed from an authen-
tically Roman Catholic interpretation of other religions. The official teaching
of the Roman Catholic Church is that there can be salvation in other religions
through God’s action in the Spirit, but this Spirit is the Spirit of Christ and does
not work independently of him.
debate on the theology of religions. It also reflects on it, looking for theo-
logical criteria to evaluate other religions. The authors are fully aware “that many
questions remain open and need further research and discussion” (no. 3).
One such question concerns the uniqueness of Christ and the salvation
offered by other religions. Whereas Catholic theology of religions stresses
God’s universal love and will to save, it insists on the indispensability of Christ
and the church for salvation. Following the Second Vatican Council, the
International Theological Commission recognises that there is some tension,
but it strongly denies that there is a contradiction between belief in God’s uni-
versal will to save and the necessity of Christ.
Catholic theologians have tried to resolve the tension in various ways. Best
known are Rahner’s theory of anonymous Christianity and Schlette’s distinc-
tion between general and special salvation history. Another well-known
attempt is Knitter’s pluralistic theology and the many reactions to it. D’Costa
(1990), for example, says that the doctrine of the Spirit allows us to link the
particularity of the Christ event to the entire history of humankind.224 But he
offers no solution: “this dialectical tension between Son and Spirit must neces-
sarily remain unresolved until the eschaton,” says D’Costa (1990: 19).
How do we deal with this problem?
224 Gavin d’Costa is a Kenyan of Indian descent but works in Britain. His advocacy of a theo-
logical study of religions makes him a leading figure in the debate on the theology of inter-
religious relations (Cheetham 2005).
Fully committed and fully open 167
source of both the Son and the Spirit, thus assigning God’s action through
the Spirit a certain autonomy (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 248).
While not claiming that in practice the Greek Orthodox Church is better
at acknowledging other religions in their own right, in theory it could be.
We maintain that very often dialogue with other Christian churches (‘small
ecumenism’) has paved the way for dialogue with non-Christian religions
(‘big ecumenism’). The ecumenical debate on the filioque issue has the poten-
tial to open up the interreligious debate, as has happened in mission history
before.
225 Byaruhanga-Akiiki (2004: 35) asserts, “For the majority in Africa the Spirit-World is the
driving force for faith.” This could be the foundation for “unity beyond religion, race and
nationality” (p. 41).
226 Based on this sensus fidei, Spirit Christology must be given priority over Logos Christology
in Africa (Nwankwo 2004: 374 n. 138). For the same reason we will argue later that a theory
of interreligious relations in Africa must be pneumatological. This means that the African
model of interreligious relations has a different emphasis from the Asian model, which
would stress Wisdom Christology.
170 Chapter Seven
say that God spoke to us once and for all in Holy Scripture, Pentecostals say
that God continues to speak to us through the Spirit.
227 Jack Forstman, Kibicho’s doctoral dissertation supervisor, was a member of the Commis-
sion on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches.
228 As we said in the introduction: (Christian) mission is to “[b]e ready at all times to answer
anyone who asks you to explain the hope that is in you” (1 Pet 3:15).
Fully committed and fully open 171
wanted to see (Friedli 1974: 69–72). European colonisers did the same when
they made the distinction between ‘savage’ and ‘civilised’ (Bitterli 1991).
The same black-and-white thinking applies to Muslims, who distinguish
clearly between Dar al-Harb (Abode of War) and Dar al-Islam (Abode of Islam),
or Pentecostals who distinguish between born again Christians as the saved
and all others (including other Christians) as the lost. A similar position is
adopted by the takfir ideology, which is not primarily directed to non-Muslims
or infidels but to lapsed Muslims. ‘Orientalism’ and ‘Occidentalism’ could be
understood in terms of the same mechanism of bracketing disparate things
together as if they are one. European scholars labelled a whole complex of
local traditions ‘Hinduism’ and by so doing they were able to dominate them; the
same applies to African Traditional Religions, as we have seen in section 3.1.
229 An example in the scholarly field is Wim van Binsbergen (2003: 155–193), who combined
the roles of social scientist and diviner priest. To some extent he puts Cox’s methodological
conversion into practice (though he does not refer to it). In a further elaboration on what he
called the “Panikkar-Krieger thesis” (Cox 1996: 168), Cox (1998: 137) stresses that
“methodological conversion remains methodological rather than confessional, it never
really involves conversion”. For Van Binsbergen (2005: 220–223) his conversion to san-
goma beliefs was real, however contradictory and questionable it may have been.
Fully committed and fully open 173
show that most faithful develop an intermediate set of beliefs and practices,
which synthesises two or more traditions (see section 6.1). Research on the
ground suggests that logically exclusive ideas can be combined and integrated
on an existential level (Wijsen 1997b).
Cognitive consistency
The tendency towards cognitive consistency is often interpreted as characteris-
tic of human rationality and might therefore be expected to be (almost) univer-
sal. According to Festinger (1957: 4) cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable
state of mind in which people feel they “find themselves doing things that
don’t fit with what they know, or having opinions that do not fit with other
opinions they hold”. The inconsistency may be between convictions and prac-
tices, or between conflicting convictions. Festinger theorises that people tend
to harmonise the contrasting elements.
The empirical evidence supporting this theory seems overwhelming. The
fourth attitude that we distinguished in the introduction to chapter six – an
intermediate set of beliefs and practices that most Africans create to cope with
interconnected cultures – could be explained as an attempt to harmonise the
conflicting truth claims of various religious traditions. The second attitude,
extremism, can be explained in terms of the same mechanism. For example,
extremist Muslims believe that they are “the best nation ever brought forth to
men” (Sura 3:106). When confronted with believers of other religions who
claim equality or even superiority, they refuse to compromise. Instead they try
to bring the situation in line with their conviction, by peaceful means or
forcibly.
The problem is that most of the research that supports Festinger’s theory
was conducted in North America and Western Europe. To what extent is cogni-
tive dissonance experienced as ‘disturbing’? Could it be that certain personal-
ity factors influence acceptance of cognitive dissonance? Research conducted
in non-Western countries suggests that to people living in communitarian soci-
eties cognitive dissonance is not as uncomfortable a state of mind as it is to
members of individualistic societies. Put differently, independent selves are more
likely to see inconsistency as disturbing than interdependent selves. Cross-
cultural research suggests that cognitive consistency is more accepted as normal
in the Western world than in other parts of the world, hence is culturally rela-
tive (Kim 2002: 76).
230 For this reason, Christian and Islamic mysticism (Sufism) might offer a better ground for
Christian-Muslim relations than dogmatic precision (Wijsen 1997a: 173–174; Shenk 1983).
The same would apply to ritual and, as we will argue later, to ethics (referring to Matt 7:16
and Sura 5:48).
231 In my doctoral dissertation on interaction between Christians and indigenous believers
I gave various examples of the polysemy of symbols. For example, my informants would
speak about a rosary as an (traditional) amulet; the eucharist as a (traditional) sacrifice; the
host as (indigenous) medicine; the priest as a (local) healer, and so on (Wijsen 1993: 93,
112, 116).
Fully committed and fully open 175
God (Mungu) and may even say the Our Father together, but they attach differ-
ent meanings to the word Mungu. For Muslims Allah “begetteth not, nor was
begotten” and there is “none comparable unto Him” (Qur’an 112:2–3). The
Christian idea of incarnation is foreign to them.232 Muslims and Christians in
East Africa use the same religious vocabulary, but the meanings of the words
may be different. This is what Mazrui and Mazrui (1995: 2) mean when they
speak about the integrative role of Swahili. Swahili facilitated a “diffusion of
Christianity and Islam”. That is why they call Swahili an ecumenical language
(Mazrui & Mazrui 1997: 171). As a lingua franca Swahili mediates between
Christians and Muslims.233
It is hypothesised that there are cultural universals (Wiredu 1996: 21–33)
or cultural overlaps (Mall 2000: 6). That makes intercultural communication
possible. There is, however, neither total translatability (identity) nor radical
un-translatability (alterity), only analogy.234 “Understanding cultures is a com-
plex matter,” says Mall (2000: 16), thus “there are degrees of understanding
and degrees of misunderstanding both in cases of self-understanding and
understanding of the other.” In other words, intercultural communication is an
‘understanding misunderstanding’ or a ‘misunderstanding understanding’ (Van
Binsbergen 2003: 287).
The ‘working misunderstanding’, then, is a basis for both social cohesion
and conflict. It works as long as life goes smoothly. But in times of distress, as
noted earlier, things may go haywire. Here social identity theory (Tajfel 1978)
must be complemented by realistic group conflict theory; conflicts are caused
not only by social categorisations but also by conflicting interests and compe-
tition for scarce resources (Sherif 1966). The intermediate set of beliefs and
practices mentioned in the introduction to chapter six may turn into a form of
extremism. Today’s ‘syncretism’ may become tomorrow’s ‘anti-syncretism’
(Stewart & Shaw 1994), as was observed in Nigeria and Sudan. This is the
complexity of interculturalism, in which cultures overlap partially.
232 As noted already, the same applies to concepts like religion and spirit. No African language
has a word for religion (Byaruhanga-Akiiki 2004: 31). Religion seems to be an alien con-
cept in Africa, though it is helpful in societies with division of labour. The Arab word ‘dini’
has different connotations in Christianity and in Islam. The same applies to ‘Spirit’ (Kenny
1999).
233 In an interview with shehe Mbaraka Rusheke in Sirari, Tanzania he used typical Christian
terms, apparently to create rapport between him and me. He spoke about the mosque being
the kanisa (church) of the Muslims. He also spoke about the niche (mihrab) being the altari
(altar) in the mosque. And he said that he was sent as pastor (mchungaji) to Sirari by the dio-
cese (jimbo).
234 This insight makes Sanneh’s theory about the translatability of Christianity and the untrans-
latability of Islam questionable. Both religions are neither totally translatable, nor radically
untranslatable.
176 Chapter Seven
235 Because of the HIV epidemic more and more families in Luoland are affected by aids and
people have to be creative, as they cannot perform traditional funeral rites because of finan-
cial and other constraints. Disputes about where the body is to be buried are common in
Kenya (Ojwang, Mugambi & Aduwo 1989).
Fully committed and fully open 177
be expected only if one includes empirical data and brings them into a critical
dialectic relationship with normative references. And these data should not be
generated behind a desk, but through participant observation in the field
(Wijsen 1993: 273). As Krieger (1991: 124–125) points out, believers do not
first have truth and then communicate it to others; instead they discover truth
in their communication with others.
This approach is summarised by Max Warren (1963: 10–11) in his general
introduction to John Taylor’s The primal vision, words which introduced the
ideas underlying his Christian presence series, so typical of the Anglican trad-
ition of Kenneth Cragg and others.236
“Our first task in approaching another people, another culture, another religion, is to take off
our shoes, for the place we are approaching is holy. Else we may find ourselves treading on
men’s dreams. More seriously still, we may forget that God was here before our arrival. We
have then to ask what is the authentic religious content in the experience of the Muslim, the
Hindu, the Buddhist, or whoever he may be. We may, if we have asked humbly and respect-
fully, still reach the conclusion that our brothers have started from a false premise and reached
a faulty conclusion. But we must not arrive at our judgement from outside their religious
situation.”
This approach comprises four steps: crossing the frontiers of one’s own cul-
ture, participation in the world of ‘the other’, careful observation and interpret-
ation of what is going on there, evaluation from within and feedback to our
own point of view. It is a matter of getting an inside perspective and crossing
over to the other’s point of view. This is what scholars of religion would call
switching and coordinating perspectives. In section 8.3 we criticise this way of
looking at intercultural and interreligious understanding, but it should be noted
at this point already that Max Warren adds a social dimension to switching and
coordinating perspectives, which makes it a much broader concept than
a purely cognitive one. It is probably no coincidence that John Taylor (1972),
after having used this approach ‘from within’ and ‘from below’, was able to
write The go-between God, in which he advocates a more or less independent
relation between the Holy Spirit and Christian mission.
Conclusion
236 In Ludwig and Adogame’s (2004: 227–236) overview of European traditions in the study of
religion in Africa, Kevin Ward describes Max Warren and John Taylor under the heading
“A theology of attention”. Warren prefers the term ‘attention’ to ‘dialogue’ (p. 231).
178 Chapter Seven
237 Samuel Kibicho’s pragmatic, pluralistic interpretation of the gospel notion of fruits of the
Spirit seems to accord perfectly with Farid Esack’s interpretation of Sura 5:48, which we
outlined at the end of section 6.1. See also Tariq Ramadan (2004: 202–203).
Chapter Eight
Africans in diaspora
One of the last discoveries a fish would make is the existence of water, says
Fortmann (1971: 7). Only on the fish vendor’s cart would it realise what it
means to be a fish. Much the same applies to Europeans living and working in
Africa, and to Africans living and working in Europe. It is in a strange environ-
ment that one’s own characteristics obtrude. Thus it is in diaspora that one dis-
covers what it means to be an African. So what light does the diaspora experience
shed on the issue of Africa’s community spirit and its tradition of peaceful
coexistence? It is often said that Africans consider themselves Africans first,
and only secondly Muslims or Christians. That would facilitate communication
between Africans in Europe, be they Christian, Muslim or Indigenous believers,
as they have common ground, a meeting point, namely their Africanness, the
typical African worldview. Research on the ground suggests otherwise.
African Christians seem to see themselves first and foremost as Christians and
only secondly as Africans. By doing so they hope to facilitate their integration
into (what they perceive as) predominantly Christian nations (Ter Haar 1998a:
83–84).
they need to integrate. Whereas some decades ago the dominant view in
Europe was that ethnic minorities must integrate, albeit retaining their identity,
some scholars now speak about a ‘multicultural tragedy’ or ‘multicultural illu-
sion’ (Huinders 2000), especially after the terrorist attacks in Madrid in 2004
and in London in 2005. Racial upheavals in Paris and Birmingham in the
autumn of 2005 clearly show the limits of multicultural societies, these critics
say. They see growing segregation of ethnic minorities and stress the need for
assimilation to the dominant European culture (Leitkultur).
Empirical research findings on integration of migrants in the Netherlands
are ambiguous. Some researchers suggest that socio-economic integration is
successful, but the socio-cultural gap between the indigenous people and for-
eigners is widening. Others claim that migrants’ lifestyles do not differ essen-
tially from the individualised, secularised lifestyle in most European societies.
Apart from pillarised education, there is no indication of a reversal of the mod-
ernisation process. The assimilation of migrants, and especially their children,
to dominant Western European cultural patterns proceeds more rapidly than is
usually thought.
238 This observation seems to support the thesis that Islam is globalised, whereas Christianity is
localised. Within Christianity, Protestantism is more localised than Roman Catholicism,
which stresses its universalism.
Africans in diaspora 181
239 Another interviewee expressed his response to living in the diaspora by citing to the popular
song based on Psalm 137: “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept when we
remembered Zion.”
240 This accords with our earlier finding (section 5.1) concerning Western and non-Western
opinions about human rights. Mazrui translates the autonomy versus authority dichotomy
into a liberty versus dignity dichotomy. Applied to the situation of women it means: “By the
20th century women in the Muslim world were accorded more dignity and less liberty than
women in the West. And women in the West were correspondingly accorded more liberty
than dignity than women in the Muslim world” (Mazrui 2006: 77).
241 Recent examples are the appointment of an Anglican archbishop of Ugandan descent in
York and the appointment of Samuel Kobia of Kenya as secretary general of the World
Council of Churches.
242 In the Netherlands ten percent of members of parliament are of non-Western descent. This
accords with the proportion of non-Western members of the Dutch population. In other
European countries, notably France and Germany, participation of non-Western migrants in
government is much lower.
182 Chapter Eight
243 A problem with some liberal Muslim scholars is that they are not recognised by the wider
Muslim communities. This obstructs communication between indigenous and foreign
populations.
244 At present there are two Islamic universities in the Netherlands, though not yet recognised
by the Dutch government as institutions of higher learning. There are two programmes for
Islamic theology, one at the Free University of Amsterdam, the other at the University of
Leiden. Recently a training programme for imams was recognised at the Holland Institute
for Higher Learning.
Africans in diaspora 183
245 Seemingly these scholars see or prefer to see Europe as a ‘Christian’ continent, rather than a
multireligious continent. Their emphasis is on African Christian identity and inculturation in
Europe.
246 The centre was founded by Roswith Gerloff in 1978 and headed by her till 1985, when
Kalilombe took over. Leadership was taken over by Joe Aldred till the centre closed down in
2003.
184 Chapter Eight
also focuses on the rehabilitation of African culture and making ‘Christ feel at
home in African Christianity’. An exception to the rule is Gavin d’Costa, as
already mentioned, an Indian of Kenyan descent, working in the department of
theology and religious studies at Bristol University, United Kingdom. He
wrote quite extensively on theology of religions, mainly from a philosophical
point of view, seemingly quite detached from concrete interreligious dialogue.
Recently he moved to other systematic theological topics.
Another example is Lamin Sanneh, born in Gambia. Since 1989 he has
been professor of missions and world Christianity at Yale Divinity School. His
distinction between mission as diffusion and mission as translation is quite
influential in Europe, partly because he can claim to have been a Muslim him-
self. Sanneh argues for the un-translatability of Islam into African culture, as
opposed to the translatability of the Christian message (‘vernacularisation’).
He seems to inspire more conservative European Christians who are sceptical
about interreligious relations.247 Other influential African voices in Europe are
African philosophers working in the United States of America, including
Kwame Appiah, whom we dealt with already in section 3.2.
Religious acculturation
It remains a question whether, and if so for how long, migrants maintain their
‘different-ness’ in their new environment. Convergence theory holds that
migrants need three generations to adapt. The first generation maintains the
values and norms of their country of origin; the second generation lives in two
worlds; and the third has largely adapted to the new country. Another theory is
that adaptation starts with a phase of confusion, followed by a spell of accul-
turation, whereupon there is swing back to earlier norms and values.
Research into the position of African Christians in the Netherlands shows
that both theories contain some truth. It matters a great deal which group one
is looking at, in which place and at what time. Integration seems easier when
the host society is itself culturally mixed (as in most mega-cities), in times of
economic growth, and so on. Are these scholars talking about Cape Verdeans
in Rotterdam, Ghanaians in Amsterdam, or Somalians (at present the fastest
growing group of migrants in the Netherlands) in the east of the country? Apart
from the size of the group and the duration of their residence, religion is an
important factor, something that is often overlooked in studies of new migrants
in the Netherlands. Cape Verdeans and Ghanaians are usually Christians and
247 Lamin Sanneh orginates from Gambia, but he became an American national. He converted
from Islam to Protestantism and from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism. In 2005 pope
John Paul II appointed him consultant to the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.
Africans in diaspora 185
A factor that may prevent African Christians from being bridge builders is
that many of them feel attracted to Pentecostal or charismatic churches, because
these churches take spirit beliefs more seriously than mainline churches.248 These
Christians consider themselves born again and their attitude towards others,
both European ‘atheists’ and Muslims, tends to be negative.249 At a conference
on non-Western Pentecostalism in the Netherlands, organised at the Free Univer-
sity of Amsterdam on the occasion of the institution of the chair of Pentecostal
Studies and the opening of the Walter Hollenweger Centre at this university
(Droogers, Van der Laan & Van Laar 2006) it was noted that African Christian
communities seem more missionary than Asian communities, fuelled among
other things by their own organisation GATE: Gift (previously: Gospel) from
Africa to Europe.250 The name is an allusion to the biblical metaphor ‘gate’.
“I am the gate. Whoever comes in by me will be saved” (John 10:9).
On the other hand, Africans have a pragmatic attitude and they can cooper-
ate well even when they differ. Muslims and Christians in Nigeria have traded
together for centuries. Hutu and Tutsi in Rwanda coexisted. Thus Africans
can collaborate even if they disagree or agree to disagree. An example is the
Representative Council of Ghanaian Organisation which united to promote
the emancipation and to counter the negative reputation of Ghanaians in the
Netherlands. Both Christian and Muslim organisations are members –
Redemption Faith Ministry and God’s Word Centre as well as Ghana Muslim
Union and Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission (Ter Haar 1998a: 142–146). In this case
ethnicity, or rather nationality, is used as a resource to serve common interests.
The foregoing discussion of the African diaspora in Europe shifts the discourse
on interreligious relations from conflict between Christians and Muslims to
conflict between Africans and Europeans or, to borrow Onwuchekwa
Chinweizu’s (1987) title once again, conflict between the West and the rest of
us. The issue at stake is acceptance or rejection of modern values such as liber-
alism and individualism, a conflict that exists not only between cultures but also
within them. Although Bediako (1992) claims that Christianity is a non-Western
248 The term ‘mainline churches’ is tricky and must not be understood as dominant or majority
denominations. Maybe ‘old’ and ‘new’ churches are better terms, though some Pentecostal
churches are pretty old.
249 This is certainly not to deny that there are many ‘ecumenical’ evangelicals who have a dia-
logical spirit.
250 GATE was inaugurated at Tyndale Theological Seminary in Badhoevedorp, the Netherlands
in 1994. It is an initiative of the Association of Evangelicals in Africa [and Madagascar] and
aims to stimulate African ministers in Europe to evangelize Europeans.
Africans in diaspora 187
religion, it cannot be denied that during 19th and 20th century mission in Africa
Christianisation and Westernisation went together (Jenkins 2002: 33–38).
For many people in Africa, Christianity remains the ‘white man’s religion’.
This also shows that a theology of interreligious dialogue must be supple-
mented by a theology of intercultural dialogue: dialogue between people who
share the same religious faith but come from different cultural backgrounds,
sometimes called intra-religious dialogue (not to be confused with Raimundo
Panikkar’s use of this word). Intra-religious dialogue is needed in both Chris-
tianity and Islam. In both religions there is a debate between advocates of
tradition and those of modernity (Gyekye 1997), between conservatives and
liberals, or whatever labels are used.
251 The Tanzanian bishop who said “Muslims are our best friends” can once again serve as an
example. There was a common struggle against condom usage, thus inclusion. But the
Roman Catholic bishops were certainly not the best friends of Muslims in the field of pol-
itics. At the same time the Tanzanian Episcopal Conference issued various statements about
the danger of growing Islamic influence in the Tanzanian government (Wijsen & Mfumbusa
2004).
190 Chapter Eight
To overcome the gap between the West and the rest of the world requires not only
combating poverty, crime and injustice but also intercultural religious communi-
cation, both intra- and interreligious communication. In an earlier chapter (1.1)
we noted that intercultural religious communication is not easy, because of the
history of slavery and colonialism. There are accusations on both sides. Let us
look at some of the obstacles to intercultural communication and understanding.
Certainly the legacy of slavery and colonialism on the side of the Western
252 The image comes to mind of staff and students at various Nairobi universities, dressing and
behaving more Western than Westerners at universities in Europe or the United States of
America, but criticising the West.
Africans in diaspora 191
Shame or guilt?
In an earlier chapter we spoke about disadvantages of Africa’s communitarian
spirit, especially in relations between insiders and outsiders (Gyekye 1997:
252–257). Without lapsing into simplistic dichotomies between European and
African codes of conduct or collective and individualistic societies, various
observers note that different worldviews and communication styles cause misun-
derstanding between Africans and Europeans (Bruce 2001: 300).253 Studies in
cross-cultural psychiatry, for example, show that Africans, when confronted with
evil, tend to look primarily for extraneous sources such as witches or evil spirits.
Their main question is, why did it happen? Why to me and not to my neighbour?
Why now and not yesterday? For Europeans illness or death are explained pri-
marily on the basis of how they happen, not why (De Jong 1987: 28–29).
Studies of pastoral care and counselling in Africa show that many Africans
fear harming the group rather than doing something wrong. Evil means losing
face and not being accepted by society rather than feeling guilty. This is
because the behaviour of the individual is thought to have repercussions for the
community. That is why in Africa aids deaths are shrouded in secrecy and
shame (Gichure 2006: 97). Thus Africans tend to look at external factors
(‘I am bewitched’) rather than at themselves (‘I have been promiscuous’).254
To some extent this also applies to the recognition of African agency in colo-
nial history. As was noted earlier, for many Africans it is difficult to accept that
Africans did have and still have a share in what goes wrong in Africa. This
makes communication between Africans and Europeans complex and conflict-
ual (Wijsen 2003a)
253 In her contribution to East Africa in transition (Bahemuka & Brockington 2001) Mary Bruce
spells out all the differences between Africans and Americans: Americans are direct and
open, Africans are not; Americans value egalitarianism highly, Africans do not; Americans
value the future, Africans value tradition, and so on. See also Van der Walt’s twelve differ-
ences between African and European thought worlds in Ochieng’-Odhiambo (1997: 65–66).
254 I think Magesa (1997: 169–170) misses this point when he says that in Africa, because of its
holistic perception of human beings, guilt and shame are not properly differentiated.
192 Chapter Eight
opinion than to contradict or even criticise the other publicly; messages are
hidden and indirect rather than transparent and straightforward; in exchanging
ideas the emphasis is on form rather than on content. In general Africans avoid
making others lose face and shaming the group.255 One of my interviewees,
a qualified marriage counsellor, particularly of HIV victims, said bluntly,
“Husband and wife do not communicate.” She told a story about a couple who
were constantly falling sick. They went to hospital separately and both were
diagnosed as HIV positive but they hid the truth from each other. “I believe
they were trying to avoid the confrontation that frequently follows such news,
with each party blaming the other,” my informant said. Maybe that is why
upheavals in Africa are so brutal. Frustrations that remained hidden over many
years are expressed openly. Lacking the words to express anger, frustration
takes the form of physical violence.
Whereas in many areas Africans are extremely creative in inventing new
words, there is no good Swahili equivalent for ‘dialogue’. The new dictionary
gives ‘mazumgumzo’, which means conversation. The word used by the Mis-
sionary Awareness Committee of the Religious Superiors’Association of Tanzania
is ‘majadiliano’, discussion. The word ‘malumbano’ is used in a negative sense
but has a neutral meaning. ‘Vurugu’, too, is mainly negative. The difficulty in
finding a suitable word seems to indicate that dialogue is not an indigenous
concept in Africa.256 Although African scholars tend to attribute the revival of
Islam and Islamic extremism in Africa to outside influences, analysis of the
bombing of the United States embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam clearly
shows the interconnectedness of global and local movements in political
Islam. One of the extremists who bombed the embassy in Dar es Salaam was
a Tanzanian citizen; one of the people involved in the July 2005 bombings in
London was a Somalian citizen of Ethiopian descent. The second-in-command
of al-Qaeda, Ayman Al Zawahiri, who was behind the bombings in Tanzania,
Kenya, Egypt and the United Kingdom is an Egyptian. This ‘African connec-
tion’ is often overlooked by scholars who attribute everything that goes wrong
in Africa to outside influences.
255 There is, however, also a new trend in African politics, where intellectuals are publicly and
defiantly advocating what is known as ‘naming and shaming’ corrupt government officials,
partly as a result of the New Partnership for African Development (see section 1.1).
256 Segeja’s (1998) translation of the Sukuma word ‘shikome’ as ‘reverential dialogue in the
family’ is rather free. Originally the word ‘shikome’ referred to the place where that dialogue
took place, that is around the fire outside the home.
Africans in diaspora 193
Switch of perspective
In light of Bourdieu’s theory of practice the model of switching and coordinat-
ing perspectives is problematic for two reasons. First, in this theory a point of
view or perspective is mainly cognitive. Bourdieu (1991), however, shows that
257 When Max Warren (1963: 10–11) said, “Our first task in approaching another people . . . is
to take off our shoes” he meant that missionaries must remove their cultural spectacles.
258 In contemporary theories of interviewing there is, therefore, a shift from positivism through
emotivism to constructivism. Facts are not ‘collected’ but ‘generated’ in the field through
the interaction between the interviewer and the interviewee (Philips & Jørgensen 2002).
259 See also Olabimtan’s postmodern, post-colonial critique of Platvoet and Van Rinsum’s
empirical approach, referred to in section 3.1.
194 Chapter Eight
Coordination of perspectives
For the same reason one must relativise the possibility of coordination of per-
spectives. If perspectives reflect and relate to social positions, social differ-
ences must be levelled, or at least reduced. Research into pragmatics and
discourse analysis has shown that language is dependent on context. Mutual
understanding is possible only insofar as there is a mutual context (Gutt 1991:
97). This was understood by Max Warren (1963: 10–11). His comment that
“we must not arrive at our judgement from outside their religious situation”
(see section 7.3), continues:
“We have to try to sit where they sit, to enter sympathetically into the pains and griefs and joys
of their history and see how those pains and griefs and joys have determined the premise
of their argument. We have in a word, to be ‘present’ with them.”
In order to understand the other we have to try to sit where they sit and, in a
word, be present to them. By this Max Warren meant that missionaries should
reduce social differences between themselves and the people they are sent to.
Thus understanding is not only a cognitive but also a social affair. That is why
people from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds who share the same
social position understand each other quite well. This is the case with women
worldwide, as we will see in section 10.3, but also with university professors
and businesspeople. If understanding requires reduction of social differences,
interreligious dialogue and social ministry must go together, as will be seen in
section 9.1.
Africans in diaspora 195
Conclusion
Christians seek the company of Dutch Christians, as Ter Haar observed in the
Dutch situation. But one can also understand that Africans will unite in their
struggle against the natives, as Gerloff observed in the United Kingdom. The
‘other’, however, is not seen as an equal. Both parties accept the ghetto situ-
ation. The ‘other’ is either a coalition partner or a competitor, depending on the
situation (Bourdieu 1991). In this sense, Sundermeier’s trader model (section
8.3) is a specification of Mall’s intercultural model. The cultural overlap is a
common interest to make profit (of whatever kind). But this is a risky enter-
prise, as the companion can become a competitor! Believers are ‘merchants’
(looking for profit) and ‘missionaries’ (professing and propagating faith). This
is the ambiguous situation that scholars of religion have to cope with.
Chapter Nine
In his Jesus and the witchdoctor Alward Shorter (1985: 133) narrates a conver-
sation between a Chinese doctor and an African patient in a Tanzanian hos-
pital. The doctor was working in the context of a Chinese programme for
medical development cooperation. One day he gave a patient medicine. The
patient replied, “Thanks be to God.” The doctor, a communist, replied: “I do
not believe in God.” The patient then said: “In that case you may keep your
medicine.” As noted in the introduction to chapter two, most Africans do not
distinguish between objects and subjects, body and soul. All things have soul.
Thus the spiritual and the material domains are interwoven. They deal in
wholeness and ‘integral’ liberation, liberation of body and soul.
A biblical view
One of the disagreements between evangelical and ecumenical Christians is
the place of human activity in salvation history and the dilemma of mission as
proclamation of God’s word versus mission as good works (Vähäkangas 2003:
78–80). This is an age-old problem in the missionary movement, closely
related to the theory of indirect and direct missionary methods. On the one
hand the movement stresses the missionary mandate as the biblical foundation
of mission: “Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples”
260 This spirit is evident in the programmes of the Africa Nazarene University in Nairobi.
Among the objectives listed in its brochure is the following: “Identify the major issues that
constitute Christian theological thought, and especially those theological issues that are at
the core of the Wesleyan holiness tradition.”
200 Chapter Nine
(Matt 28:19). On the other hand the last judgment is said to provide the biblical
foundation: “whenever you did this for one of the least important of these
brothers of mine, you did it for me” (Matt 25:40). One tends to forget, how-
ever, that both texts have their origin and context in the sermon on the mount:
“You are like salt for all mankind” (Matt 5:13) and “You are like light for the
whole world” (Matt 5:14). So from a biblical perspective the dilemma between
gospel witness and social ministry is artificial, as ‘new’ evangelicals or ‘ecu-
menical’ evangelicals would readily concede.
From a communication science perspective, too, the dilemma of dialogue
versus diaconal work or social ministry is artificial. In most theories the aim
of (interreligious) dialogue is understanding, harmony between the speaker’s
intention and the listener’s reception. In section 8.3 we saw that understanding
requires a reduction of social differences; the more distant the context of com-
municators, the lower the level of understanding (Gutt 1991: 97). Thus social
ministry can be seen as a condition for (interreligious) dialogue. Moreover, if
harmony between speaker and listener is achieved, understanding in its turn
leads to solidarity, an awareness that the other’s situation could have been my
own. Hence social ministry is also a consequence of (interreligious) dialogue.
Spiritual power
It cannot be denied, however, that mainline churches have become ‘secular’
and that spiritual power is a forgotten dimension of cross-cultural mission and
ministry (Kraft 1995: 3–11). If a possessed woman were to come to the Catholic
Church saying, “Father, I have evil spirits”, the parish priest would refer her to
the mission hospital saying, “We don’t believe in spirits” (Wijsen 1993: 237).
Comoro and Sivalon (1999: 277) found that “the dominant secularised explan-
ation of mission Roman Catholicism” was a motivation for people to join
Felician Nkwera’s Marian Faith Healing Ministry (see also Shorter & Njiru
2001: 103–110; Wijsen 1997b: 138–141). The same holds true for the healing
ministry of Emmanuel Milingo (Shorter 1985: 187–190).
Africa’s cosmic religion has a spirit of wholeness. Sacred and profane, spir-
itual and secular cohere (Agbasiere & Zabajungu 1989). “This should also be
reflected in our engagement with people of other faith communities. I there-
fore propose a model of dialogue as ‘engagement for the promotion of the
Kingdom of God in our midst’. An engagement that seeks to remove all forms
of injustice and promote a new humanity,” says Temple (2001: 30–31). And he
continues:
“This model is both creative and liberative and should be seen as an essential part of the the-
ology of reconstruction that is so vital and a priority to the African continent today. I therefore
present to you ‘dialogue as engagement for the promotion of the Kingdom of God’ as an
authentic African model [my italics] for further study and consideration.”
Towards a dialogical and diaconal church 201
Until the Second Vatican Council Catholic mission studies was church-
centred. The objective of mission was formulated as ‘winning people for the
church’, as it was taught that there is no salvation outside the church. Thus
plantatio ecclesiae was the main mission model. The missionary mandate,
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matt 28:19–20), was seen as Christ’s
mandate to the church. Mission was missio ecclesiae.
During and after the Second Vatican Council concepts of mission changed,
but the Council’s own concept is not quite clear. There are various reasons for
this: the Second Vatican Council was a three year process (1962–1965); mis-
sion concepts are spread over various documents; and a council always reflects
some sort of power struggle. Besides, ambiguity seems to be a hallmark of
Catholic pronouncements. There is always a possibility of other interpretations,
which keeps the discussion open and few people feel excluded.261 This compli-
cates interpretation of the Second Vatican Council, in particular its concept of
mission, evidenced by the fact that immediately after the council various –
often contradictory – interpretations emerged: mission as development and
later liberation, and mission as dialogue with cultures and religions. In his
encyclical, Redemptoris Missio, pope John Paul II clearly recognised this legit-
imate pluriformity. At the same time he drew the boundaries of an authentic
Roman Catholic understanding of mission in this letter (no. 83):
“It is not right to give an incomplete picture of missionary activity, as if it consisted princi-
pally in helping the poor, contributing to the liberation of the oppressed, promoting develop-
ment or defending human rights. The Missionary Church is certainly involved on these fronts
but her primary task lies elsewhere: the poor are hungry for God, not just for bread and free-
dom. Missionary activity must first of all bear witness to and proclaim salvation in Christ, and
establish local Churches which then become means of liberation in every sense.”
261 The advantage of ambiguity and leaving open a multiplicity of interpretations over dogmatic
precision is that it permits compromise. Maybe that is why there are more ‘break-away’
churches in the Protestant tradition than in the Roman Catholic tradition.
202 Chapter Nine
the church’s attitude towards adherents of other religions (28 October 1965).
The ecclesiological foundation was laid a year before in the dogmatic constitu-
tion on the church, Lumen Gentium, which describes the church as a sign and
instrument of salvation (21 November 1964). But even more explicitly than the
mission decree Ad Gentes, the pastoral constitution on the church in the con-
temporary world, Gaudium et Spes, also promulgated during one of the last
sessions of the council (7 December 1965), defines the ‘real’ mission concept
of the Second Vatican Council when it clarifies the relation between the
church, the world and the kingdom of God.
The pastoral constitution on the church in the contemporary world was not
foreseen in the original schedule. Seemingly the council fathers were not com-
fortable with the dogmatic constitution on the church, Lumen Gentium, so they
felt a need for a further one. That is why there are two constitutions on the church,
a dogmatic and a pastoral one. Whereas the pastoral constitution, Gaudium
et Spes, presents the church as a local community which is prepared to engage
in a dialogue with the world, other religions and other churches (Gaudium
et Spes, no. 92), the mission concept in the decree on mission, Ad Gentes,
remains traditional. The theory of plantatio ecclesiae is upheld, and with it the
church-centred view of mission. The new name for this view was ‘mutual mis-
sionary assistance of churches’.
In the early 20th century theologians said that mission was not missio
ecclesiae but missio Dei. It was Karl Barth who first introduced the missio
Dei concept to safeguard mission from overly human interests. Mission is
primarily the Father’s sending of the Son. It is nothing more nor less
than a manifestation of God’s will and its fulfilment in the world. Thus mission
is not there to serve the purpose of the church. It is exactly the other way
round: the church exists for the purpose of mission, more especially the mis-
sion of God. Whereas Hendrik Kraemer (1969) saw mission as expansion of
the church and Christianity, Johan Hoekendijk (1966), another Dutch missiol-
ogist, saw the church in the service of mission: demonstrating God’s acts of
salvation and liberation, justice and peace in the world, the universal
shalom/salaam. That is what Hoekendijk meant when he wrote The church
inside out (1966).
Up to now there have been two extreme positions in missionary ecclesi-
ology, with many variations in between. One is the church growth model, the
other the church-for-others model. Ecclesio-centric missiology revived in
Donald McGravan’s church growth movement. The aim is not to convert souls
but to multiply churches. Arthur Glaser represents the same position. The reac-
tion to this ecclesio-centric missiology was a world-centred missiology: a mis-
sionary church is a church for others. This model was adopted by the World
Council of Churches and is now the main trend in Third World and liberation
theology.
Towards a dialogical and diaconal church 203
262 If we take culture to be a shared meaning system, however complex and contradictory it may
be, Christianity is simply another culture. This puts inculturation in the right perspective. It
does not mean relating Christianity (as a religion) to culture, but relating Christianity (as a
culture) to other cultures. In that sense inculturation is communication between cultures, not
(just) communication between the gospel (as a religious system) and culture. The complex-
ity stems from the fact that religion is a cultural system but also transcends culture
(Mugambi 2004: 5–8).
263 Segeja (1998: 49–51) explains that Bujo and Nyamiti develop their understanding of the
church in Africa from an ancestral perspective. But “although the ancestors have a peculiar
position and influence in the life of the Basukuma, the younger generation seems not to put
much emphasis on them” (Segeja 1998: 51).
204 Chapter Nine
Christology in Africa
The same applies to Christology in Africa. Some theologians see Christ as
an ancestor (Nyamiti 1984). But what was the ancestors’ place in African
Religions, and what is it today? It may be that nowadays ancestors are more
feared than loved. If so, the ancestor is not a good paradigm to start with. Other
theologians portray Christ as the guest (Udoh 1988). These Christologies are
based on African traditions of hospitality and neighbourly love. But is this hos-
pitality an unconditional love, or rather a matter of give and take, do et des?
Christ is also seen as the elder (Wachage 1992). Elders were liberators, recon-
cilers, guardians, leaders, rulers and stabilisers. But again there are limitations:
some contemporary female theologians see the elders as oppressors, patri-
archal rulers, who do not reflect the ideas of young people and women.
Yet others see Christ as a healer. It stands to reason that the healer,
representing the indigenous religious system, was the greatest enemy of
Christianity, represented by the missionary. But anthropological study has shown
that this was a misunderstanding. ‘Healer’ is an inclusive term for herbalist,
shaman and diviner, in the literature often referred to as medicine man (although
there are many woman healers) and witchdoctor (a derogatory and ambiguous
term, as ‘witch’ and ‘doctor’ are often confused).264 It is recognised that Christ can
be interpreted as a healer (Shorter 1985; Kirwen 1987; Schoffeleers 1989).265
264 As was noted before, in Africa the mystical power is one; blessing and cursing are basically
the same.
265 Although various theologians of East African descent write about healing as an ecclesio-
logical and pastoral-theological problem, or as an aspect of African Indigenous Religion and
African Instituted Churches, very few of them write about Christ the healer. In the volume
on Religion and health in Africa (Chepkwony 2006) the opening chapter on Jesus as healer
is written by Diana Stinton. She found that 25 out of 27 respondents affirmed that the image
of Jesus as healer is meaningful (p. 25). See also the study by Domingues (2000). In 1989
I recorded a song about Jesus the healer in a small Tanzanian village (Wijsen 1993: 82).
Towards a dialogical and diaconal church 205
This is both a major breakthrough in dialogue with the healing churches and an
important contribution to the world church. In the same way the image of a priest
can be based on the African concept of a healer and the sacraments can be under-
stood as gifts of healing (Schoffeleers 1989: 165–168; Wijsen 1993: 129).266
266 See also the exploration of christologies in Africa by Healey and Sybertz (1996: 62–103)
and Stinton (2004). At present Stinton is secretary of the Ecumenical Symposium of Eastern
African Theologians.
267 As noted already, in the South African discourse ubuntu would be the equivalent term. It
underlies the consensus model according to which Samuel Kobia rules the World Council of
Churches.
206 Chapter Nine
about Ganda culture in relation to women can apply to the remaining ethnic
groups and cultures in Uganda and Africa in general,” says Waliggo (2002: 5).
Children are valued for the labour they provide: fetching firewood and water,
for which they often have to walk long distances; for older children taking care
of younger siblings is a daily task, at least in rural areas.268 Fathers looked for-
ward eagerly to the time when their daughters get married, because they would
be exchanged for gifts in the form of cattle or money (Okemwa 2002: 113;
Nasimiyu-Wasike 1992a: 154–156).
Undoubtedly these conflicts have become worse. The extended family sys-
tem worked well in the days of a subsistence economy. The introduction of
a cash economy posed plenty of problems for the family. Although few people
participate in the cash economy, their relatives expect to share the income. Jobs,
support, education, mobility and so forth are still sought through the extended
family network. This puts great strain on some family members, especially those
who are better off. Kayongo-Male and Onyango (1991: 63–64) write:
“Homicide, apathy, extravagance, large families, underdevelopment, lack of creativity, unneces-
sary conformity, feelings of irrelevance, petty jealousies and dependency. A man faced with
an inability to support himself or his immediate family as well as other relatives may decide
not to support anybody at all, and may indulge in practices of self-destruction like excessive
drinking, gambling or refusing to work, as he sees no point in working if expectations are
too high.”
The other members of the family, on the other hand, realising that they are
being outshone by their successful kinsfolk, may become hostile, according to
Kayongo-Male and Onyango (1991: 64):
“This is often shown by gossip, curses, unnecessary land disputes, homicide and witchcraft in
Africa – all these forms of aggression being directed at the relative who is denying them their
extended family right not only to have a share in but also to influence the spending of the rel-
ative’s income . . . Hence, the extended family system that used to support families in times of
need has in some ways become destructive of the African family.”
Segeja (1998: 14) acknowledges that the Sukuma concept of shikome includes
some elements of ethnocentrism and particularism. “[S]hikome deals mostly
with matters and issues that influenced the life of the kaya and nzengo.269
Minimal effort is made to reflect on issues in a broader context beyond the
nzengo level.” And further: “Although the non-Basukuma may be invited to
participate in shikome, their views would not be taken seriously.” Yet Segeja
268 When African women in rural areas hear that an average family in Europe has only two or
three children they react with unbelief and wonder. “Who is going to help you when they
die?” (Child mortality is still high in many parts of Africa.) One middle-aged informant told
me that in her time women in urban areas preferred to have fewer children, but nowadays
women again want large families.
269 Kaya means family or house; nzengo means village.
Towards a dialogical and diaconal church 207
One of our interviewees stated that African cities are not real cities. Very few
families live in town permanently. Often they remain behind in the rural areas
to look after the family property, while the husband or the wife finds a job in
town. He or she sends part of his/her earnings to the family ‘at home’.270 This
arrangement creates many problems, the first being mothers’ separation from
children living in the rural area and fathers staying alone in town. It is common
for men in towns to have female partners and raise children with them. Posses-
sion of two houses tends to limit the family’s ability to develop either of them
(Kayongo-Male & Onyango 1991: 61–63).
Thus for most people who come to town to earn a living ‘home’ is up-country
where they have their land. This is evident during the Christmas season when
people go back home, also at funeral rituals when the body is brought home.
“Nairobi is one big village,” one informant said. But, surprisingly, rural
patterns survive. “The whole city consists of tribal networks,” my informant
continued.271 This is an obstacle to church development in towns. The parish is
270 This pattern has become globalised as a result of the many African migrants in Europe (sec-
tion 8.1). Their remittances often exceed bilateral development aid, as is the case with
Ghanaian migrants in Europe. Nowadays seen by the World Bank as an important source of
development for non-industrialised countries, this system nevertheless puts serious con-
straints on family life in Africa.
271 Hannerz (1992: 229–230) notes that the mega-cities in the centre become extensions of the
societies on the periphery, in which migrants retain their membership. This applies to both
Third World mega-cities and to those in Europe and North America. Migrants build their own
hamlets in the mega-cities where they have “home plus higher income” (Hannerz 1992: 248).
208 Chapter Nine
Despite the fact that members of different ethnic groups coexist in various
African states, they perceive one another as strangers. A stranger is not just
somebody you do not know but a person who does not belong to your group.
You may have gone to the same school, you may have been employed by the
same company, you may be members of the same political party or even reli-
gious congregation. Yet the person remains a stranger inasmuch he or she does
not belong to the group, as distinct from the ‘insider’ or ‘brother’ (Gyekye
1997: 91). Gyekye continues:
“Attitudes toward the stranger are often not charitable. Fear, distrust, suspicion, and some-
times antipathy are evoked by the presence of the stranger.”
Towards a dialogical and diaconal church 209
This is why African leaders, for example politicians and even bishops, like to
surround themselves with family and clan members. Nepotism is a big prob-
lem in present-day Africa.
does not reflect on the limitations of the ujamaa spirit, nor does Orobator
(2000: 37–39), who sees the family as a foundation for interfaith dialogue. The
same applies to Eboh (2004: 89–90), who considers the African community
spirit a principle for peaceful coexistence.272
Various authors point to small Christian communities as the ideal imple-
mentation of ujamaa (Onwubiko 1999: 192–207). But reports on small Christian
communities are ambivalent. Whereas some case studies stress their strengths
(Healey 1993; Healey & Sybertz 1996: 137–145), others emphasise their
weaknesses. In some instances small Christian communities in Africa foster
true fellowship and mutual help among their members; in others they are not
self-help units but prayer groups. These communities did not originate from
the people. They are new structures imposed by the bishops. The intention,
moreover, was not to emancipate the people but to control them better and get
more money out of them, said one of my interviewees. It was not a new model
for the church or a pastoral policy to deepen faith, but a way of making the
organisation more efficient. The parish remains the administrative centre and
the priest the only source of sacramental ministry. Since the inauguration of
this policy two decades ago the history of small Christian communities in East
Africa “is a story of failure of implementation of a beautiful and scriptural
aspiration,” says Magesa (1993: 7). Three decades later, at the tenth anniver-
sary of the African Synod of 2004, the situation was pretty much the same
(Magesa 2002b: 14).273
272 Thus it must be asked whether or not these authors, just like the nationalist ideological
philosophers before them, confuse ujamaa as a socio-ethical doctrine with ujamaa as a
socio-economic system (Gyekye 1997: 149).
273 In their book Small Christian communities today, Healey and Hinton (2005: 97) admit:
“The growth and influence of Small Christian Communities (SCCs) throughout the contin-
ent are mixed . . . But where they are flourishing, SCCs are an important pastoral strategy
and even a new way of being a communitarian church.” I agree with the editors that SCCs
are a pastoral model that can help to revitalise parishes. But I do not know any instances
where SCCs in Africa are a new model for the church. The few examples that I knew were
gradually marginalised by the authorities.
Towards a dialogical and diaconal church 211
(Healey 1985: 59–62; Olikenyi 2001: 215). Healey (1981: 1–18) proposes a
‘journey theology’. He describes mission in terms of a search for meaning in
life, exploring the far ends of the world, discovering Christ in our lives as a spir-
itual pilgrimage, values which are closely linked with the kingdom of God.
Increasingly, pilgrimage is seen as a model of and a model for interreligious
relations (Eggen 1993; Camps 1997; Kalliath 2000; Kalliath 2004).
A pilgrimage to God
In the introduction we explained that the word ‘mission’ as it was used for a
long time in the sense of going into the mission field, mission as a territory, is
of recent origin in mission history. It was introduced by the Jesuits in their 16th
century counter-Reformation. Before that other words were used, such as peri-
grinatio. There is an old and ongoing ‘journey theology’ that views mission as
a perigrinatio ad Deum. One thinks of the 6th and 7th century Irish monks
with their perigrinatio ad Christum, the Franciscan and Dominican fratres
perigrinantes pro Christo in the 13th century, and Bartolomé de las Casas,
Roberto de Nobili and Matteo Ricci in the 16th and 17th centuries. They all
learned to see mission as exploration rather than expansion.
All people are pilgrims to a promised land, the kingdom of God. This is
expressed by the Roman Catholic Church in its dogmatic constitution on the
church, Lumen Gentium no. 48 (in relation to the church itself), which describes
the church’s situation on its earthly pilgrimage between creation and eschat-
ology; and by the World Council of Churches in its Guidelines on Dialogue
no. 19 (in relation to people of other faiths), which reads: “We feel able with
integrity to assure our partners in dialogue that we come not as manipulators
but as fellow pilgrims.”
Like Jesus’ disciples on their way to the village of Emmaus (Luke 24:13–35),
pilgrims vacillate between fear and hope. Christians and Muslims can become
fellow pilgrims on the journey of life and faith. Both Christianity and Islam
teach that creation has a common origin and a common destiny. For Christians
the goal of life is to become children of God (1 John 3:1–2). For Muslims it is
to become servant worshippers of God and his vicars on earth. (The Arab term
‘Abdallah’ means servant worshipper of God, and the Qur’anic term ‘khalifa’
means vicar, deputy – Nnyombi 2000: 48–53.) According to Tayob (1999: 111)
the search for God in Islam is epitomised best by the pilgrimage (hajj). It is a
spiritual journey that takes believers out of the mosque to beyond the here and
now (Tayob 1999: 85–86). Thus Muslims and Christians share this spirituality
of the road.
Migration in Africa has consequences for the study of African religions, says
Hock (2004).
Hannerz (1992: 219) argues that cultural centre-periphery relations do not
necessarily reflect political and economic centre-periphery relations. Moreover,
the relation between centre and periphery is not one of dependence but of
interdependence. When the centre speaks, the periphery does talk back (Hannerz
1992: 221). Or as Kraemer (1936: 20) put it decades earlier, “the great change
that has come in the twentieth century is that . . . the victims have become
actors. Mainly passive impulsive reaction has become conscious action.” This
leads to the view of complex culture as a network of perspectives (Hannerz
1992: 64–68) or, as Van Binsbergen (2003: 475–479) puts it, of cultural orien-
tations. Hannerz (1992: 218), an anthropologist, speaks about the intercon-
nectedness of cultures in terms of the global ecumene. In theological terms this
is the vision that some day “all may be one” (1 Cor 15:28). Combining the two
perspectives means that we could interpret the process of interculturation as
‘ecumenisation’.274
274 In my present research I focus on the use of Swahili as an ‘ecumenical language’ (Mazrui &
Mazrui 1998: 117) with reference to its role in the diffusion of Christianity and Islam in East
Africa (Mazrui & Mazrui 1995: 2).
214 Chapter Nine
275 Maybe this flexibility also applies to the personalised nature of some of the newer
Pentecostal churches. They centre very much on the personal charisma of the founder. In the
pastor’s absence the church leaders would rather play a tape of his sermon than allow
another pastor to preach.
Towards a dialogical and diaconal church 215
Holy places
Northern Nigeria and Kenya are on the southern periphery of devotion and
petition to the tombs of Muslim saints (Trimingham 1962: 1964), which are
common and popular in north Africa from Egypt to Morocco (Eickelman
1976). The decorated, flag-bedecked tomb of Pir Baghali, a railway worker
who was believed to possess extraordinary spiritual powers, at Mackinnon
Road on the highway between Mombasa and Nairobi is regularly visited by
petitioners, who may not all be Muslims. Traditional pilgrimages to cult
centres may well be a long-standing feature of West African religion, although
most contemporary Ghanaian shrines which attract pilgrims are of recent ori-
gin and more openly commercial. It has been commented (Field 1960: 53) that
“literates have more serious mental trouble than illiterates, for they have heav-
ier demands on their diligence”, which would account for the reported pres-
ence of pilgrims who are teachers, lawyers and politicians.
The Boghar cult, which spread south from northern Ghana, has client
shrines in the south and there is pilgrimage traffic across and between very dif-
ferent cultures and societies, which allow safe conduct and trading channels
between potentially hostile communities. At the same time it provides local
religious foci clearly suited to a region with a centuries old history of large-
scale migration for trade and work (Werbner 1989: 227–242).
Christian holy places – more usual in Catholicism than in Protestantism –
are often visited by Muslims. While working in a rural parish in Northwest
276 The present author observed several sessions of a Catholic healer in which Muslims partici-
pated actively. Healing is a communal affair in which everybody is supposed to participate,
irrespective of religious affiliation (Wijsen 1993: 237–238).
277 In East Africa this is facilitated by the use of Swahili, which is an ecumenical language
(Mazrui & Mazrui 1998: 117). Many words have a Christian or an Islamic background but
are used interchangeably, as evidenced by the various words connoting ‘spirits’ (Wijsen
1997b).
216 Chapter Nine
Tanzania the present author observed the statue of Holy Mary being visited by
Muslims. It was a regular outing on Sunday afternoons, mixing recreation with
devotion.278 The same applies to the Lourdes grottoes, which are spread all
over Africa and are frequently visited by Muslims.
278 Our Muslim visitors to the parish had high esteem for Mary, the mother of Jesus. On one
such occasion, a Muslim girl incorporated Mary into the Our Father when she asked me
about Christians praying “in the name of the Father, the Mother and the Son. Amen”.
Towards a dialogical and diaconal church 217
Pilgrims or nomads?
The foregoing typology shows that any true pilgrimage has a clear goal.
Maybe a more appropriate metaphor for African theology would be the nomad.
Pilgrims know where their destination is; nomads wander around the desert
searching for water, not knowing where it is. The Greek word ‘nomad’ indi-
cates people who move around with their herds. The emphasis is on their habit
of moving. One can distinguish various forms of movement. The first is when
whole households move together with their livestock. The second is when
some members remain where they are, but the animals are taken to better pas-
tures elsewhere by the young men for part of the year. The latter form is more
common nowadays, because it can be combined with agricultural and other
non-pastoral economic activities.
More important is the cultural aspect of nomadism. It entails constant pre-
paredness to move. Abraham was supposed to leave his country. He is a source
of ‘nomadic spirituality’ (Nnyombi 2000). In a way this cultural trait applies to
many Africans. They are always on the move, as seasonal labourers in the big
cities while the family stays at home, as migrants to neighbouring countries with
better economic conditions, even to Europe or the Unites States of America
where many Africans migrants end up. This would be more in line with the ori-
ginal meaning of mission as Perigrinatio ad Deum: searching for the traces of
God’s creative presence in people. The pilgrim knows where the holy places are;
the nomad does not know where the watering-places are – they are searching for
them. Or as the African proverb goes, ‘we create the path by walking’.
279 This accords with our statement in the general introduction: we are primarily interested in
believers (actors) and not so much in belief systems.
218 Chapter Nine
In the study guide the module is presented in two cycles. The first helps
students to reflect on their knowledge of and commitment to the Christian faith
as they experience it in their own denomination. This cycle is meant to make
them to feel secure in their identity as Christians, so they will not feel threat-
ened when entering into an interreligious relationship. The cycle begins with
identification. It has to do with students’ sense of belonging to their Christian
tradition. During the analytical stage they examine their level of commitment
and involvement in their Christian denomination. In the stage of theological
reflection they are asked to consider the impact of their faith commitment on
their lives. The action stage is called living with faith. Here the students are
asked to plan actions that will strengthen their Christian identity. Reflection
questions are provided for each stage, but since this is an advanced module
students are expected to take the initiative in using the cycle as a preparation
for encountering a person from another religious tradition.
280 The author states that this stage is inspired by Bernard Lonergan’s method of doing theology
(Karecki 2005: 147).
281 To my mind this module at the University of South Africa is an educational translation of
Kibicho’s model of being fully open and fully committed (section 7.1).
Towards a dialogical and diaconal church 219
encourages cooperation in action that will enhance the quality of human life
and restore justice in the face of oppression so that all people can experience
the blessings of God’s kingdom (Karecki 2005: 147–148).282
Conclusion
282 This calls for caution. As I said earlier (section 8.2), being fellow pilgrims is not easy.
Intercultural communication goes hand in hand with intercultural conflict. It will always be
a misunderstanding understanding.
Chapter Ten
Renaissance or reconstruction?
So far African theologies have been presented as ranging from inculturation the-
ology and liberation theology to African theology and Black theology (Ukpong
1983; Martey 1993). In chapter three we dealt with African theology. There we
applied a confessional classification, being the classification used to organise
theological schools and colleges in Africa, which are the focus of this study. We
noted, however, that at present it seems more appropriate to classify African the-
ologies according to the trends of reconstruction and renaissance (Kobia 2003:
103–128). What do these theologies say about dialogue between adherents of
different faiths? What do they contribute to a theory of interreligious relations?
Should ‘dialogue as engagement for the promotion of the Kingdom of God’ be
seen as an essential part of the theology of reconstruction (Temple 2001: 32)?
283 My questions here are: To what extent is the hope of independence illusory? Is the picture
historically true? Have there ever been ‘independent’ communities? Is it meant to be a true
picture of history or a source of political inspiration? And is the hope of independence
pedagogically wise in a world characterised by growing interdependence?
222 Chapter Ten
Throughout this study we have spoken about both the strengths and weak-
nesses of Africa’s community spirit. We have pointed out that the theology of
African renaissance romanticises Africa’s community spirit (ujamaa) and trad-
ition of peaceful coexistence in a way that is not helpful for the future. Of
course it is good and necessary to love one’s cultural heritage, but, as the say-
ing goes, love is blind. In African theology Mbiti’s classical dictum has been
repeated time and again: “I am because we are; and since we are, therefore
I am” (Mbiti 1969: 108–109). The only hierarchical principle in African soci-
eties was seniority (gender is not mentioned by Mbiti), but this principle was
based on respect, not power. There was no private property and people collab-
orated for the common good. According to Julius Nyerere (1967, 1968) the
peaceful coexistence that existed in pre-colonial Africa was brutally disrupted
by Western influences, mainly in the form of the political theory of liberalism
and the economic system of capitalism. The way forward is to go back to the
past, to Africa’s cultural heritage.
In section 3.2 we referred to Nyerere as a traditionalist par excellence.
According to him traditional African society had socialist characteristics.
It was based on mutual respect, common property and an obligation to work.
All basic commodities were communally owned. There was mutual concern
and farmers used to help each other in the fields (Nyerere 1967, 1968). Thus
in his philosophical justification of political theory Nyerere reverted to the
norms and values of African culture in the past. The development of modern
African society was to be based on the traditional African community spirit,
ujamaa.
Is ujamaa a phantom?
“It is false to believe that ujamaa is or was an African reality,” says Schweigman
(2001: 121). He continues: “The claim that the imposed ujamaa policies had
African roots was therefore also false. In fact, these policies failed since real-
ities in practice and views of the local people were not sufficiently taken into
account.” We are not making fun of the Tanzanian experiment. It was a fascin-
ating endeavour with a tremendous impact on national unity. But being an
experiment, it was a learning process and that is what Africans must do: learn
from both achievements and mistakes (Ludwig 1996; Lee 2001). It is not a
period to long back for, and I am of the opinion that very few Tanzanians really
do long back for its rigid policies (Wijsen & Tanner 2002: 109–144). Let me
cite just one example. In the early 1980s there were serious food shortages in
northwest Tanzania. People were starving. Strangely enough, there was enough
food in the country. But because of the rigid food security policy introduced in
the 1960s, production and marketing of agricultural commodities were state
controlled, private trade was suppressed and inter-regional movement of staple
Renaissance or reconstruction? 223
284 The same contradiction was observable in the few ujamaa villages which adhered openly to
the ideology of self-reliance but could only survive through funds granted by international
donor agencies that wished to support the experiment of African socialism. Ideological rea-
sons also seem to be behind the food shortage in northeast Kenya that threatens the lives of
3,5 million people there. For some six months the government knew that this was going to
happen, but it did not act or acted too late.
285 A recent example is Museveni, president of Uganda, once the favourite leader of Africa,
who ruled the country for twenty years (1986–2006) and sought re-election by neutralising
opposition parties and blaming Western countries for all evils in Uganda.
224 Chapter Ten
interviewees said:
“Africans drive a car. But they only look in the rear-view mirror. They do not look through the
front window. This is asking for problems.”
Referring to the debate on the African roots of Greek philosophy, Eboh (2004: 4)
says that Afrocentrism does not confront any person or people, but is an
attempt to put the record right. It concerns itself with a rediscovery of the
African way of thinking and accepting this as a normative guide for living.
“This gives the African a psychological boost, psychological tonic from the present psycho-
logical defeatism; it instils in the African a sense of hope and optimism and leads to self-discovery,
self-thinking, self-expression, self-determination, self-development and self-realisation.”
to install a multiracial district council in Geita, but this was successfully resisted
by the Sukuma people. It is generally seen as the beginning of the liberation
struggle in Tanganyika (Wijsen 1993: 49). Was it helpful? Or was it a
narrow-minded, our-own-people-first reaction – “primordial militancy”, as Ali
Mazrui (1979: 262) would call it? According to Mazrui this militancy was one
of the factors that led to the expulsion of Luo workers and, later, the Asian
bourgeoisie from Uganda. There are similar examples in Kenya and Tanzania.
It may even have been a factor in the break-up of the East African Community
in 1977, Mazrui maintains.
There is a parallel here with the debate in development and globalisation
studies. The colonial way was to blame Africans for the underdevelopment of
Africa: Africans were lazy, stupid, primitive, narrow-minded and short-sighted.
The post-independence way is to blame Europe and Europeans for underdevel-
opment in Africa: Europeans are the source of all evils. The way forward is to
combine the internal and the external approach, the global and the local. There
is no international oppression without intra-national oppression, and vice versa,
as was said earlier (section 1.1). In Ethiopia philosophers and politicians made
a strong plea to return to traditional Ethiopian concepts. But the present-day
upheavals connected with the federal system of administration have cast doubt
on the ability of traditional African values to promote national unity and eco-
nomic progress.
286 The distinction is based on Tonnies’s classification of a pre-modern and a modern era,
Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft.
287 A clear manifestation of this long history in popular culture is East African taarab music,
which is a mix of African, Arab and Indian influences.
226 Chapter Ten
288 Robertson (1995: 30, 35, 36) refers to the ‘nostalgic paradigm’ in Western science, the view
that we once lived in a multitude of secure, collective ‘homes’.
289 The picture is created that there was a ‘pure’ Africa prior to these events taking place else-
where. Magesa seems to overlook the mass migrations within Africa and between Africa
and other continents, e.g. the Arabic peninsula and Southeast Asia, that have shaped present-
day Africa (Mazrui 1986). This is, of course, not to cleanse the conscience of the missionar-
ies and the colonisers (Maluleke 2002: 190), but to put the situation of present-day Africa in
a broader perspective.
290 However, artificial boundaries alone cannot explain the conflicts. Many countries in the
world have artificial boundaries, yet this does not prevent them from becoming stable and
prosperous (Van der Veen 2004: 357). The conflict between Wallonian and Flemish people
in Belgium becomes very heated now and then, but so far it has not led to civil war (Wijsen
1999: 125). And what about African countries that do have one ethnic group and one lan-
guage and still have civil war on their territory?
291 Byaruhang-Akiiki (1989: 50) also claims that wars in Africa are not indigenous but were
introduced by foreign religions.
292 As we saw in section 7.1, Samuel Kibicho, whom we took as our inspiration, is ambiguous
on this point. On the one hand Kibicho (1983: 171) says that African Religion and Christianity
are equally valid. On the other he says that pre-Christian African communities “were
certainly more God fearing” and had “better existential saving-knowledge of God” (Kibicho
1981: 34).
Renaissance or reconstruction? 227
I tend to agree with Aguilar (1998: 21): “It would be unrealistic to portray
Africa as a place with peaceful villages and grain filled granaries.” He imme-
diately adds, “just as it is unfair to imply that violence and bloodshed represent
the totality of African life. These are mere caricatures and stereotypes of very
complex historical, social, religious and political processes.” Aguilar (1998:
22) concludes: “In every country or community of the world, there are two
realities which can either merge or confront each other. These are: concern for
humanity and a total disregard for human dignity and values.” When Musamaali
Nangoli (1986) says that Europeans should tell no more lies about Africa this
is, of course, correct. But it applies equally to Africans themselves. When
Nangoli says “here is the truth from an African”, the question is: what truth, or
even more pertinently, whose truth?293
Global Africans
Ali Mazrui, whose alumni have named him the ‘global African par excellence’
(Kokole 1998), is critical of ‘romantic gloriana’ or ‘romantic primitivism’ and
‘Tanzaphilia’. Following him, Africans should be urged to think globally and
act locally. Moreover, cosmopolitanism is not something of the West, says
Appiah (2006). Referring to his hometown, Kumasi has been a cosmopolitan
city for a long time, where you find people from all over West Africa and even
from Arab countries. Its market is the largest in West Africa. Thus globalism is
not so strange in Africa, says Appiah.
Be that as it may, it is good that scholars are starting to look back at the uja-
maa experiment in Tanzania (Stöger-Eising 2000; Schweigman 2001; Lee
2001). One must admire the late president Nyerere for the way he promoted
national unity, independent of ethnic background or religious affiliation. But
one must also question whether his national understanding of fellowship was
realistic. After all, it was not long-lasting, and ethnocentrism and religionism
are still realities and are even growing in Tanzania today (Ludwig 1996;
Niwagila 1999; Wijsen & Mfumbusa, 2004).
The ujamaa experiment clearly shows that peaceful coexistence is not
going to last long without good leadership and societal structures, which
Nyerere provided, for instance by introducing Swahili as a national language,
universal education and national service. It is not because Tanzanians are more
amiable and peace loving by nature than other people that Tanzania has been
293 Of course, it is a complicated question. On this point I tend to agree with Platvoet and Van
Rinsum (2003: 142–143) that scholars of religion must move beyond ideological convic-
tions and must produce verifiable historical data. But whether or not these data will provide
enough evidence will be determined in a dialologic, intersubjective process (Krieger 1991).
228 Chapter Ten
a relatively stable country during the past few decades. It is because of deliber-
ate policies adopted by the government of the United Republic of Tanzania in
the post-independence era (Wijsen & Mfumbusa 2004: 46), policies that may
have been adequate in their time and must be admired, but that cannot work in
the post-Cold War era and thus cannot be repeated or sustained.
In the previous section we criticised African renaissance theology and the wish
to return to the path of the ancestors for being too nostalgic and romantic. Is
there an alternative? And if so, what? Kwame Gyekye (1997: xi) argues against
both wholesale, uncritical, nostalgic acceptance of the past or tradition, and of
wholesale, out of hand rejection of it on the grounds that a cultural tradition,
however primitive, would have positive as well as negative features.
Theology of reconstruction
The eighth assembly of the All Africa Conference of Churches at Yaoundé in
November 2003 proposed a shift from the exodus theme to the reconstruction
theme, from “Let my people go” (Ex 8:1) to “Come, let us rebuild” (Neh 2:17).
This is not to disregard the theme of liberation; it is not either/or but a matter
of emphasis. Now that Africa is liberated from colonial powers it is the task of
Africans themselves to build up their nations!294
The theme of rebuilding Jerusalem followed the devastation of the city as
a result of Babylonian imperialism. The fall of the Babylonian empire to the
Persians marked a turning point. God entered into a strategic alliance with Cyrus,
a Persian, to rescue the chosen people. This adds an interreligious dimension
to the story: “God is capable of partnership with people outside the covenant
as strategic alliance to fulfil this purpose” (Temple 2003: 1).295
The theme of rebuilding Africa is not new. The fifth assembly of the All
Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) in Lomé, Togo (1987) already saw the
introduction of a theology of reconstruction. The theme has been taken up by
the General Committee of AACC which met in Nairobi, March 1990 (Chipenda
1991), and, among others, by Charles Villa-Vicencio (1992) in South Africa,
294 There are African theologians who are critical of the reconstruction paradigm. As Maluleke
(1999: 107; 2005: 492) points out, post-cold war Africa is not fully free and the new world
order is not new. Temple (2003: 3) says much the same. There are many places in Africa that
are yet to be liberated (southern Sudan, western Sahara).
295 God’s strategic alliance with Cyrus might be interpreted as a justification of Sundermeier’s
trader model (2003), in which competitors collaborate for the sake of a common interest.
Renaissance or reconstruction? 229
Kä Mana (2004) in Benin and Jesse Mugambi (1995) in Kenya. Since then vari-
ous volumes on reconstruction have been published.296
296 The terms ‘construction’ and ‘reconstruction’ derive from engineering vocabulary. The way
‘construction’ is used in reconstruction theology accords more with the use of the term in the
social sciences as introduced by Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann (Mugambi 1995: 12).
297 Note that this is a different definition of spirituality from the one we gave in section 1.2.
298 One may question whether Sundermeier (1992: 69) has an over romantic picture of
medieval Spain. According to various historians of religion Christians and Muslims coex-
isted peacefully in Spain at that time, though they were strictly separated. Jews and
Christians were considered second-class citizens.
230 Chapter Ten
or theological training that makes a teacher, but the person’s willingness to listen
and to learn. Theologians have to give up the old roles of teaching and preaching
and devote themselves completely to the people in a kenotic existence. They
have to find a new form of existence together with other people: convivencia.
Sundermeier’s missionary ecclesiology shifts from ‘pro-existence’ to
‘con-existence’. After the Second World War Dietrich Bonhoeffer suggested
that the church has to be a church for others, and not others for the church. The
church must turn inside out (Hoekendijk 1966). Unfortunately this mission
and church for others soon adopted an attitude of superiority and charity. What
is needed now is to move from a church for others to a church with others
(Sundermeier 1992: 70–71).
Interestingly, Mazrui (2006: 12) refers to the medieval Islamic law of Dar
al-Ahd or Dar al-Sulh (Abode of contractual Peace or Abode of peaceful
Coexistence), besides the already mentioned Dar al-Islam and Dar al-Harb.
Dar al-Ahd or Dar al-Sulh was not accepted by most jurists, as they felt that if
the inhabitants of the territory conclude a peace treaty or paid tribute to the
Muslim treasury it became part of Dar al-Islam (Mazrui 2006: 13). Mazrui
says that the West appropriated this tripartite view of the world and substituted
itself for Islam. During the Cold War era the territory of peace was the West,
the First World. The communist world was the territory of war, the Second
World. And the territory of contractual peace or peaceful coexistence was the
Third World. The Third World paid tribute to the West in the form of a debt
burden (Mazrui 2006: 13; 285). Now, in the post-Cold War era, the Muslim
world has become the territory of war.
Two other authors must be mentioned here. Villa-Vicencio wrote his A the-
ology of reconstruction (1992) before Mugambi, but Mugambi had already
advocated a theology of reconstruction in a paper read to the general commit-
tee of the All Africa Conference of Churches in 1990. “We need to shift our
theological gear from liberation to reconstruction,” says Mugambi (1991: 35).
Villa-Vicencio is concerned about the political and judicial aspects of recon-
struction, not about the interreligious dimension of the new South Africa.
Probably the most critical and fundamental contribution to theology of recon-
struction comes from Kä Mana (2004).299 He describes the African cultural
heritage as a reality in decay. Any attempt to solve Africa’s problems by going
back to the past is just another form of alienation.300
It is noteworthy that more often than not it is African women who strongly
reject the plea to go back to the paths of the ancestors, because these paths
meant oppression of women and the earth (Chitando & Chitando 2005: 31).
Hence it is appropriate to conclude this book with an outline of African women
theologians’ attitudes towards interreligious relations. This brings in two
dimensions that I have neglected thus far: gender and ecology.
299 Kä Mana’s parents were Rwandese emigrants to Congo. Being a child of refugees, he is sen-
sitive to chaotic situations in Africa and feels the need to reconstruct Africa.
300 Note that the discourse in reconstruction theology is conducted mainly in the circles of the
All Africa Conference of Churches and related institutions. It is almost non-existent in the
Roman Catholic, Evangelical and Pentecostal churches.
301 Some South African Circle members prefer to describe themselves as adherents of African
Traditional Religions and only secondarily as Christians or Muslims, says Martha Frederiks
(2003: 77).
Renaissance or reconstruction? 233
Although most members of the Circle are Christians, they invite Muslims
and adherents of African Religions to their meetings and to contribute to their
publications. This is because “[t]he subordination of women by men has been
a common feature in the history of humankind, in virtually all cultures of the
world” (Kahumbi 2002: 198). This creates solidarity among women of various
faiths and thus provides a forum for religious interaction. Rabiatu Ammah
(1992: 84) writes:
“[T]he problems faced by Muslim women in Africa and those of other African women may be
only slightly different. Whether we are Muslim or Christian, we belong to an African trad-
itional culture that influences our lives. Hence in a way, as African women, it is religion in
general that affects all of us.”
“[T]he picture might be bleak for Muslim women, but we must also aim at the
ideal. So must women of all religions,” says Ammah (1992: 84). In many
places in Africa there are groups to combat violence against women and sexu-
ally transmitted diseases. The Kenya Chapter of the Circle of Concerned
African Women Theologians has produced some outstanding volumes, such
as Violence against women (Wamue & Getui 1996) and Conflicts in Africa
(Getui & Ayanga 2002).
“The concern for inter-faith reconstruction is high on Mercy Oduyoye’s
agenda,” says Carrie Pemberton (2003: 79). In 1996 the Circle dedicated a full
morning of its conference to Muslim-Christian dialogue; one morning prayer
service was led by Muslim participants, another by adherents of African Trad-
itional Religions. The East and South African Circles have undertaken a three-
year study project which resulted in Groaning in faith (Kanyoro & Njoroge
1996). This publication includes African Traditional Religious, Hindu and
Muslim authors, but most contributors are Christians.
But the prominent position of African women should certainly not be exagger-
ated or generalised. Although women undeniably have some rights, in most
cases they are controlled and even possessed by men, first by the men of their
own family and then by the men who paid the bride price (Nasimiyu-Wasike
1994: 50–51).302
302 The origin of the bride price, whatever it has become now, seems to have been that the bride
‘donated’ her fertility to her husband’s family, so her own family had to be recompensed for
the loss of ‘their blood’.
303 As already noted Mazrui contrasts liberty of women in the West with dignity of women in
the Muslim world. “In the Muslim world there was far less prostitution than in the West, far
less use of female sex appeal to sell commercial products, almost no beauty competitions in
the Muslim world, and too much protection of women from the rat race of the market place.
Sons in the Muslim world respect their mothers more than sons in the West – because
Muslim mothers are accorded higher dignity” (Mazrui 2006: 77).
304 With respect to the veil, authors make a comparison between Muslim women and Roman
Catholic nuns. The veil is not a symbol of oppression but of dignity (Kahumbi 2001: 207–208).
Renaissance or reconstruction? 235
305 This also appears to be the reason for female same-sex marriages in various parts of Africa
(Kayongo-Male & Onuango 1984: 7; Njeru 2004).
236 Chapter Ten
Conclusion
In this chapter we looked at current developments in African theology and
their implications for interreligious relations. In contemporary African the-
ology the major trends are renaissance and reconstruction. One should not repeat
the mistake made in regard to inculturation and liberation theology, namely
that of opposing he two. The two trends are different sides of the same coin;
Renaissance or reconstruction? 237
they aim at Africa’s emancipation. Yet they are not the same. Whereas the the-
ology of African renaissance thinks primarily in terms of the past, of reviving
traditional values, the theology of reconstruction thinks in terms of the future.
The exodus is more or less over. It is time now to build up the Promised Land.
From our analysis and evaluation it follows that a future-oriented approach is
more promising, an approach that does not mourn for the past, a model that
stresses building rather than restoring, reconstructing rather than reviving or
restoration (Mana 2004). From this perspective we reflect upon Africa’s trad-
ition of peaceful coexistence (Eboh 2004). We must ask: how peaceful is this
coexistence? It seems that communities in Africa coexist, but remain strictly
separated from each other. It is what we called earlier a LAT relation: living
apart together (Wijsen & Tanner 2000: 74). But peace is more than the absence
of war. We presented African woman’s theology as a third current that can pos-
sibly bridge the gap between renaissance and reconstruction. African women
theologians stress common humanity, both male humanity and female humanity.
Common issues such as gender (oppression of women) and ecology (environ-
mental degradation) may offer breakthroughs in interreligious relations.
General conclusions
In the introduction to this study we stated that there is as yet no adequate theory
of interreligious relations from an African perspective and that we want to make
good the deficiency. We proposed to answer the following three main questions.
First, why are African theologians and scholars of religion so remarkably silent
about interreligious relations? Secondly, is there an African model for interreli-
gious relations, and if so, what does it look like? Thirdly, how should interreli-
gious relations be taught in departments of religious studies and schools of
theology? We did not, however, deal with pedagogical considerations, as did
Cheetham (2005). We studied publications written by African theologians and
scholars of religion, official declarations and conference proceedings of eccle-
siastic organisations, and we interviewed informants in the field. What insights
did we gain from our study? In these general conclusions we recapitulate what
we did and reflect on our research findings. At the end we come up with a con-
crete proposal for further development.
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(Krieger 1991: 60). It uses a multi-religious perspective based on otherness and
differentness.
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Appendix 1
University of Nairobi
Accreditation: Fully chartered by the Commission for Higher Education
Denomination: None; public university
Programmes: BA, MA, PhD in Religious Studies
Interviewees: Prof. Jesse Mugambi, Prof. Samuel Kibicho, Dr Patrick Wachege
Interreligious Education: Specialisations in African Religion, Judaism/Old Testa-
ment, Christianity/New Testament, Islam, Religions of Asian Origin, Religious
Studies in Africa. There are courses in comparative religion, but none in inter-
religious relations.
Kenyatta University
Accreditation: Fully chartered by the Commission for Higher Education
Denomination: None; public university
Programmes: BA, MA, PhD in Religious Studies and Theology (in process)
Interviewees: Dr Michael Katola (head of Department of Religious Studies),
Prof. Mary Getui (dean of Faculty of Humanities); Prof. Zablon Nthamburi,
head of Department Religious Studies & Philosophy (November 2004),
Dr Philomena Mwaura (June 2006)
Interreligious Education: At BA level, specialisations in Christian Religious
Education, African Religious Education, Islamic Religious Education; at MA
level, specialisations in African Religion, Religions of East Asian Origin,
Judaism, Christianity, Islam. There is no course in interreligious relations (a
course in interfaith dialogue is planned for the new curriculum).
Daystar University
Accreditation: Granted a charter by the government of the Republic of Kenya in
order to operate legally as a private university, accredited by the Commission
for Higher Education
Denomination: Evangelical
Programmes: BA in biblical and religious studies, MA in Christian ministries
Interviewee: Dr James Kombo (systematic theology)
Interreligious Education: The BA in Biblical and Religious Studies offers
courses in comparative world religions, Christianity and Islam, and
Christianity and Islam in Africa. The MA in Christian ministries programme
does not focus on mission or dialogue.
Nazarene University
Accreditation: Granted a charter by the government of the Republic of Kenya in
order to operate legally as a private university, accredited by the Commission
for Higher Education
Denomination: Nazarene Church (Methodist; Wesleyan)
Programmes: BTh, MA in religion
Interviewee: Dr Joseph Kisoi
Interreligious Education: The BTh programme has courses in world religions
and evangelism. The MA in religion programme offers courses in phenomen-
ology of religion, nature, mission and growth of the church, and Christianity
in a pluralistic society. There is no focus on interreligious relations.
Carlile College
Accreditation: Registered as a private university in Kenya by the Commission
for Higher Education, given a letter of interim authority
Denomination: Church Army (Anglican)
Programmes: Higher Diploma; BA through University of South Africa
Interviewees: Dr Godffrey Ngumi (director, Centre for Intercultural and Con-
temporary Studies), Dr Francois Vincent Nsengiyumva (Bible), Mr Paul
Mwingi (director of studies)
Institutions and informants participating in the study 271
Interreligious Education: The College has a Centre for Intercultural and Con-
temporary Studies, with a research interest in interreligious relations.
Hekima College
Accreditation: Constituent College of Catholic University of Eastern Africa
Denomination: Roman Catholic
Programmes: BTh
Interviewees: Dr Eugène Goussikindey, principal (April 2003); Dr Francois de
Paule Randriamanalina, systematic theology (April 2003); Dr Peter Schinneler,
systematic theology
Interreligious Education: There are courses in African belief systems and
thought (year two), African Traditional Religion and conversion and Christian
faith and Muslim faith (year three). The latter course deals with Christian-
Muslim relations. There are elective courses in introduction to Islam and
African religious studies.
Tangaza College
Accreditation: Constituent College of Catholic University of Eastern Africa
Denomination: Roman Catholic
Programmes: BA Religious Studies, BTh
Interviewees: Dr Albert de Jong, deputy principal (academic); Dr Fritz Stenger,
head Mission Studies Department; Dr Fernando Domingues, head of (pro-
posed) Master’s programme; Dr Fredric Mvumbi; Fr Guy Vuillemin
Interreligious Education: The Mission Studies Department offers courses in
African Traditional Religion and Islam in Africa, as well as theology of reli-
gions and Muslim-Christian relations. The department offers a one-year pro-
gramme leading to a certificate in Islamic studies. It includes courses in
Islamic thought and practice, reading of Muslim texts and Muslim-Christian
relations.
Abraham, K., 44 Bourdieu, P., 20, 27n, 28, 29, 55, 56, 58,
Abrahams, R., 61, 159 80, 127, 128, 156, 185, 189, 193, 247
Abu Zaid, N., 249 Bourdillon, M., 13
Achebe, C., 36 Brightman, R., 20
Adeyemo, T., 94 Brockington, J., 36, 191n
Adogame, A., 77, 177n, 179, 183 Brouwer, S., 151, 240
Adunu, A., 23, 33, 64, 65 Bruce, M., 191
Aduwo, G., 176n Bujo, B., 130, 132, 183, 203, 236, 242
Agbasiere, J., 200 Bukurura, S., 159
Aguilar, M., 122, 123, 227 Burke, C., 198
Alkali, N., 23, 33, 64, 65 Buruma, I., 41, 84n, 131, 152, 190
Allas, Y., 182 Byaruhanga-Akiiki, A., 13n, 21, 55, 98,
Allen, T., 140 99, 158, 169n, 175n, 244
Allman, J., 37n
Allport, G., 171 Camps, A., 49, 50, 211
Ammah, R., 233, 234 Catechism of the Catholic Church, 167
Ankumah, E., 129, 130 Cheetham, D., 44, 84, 166n, 239
Appiah, K., 36, 38, 184, 185, 223, 227 Chepkwony, A., 10, 77n, 84n, 102, 122,
Arinze, F., 49, 133, 170, 201, 211 123n, 127, 204n
Arkoun, M., 182 Chester, M., 270
Asad, T., 22, 45n, 53n, 146 Chesworth, J., 270
Asamoah-Gyadu, J., 94 Chidester, D., 52n
Assad, M., 96 Chinweizu, C., 14, 186
Assefa, H., 136 Chitando, A., 232, 233
Awori, M., 40 Chitando, E., 232, 233
Ayanga, H., 233 Choe, H., 240
Collier, P., 15, 126, 187
Bahemuka, J., 36, 191n Comoro, C., 75, 154, 200
Bakker, F., 157n Cornille, C., 11, 43n
Balihe, A., 122 Corwin, G., 51
Barber, B., 16, 126 Cox, J., 13, 27, 43, 44, 45, 77, 78n, 84,
Barrett, D., 72 85, 145, 172n, 246, 248
Becker, D., 15, 187
Bediako, K., 25, 60, 93, 94n, 183, 186 D’Costa, G., 84, 166, 184
Biernatzki, W., 24 Damuah, K., 62, 63, 158
Bitterli, U., 172 Daneel, J., 74n
Blauw, J., 155n Daniels, D., 17n, 41, 145n
Boff, C., 54n Davies, D., 51
Bonsen, R., 52 De Gruchy, J., 73, 96
Borsboom, A., 52 De Jong, J., 191, 272
278 Index of names
Sambanis, N., 15, 126, 187 Temple, A., 11n, 47, 161, 200, 219, 221,
Sanneh, L., 11, 175n, 184 228, 241
Sarpong, P., 92 Ter Haar, G., 21, 22, 38, 58, 59, 61,
Sarpong, S., 63 63, 75, 79, 80, 84, 85, 122, 127,
Scheepers, P., 173 133, 179, 180, 185, 186, 187, 242,
Schildkraut, E., 127 246, 247
Schoffeleers, M., 53, 55, 204, 205 Theological Advisory Group, 169
Schwarzennau, P., 211 Tiénou, T., 94n
Schweigman, C., 222, 227 Tier, A., 130
Segeja, N., 192n, 203, 206 Tillyrides, M., 73, 95, 96, 167
Setiloane, G., 99n, 204 Trimingham, J., 64n, 67, 215
Shaw, M., 70, 72, 94n, 151, 175 Turkson, P., 245
Shaw, R., 70, 72, 151, 175 Turnbull, C., 241
Shenk, D., 25, 26, 96n, 174n, 242 Turner, H., 54, 55, 67, 74n, 84, 248
Sherif, M., 15, 121n, 175 Turner, V., 20, 53, 193, 203, 214
Shisanya, C., 205 Tutu, D., 137n, 145
Shorter, A., 21, 22, 48n, 55n, 59, 63, 75, Tworushka, U., 211, 214
78, 80, 83, 84, 149, 150, 151, 154,
169, 197, 204, 243
Udoh, B., 169, 204, 208
Shyllon, L., 77, 101n, 102
Ukpong, J., 92, 221
Signer, D., 36, 127
Ustorf, W., 52
Singleton, M., 53, 55
Uyanne, F., 129
Sivalon, J., 75, 154, 200
Uzukwu, E., 183
Skinnader, J., 122
Smith, W., 46, 55n, 58n, 77n
Stamer, J., 32, 33, 64, 66, 69, 144 Vähäkangas, M., 199
Stark, R., 156 Valkenberg, P., 42
Stern, J., 152 Valkenberg, W., 168
Stewart, Ch., 67, 144, 151, 175 Van Beek, W., 43, 81, 145, 246
Stinton, D., 204n, 205n Van Binsbergen, W., 20, 21, 43, 85, 127,
Stoecker, H., 79n 135, 143n, 160, 172n, 174, 175, 195,
Stöger-Eising, V., 227 213, 246
Sumner, W., 171 Van der Geest, S., 51, 53
Sundermeier, T., 91, 126n, 187, 195, Van der Laan, C., 186
196, 228n, 229, 230, 231 Van der Leeuw, G., 24, 155
Sybertz, D., 205, 208, 210 Van der Veen, R., 35, 37, 127, 224, 226n
Van der Ven, J., 13, 51, 52, 53, 171
Tajfel, H., 121n, 171, 175 Van Engelen, J., 50
Tanner, K., 38n, 51 Van Laar, W., 186
Tanner, R., 21, 38n, 51, 63, 127, 130, Van Leeuwen, A., 16, 50, 151n, 187
150, 174, 208, 214, 222, 237, 247, Van Rinsum, H., 45n, 78, 79, 80, 81, 83,
277 84, 150, 227n
Tarimo, A., 129, 132, 134, 135, 138, Van Wiele, J., 171
139, 239 Van’t Leven, C., 9
Taylor, J., 16, 163n, 177 Villa-Vicencio, Ch., 228, 232
Tayob, A., 82, 182, 212 Visser, H., 127
282 Index of names
Wachege, P., 97, 169, 205, 267 Wilson, M., 53, 151, 208, 241
Waliggo, J., 75, 154, 206 Wiredu, K., 18, 35, 36, 38, 58, 85, 88,
Wamue, G., 27, 103n, 119n, 233, 244, 247 91, 129, 134, 175, 207, 223, 245
Warren, M., 16, 177, 187, 193n, 194, 224 Withaar, H., 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91
Werbner, R., 215
Westerlund, D., 12n, 77, 78, 79, 83, 101n
Yadudu, A., 23, 33, 64, 65
Wiegers, G., 85n
Wijsen, F., 9, 13, 21, 27n, 34, 36, 37, 39,
53, 54, 60, 63, 68, 127, 130, 133 Zabajungu, B., 200