Africa, Religion And Liberation E-Book

karl glanz

• Herausgeber: BookRix
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

"When the missionaries arrived, the Africans had the land and the missionaries had the Bible. They taught us to pray with our eyes closed. When we opened them, they had the land and we had the Bible.“- Jomo Kenyatta, First President of Kenya, Africa.

We want to look at the religions in Africa here, for this it is necessary to know something about Africa. Knowing its geography, its history. Understanding the history of Africa can help us understand the crises of development and identity that Africa is facing today.

In the nineteenth century, Africa was colonized by the great European powers - through conquest and through treaties. A limited infrastructure for the export of raw materials was created under the colonial rule. An administrative apparatus was created to run the business of colonial efforts. The economy was organized around the production of raw materials that were processed in Europe.

Leseprobe

Karl Glanz

Africa, Religion And Liberation

BookRix GmbH & Co. KG81371 Munich

introduction

"When the missionaries arrived, the Africans had the land and the missionaries had the Bible. They taught us to pray with our eyes closed. When we opened them, they had the land and we had the Bible.“- Jomo Kenyatta, First President of Kenya, Africa.

We want to look at the religions in Africa here, for this it is necessary to know something about Africa. Knowing its geography, its history. Understanding the history of Africa can help us understand the crises of development and identity that Africa is facing today.

In the nineteenth century, Africa was colonized by the great European powers - through conquest and through treaties. A limited infrastructure for the export of raw materials was created under the colonial rule. An administrative apparatus was created to run the business of colonial efforts. The economy was organized around the production of raw materials that were processed in Europe.

"What do we mean by respect for humanity? We mean the recognition of human rights and human dignity in every person, regardless of race or color ...", Mikhail Bakunin

"Slavery itself, which in its essence is viewed as such, does not in any way contradict natural and divine law, and there can be several just titles of slavery, which are recognized by recognized theologians and commentators of the holy cannon, not against the natural and divine law that a slave may be sold, bought, exchanged or given ”.- Pope Pius IX

In particular, we want to turn to Black Africa. Due to the increasing globalization, it has to be asked what the spiritual substance of this continent is. Are there intellectual resources in Africa to defend against the global challenges?

Africa is a continent.

The term continent (from Latin [terra] continens, literally contiguous country) denotes a closed mainland mass. The word for comes in many languagesContinent also from the Latin continent.The continents of the earth make up a total of 29.3 percent of the earth's surface, the rest are occupied by the oceans, seas and islands. Today, different divisions of the continents are common in geography and geology, sometimes also different names.

As for Africa, scientists have determined that it is the birthplace of mankind, as a large number of human-like fossils - not found anywhere else - have been found on the continent, some of which are 3.5 million years old. It may be useful to point out that the theory of evolution does not argue that humanity originated from monkeys, but that we have a common ancestor from which emerged a separate branch of hominids that has evolved into Homo Sapiens. Though controversial in some cases, evolutionary theory provides us with a solid foundation to trace the early origins of all of humanity to Africa. Homo sapiens emerged from the hominids of the African plains, and the hominids then emigrated, to lay the foundations of the culture of the empire and kingship that should follow the Iron Age and the introduction of agriculture around the world. Agriculture and iron have changed all of human history, so it is not surprising that they have had a significant impact on the culture of the emerging peoples of the African continent. About 1.75 million years ago, early humans spread to parts of Africa. They became aggressive hunters, lived in caves, and used fire and their ability to make stone tools to survive. The Neanderthals originated about 200,000 years ago and inhabited regions in North Africa and parts of southern Europe. There is also clear evidence that they were in control of the fire and lived in caves. One of the most important developments in primitive man was the creation of stone tools. Around 5000 BC BC agriculture was widespread in the northern regions of Africa because people grew crops and tended cattle. During this time, the Sahara was a fertile area.

The Islamic religion is practiced mainly in West Africa, but also in parts of North Africa. The people living there base their everyday lives on the teaching of Islam, and the construction methods of many cities and areas are of distinctive, Islamic style.The Quran and Sunnah have been the leaders of Muslims for centuries, politically and morally. The model of how the Prophet Muhammad and his companions led their lives and formed the first Muslim community serves as a blueprint for an Islamic-led and socially just state and society. The founder of a state was more than just a prophet, the Prophet Muhammad, God's blessings and peace be upon him. At the time of the Prophet Muhammad and his successors, all Muslims belonged to a single community, the unity of which was based on the connection between religion and the state, in which faith and politics were inseparable. Islam spread from what is now Saudi Arabia to North Africa through the Middle East and to Asia and Europe. Historically, Islam was the religious ideology for the founding of numerous Muslim states, including the great Islamic empires: Umayyad (661-750), Abbasid (750-1258), Ottoman (1281-1924), Safavid (1501-1722) and Mughal (1526 -1857). In each of these empires and other sultanates, Islam formed the basis for legal, political, educational, economic and social institutions. The everyday life of many Africans consists of prayer rituals, visits to the mosque and readings in the Koran. economic and social institutions. The everyday life of many Africans consists of prayer rituals, visits to the mosque and readings in the Koran. economic and social institutions. The everyday life of many Africans consists of prayer rituals, visits to the mosque and readings in the Koran.

Southern Africa is dominated by Christianity, most people share and practice the Christian faith, major effects on everyday life are rare. Prayer rituals like those of Islam followers are mostly omitted from Christianity, prayers are said, if at all, once a day, and services and masses are occasionally visited to seek intercession with God.

Judaism is seen as the third largest religion in Africa, many years ago there were significantly more Jewish families than today. It is not possible to determine exactly in which areas of Africa most of the Jews live, since Jewish families are always resident throughout the country. The way of life of Jews differs only slightly from the way of life of Christians, only with the observance of some regulations, like the intake of kosher food, the two religions differ. In addition to Islam and Christianity, mostly unknown and own religions are practiced in Africa, for example African syncretism, a mixture of several different religions. A large part of this religion lies in the belief in so-called 'YOGIS' (spirits that accompany personal fate), the forms of prayer to the gods are similar to those of the followers of Islam. Syncretism traditionally asks for Mecca, and the typical Islamic rosary is also used for the rituals. The African religions that are practiced are not always recorded in writing, rather traditions and rituals are passed on from generation to generation.

The life of most African peoples is determined by faith, tribal members mostly assume that their lives are predetermined by gods and fate and that they have only a limited influence on them. Sacrifices and traditions rejected in the western world, such as circumcision of girls, are part of the African standard.

This early phase of capitalism ranged from the early 16th to the late 18th centuries and was characterized by the accumulation of capital through trade and looting. This was the time when capitalism began to expand violently into Africa, America and Asia. Slave plantations were created in America and elsewhere and supplied by an enormous slave trade. Slavery Generated Racism - Racism Didn't Generate Slavery. Merchants and planters initially tried to use white and Indian slaves, but from the second half of the 17th century, slaves from Africa began to provide the plantation workers. These black slaves were much cheaper, available in greater numbers, and easier to identify than the white slaves. The enslavement and sale of people were 'justified' on the grounds that the slaves came from an abnormal and wild people who were not fit for freedom. This type of reasoning was particularly necessary when radical equality ideas emerged in the English, American, and later in the French revolutions.

European colonialism replaced Muslim self-rule under Islamic law, which had existed since the time of the Prophet, with its European masters. The colonialists were modern crusaders - Christian fighters who set out to uproot Islam. The French spoke of their struggle of the cross against the crescent moon. The only difference was that this time the Europeans did not come with cavalry and swords, but with an army of Christian missionaries and missionary institutions such as schools, hospitals and churches, many of which have remained in Muslim countries to this day. The French confiscated the Jami 'Masjid of Algiers and turned it into the Saint-Philippe cathedral with the French flag and the cross on the minaret,

The Catholic Church's approach to slavery proved to be disingenuous. History shows that the first large delivery of black Africans, later known as the transatlantic slave trade, was initiated at the request of Bishop Las Casas and approved by Charles V in 1517. Ironically, Catholic missionaries like the Jesuits, who also owned slaves, worked to alleviate the suffering of Native American slaves in the New World. While showing mercy to Native Americans, the Church put some slave-critical books in the Index of Prohibited Books of the Holy Office between 1573 and 1826. Capuchin missionaries were excommunicated for demanding the emancipation of black slaves in America.

From 1500 to 1900, capitalism and its state were involved in the conquest and colonization of Africa, America and Asia. This was mainly motivated by the need to find cheap labor and raw materials and the need to find new markets. Again racist ideas found fertile ground. It was said that the success of European imperialism reflected the innate superiority of the 'white race'. The colonizers also argued that they would help the dark-skinned 'natives' by bringing them 'civilization' and teaching them Christianity, wearing European clothes and 'dignity of work'. Such ideas obviously contributed to the exploitation of local farmers and workers - these groups received very low wages or crop prices because their 'uncivilized lifestyle' required less income. They were prevented from building unions and similar institutions because they were 'too immature' to use such structures 'properly'. They were exposed to harsh and racist forms of work control because they were 'muscle machines' that could not do their own work without 'white' heads and supervision. were too immature to use such structures 'properly'. They were exposed to harsh and racist forms of work control because they were 'muscle machines' that could not do their own work without 'white' heads and supervision. were too immature to use such structures 'properly'. They were exposed to harsh and racist forms of work control because they were 'muscle machines' that could not do their own work without 'white' heads and supervision.

Some of the early imperialist measures of the colonial powers did not carry economic but religious and political programs. For example, the French tried to replace Islamic culture with their own by, among other things, controlling the Islamic courts and suppressing many Muslim institutions. After transforming the Great Mosque of Algiers into the Cathedral of Saint-Philippe, the Archbishop of Algiers announced a missionary plan to save Muslims from the 'vices of their original religion, especially laziness, divorce, multiple marriages, theft, fanaticism and even Protect cannibalism, '' reports Azim A. Nanji.

The slave trade was introduced in Malawi in the 19th century by Swahili-Arab traders after there was a high demand for ivory and slaves in the East African markets, namely Zanzibar, Kilwa, Mombasa and Quelimane. The Swahili Arabs moved further into the interior of Africa, including Malawi, to preserve slaves and ivory. One of the slave trade routes was Nkhotakota, where one of the Swahili-Arab slave traders, Salim-bin Abdullah (Jumbe), established his headquarters on the shores of Lake Malawi in the 1840s. From Nkhotakota, he organized his expeditions to procure slaves and transport them across the lake to the East African markets in Kilwa. Approximately 20,000 slaves were shipped from Jkbe from Nkhotakota to Kilwa each year. The prisoners were collected into 1,000 slaves and then brought across the lake. They had to walk three to four months to Kilwa, where they were sold.

Dr. David Livingstone (was born on March 19, 1813 in Blantyre, south of Glasgow. He was a Scottish missionary and one of the greatest European explorers in Africa, whose opening up to the interior of the continent contributed to the "Scramble for Africa". In 1836 he started medicine and medicine in Glasgow Studied theology and decided to become a missionary doctor (in 1841 he was transferred to the edge of the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa) visited Nkhotakota in 1861, where he experienced the slave trade at its peak. He was appalled at how slaves were treated on Jumbe's palisade and described it as a 'place of bloodshed and lawlessness'. In 1864 Livingstone visited Nkhotakota again and met Jumbe. He was able to sign a contract between Jumbe and the Chewa Chiefs to stop the slave trade and hostilities between them. The contract did not last long, however, as long as Jumbe continued the slave trade. When Nyasaland came under the British protectorate in 1891, the slave trade was completely stopped. It was Sir Harry Johnston (June 12, 1858 - July 31, 1927, often known as Harry Johnston) was a British explorer, botanist, artist, colonial administrator and linguist who traveled widely in Africa and spoke many African languages. He published 40 books on African issues and was one of the main players in the Scramble for Africa, which took place at the end of the 19th century), which was the first Commissioner in the Nyasaland Protectorate to make considerable efforts to stop trade. One of his government's guidelines was to end the slave trade. Sir Harry Johnston, with a group of Sikh soldiers, attacked Jumbe in 1894. Jumbe was brought to trial and exiled to Zanzibar. Another slave route was in Karonga, where Mlozi, another Swahili Arab, colonized the Nkhonde people, terrorized them and exported them to Zanzibar as slaves. He organized surprise attacks all the way to Chitipa and Zambia. He also employed a number of Swahili from Tanzania to undertake such expeditions. However, he came into conflict with the African Lakes Company, which was founded in 1878 by the Scottish businessmen John and Fredrick Moir. One of the Moir brothers had the mission to provide for the missionaries working in the country and to offer the Africans a 'legitimate' trade, as opposed to the slave trade. The African Lakes Company and Mlozi fought against each other. This continued until Sir Harry sent Johnston soldiers and defeated Mlozi, who was brought to trial and hanged by the Nkhonde chiefs. Another slave trade route led through the southern shores of Lake Malawi to the Tete province and the Zambezi Valley in Mozambique. Here the controllers of the route were the Mangochi Yao bosses, namely Mponda, Jalasi and Makanjira. These Yao chiefs terrorized peaceful Nyanja, a branch of the Maravi that lived in the Upper Shire and on the southern shore of Lake Malawi. They captured them as slaves, ransacked their property, and destroyed their agriculture. They were sold as slaves to the Arabs on the east coast. The other slave trade route went through the southern highlands and was also controlled by the Yao chiefs. Nyezerera and Mkanda controlled the route between the Mulanje mountain and the Michesi hill in today's Phalombe district. Two other Yao chiefs controlled the route that led through the southern part of Mulanje Mountain, and these were Chikumbu and Matipwiri. These terrorized the Nyanja in the Shire Highlands and the Mang'anja in the Lower Shire Valley. Almost all Yao chiefs stopped the slave trade after they were defeated by the British colonial government, led by Sir Harry Johnston. After the defeat, the colonial government built forts along the slave routes to control the slave trade and bring peace to the region. Some of the forts are still intact. Some of the forts include Fort Mangochi, Fort Johnstone and Fort Lister. Other forts disappeared. The forts were usually given names of Europeans who took part in the fight against the slave trade. The forts include Fort Johnstone, Fort Lister, Fort Hill, Fort Maguire, Fort Manning and Fort Mangochi.

The transatlantic slave trade was introduced by the arrival of Europeans who came with the Bible in the same way that Arab attackers and traders from the Middle East and North Africa introduced Islam through the trans-Saharan slave trade. In fact, the church was the backbone of the slave trade. In other words, most slave traders and slave ship captains were very good Christians. Sir John Hawkins was the first slave ship captain to bring African slaves to America, a religious man who insisted that his crew 'serve God' and 'love each other'. His ship, ironically called 'The Good Ship Jesus', left the coast of his native England for Africa in October 1562. Some historians argue that the Atlantic slave trade might never have happened if the churches had used their power. The slave trade could have been prevented, but the Church had no interest in it.

In today's Ethiopia and Eritrea, Christianity under King Ezana was elevated to state religion in the then Aksum in the 4th century. The European bases of trade and the colonization of the continent brought Christianity to the rest of Africa from the fifteenth century. The mission churches and the independent African churches played the dominant role.

geography

Africa is the second largest continent after Asia, its area of ​​30.2 million km² corresponds to approximately 22% of the total land area of ​​the earth and has a population of approximately 1.3 billion people, 1,346,216,442 is the current population, of which 673 104 797 male and 631 012 029 female population.

The continent is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean to the east, and the merging waters of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans to the south. The continent is almost equally divided into two parts by the equator, so that most of Africa lies in the tropical region, which is bordered by the Tropic of Cancer in the north and the Tropic of Capricorn in the south. Due to the bulge through West Africa, most of the African territory is north of the equator.

The continent measures approximately 8,000 km from north to south and approximately 7,400 km from east to west. The northern end is the Cape Angela or Ras Angela (Cape Blanc) in Tunisia. The southern end is Cape Agulhas, South Africa. The easternmost point is Xaafuun (Hafun) Point near Cape Gwardafuy (Guardafui), Somalia. and its western end is Almadi Point (Pointe des Almadies) on Cape Verde (Cap Vert) in Senegal. In the northeast, Africa was connected to Asia through the Sinai Peninsula until the Suez Canal was built. Paradoxically, the coast of Africa - 30,500 km long - is shorter than that of Europe because there are only a few bays. Europe is closest to Africa on the Strait of Gibraltar and the Strait of Sicily. The smallest mainland state, The Gambia, is about the size of Cyprus and the largest, Algeria, about seven times the size of Germany. The largest island is Madagascar, which lies off the southeast coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean.