An African Vortex: Islamism in Sub-Saharan Africa

CIPK itself has been closely tied to militant Islam – its support for which is evidenced by the group’s organization of violent pro-Taliban protests in 2001.[49]  More specifically, according to Jordanian intelligence and statements by UN officials in the region, it is possible that CIPK helped al-Qaeda set up operations in Kenya.  Additionally, some CIPK members are known to have been in contact with AIAI militants.  And an assessment by the French publication Intelligence Online suggests that “it appears improbable” that the 2002 terrorist attacks in Mombassa “could have been planned without the help of elements gravitating around [CIPK].”[50]

Although not nearly approaching levels of the Nigerian situation (to say nothing of more egregious cases like those of Sudan and Somalia), small signs of Kenyan Islamism’s potential to impinge on human rights, especially those of Muslims, are slowly emerging.  SUPKEM, for instance, has expressed its desire to disallow women from dressing in a manner that contravenes Islamic morals.[51]  And in a possible sign of things to come, a madrassa was discovered in a Nairobi neighborhood where teenage boys were chained, tortured, and indoctrinated with violent anti-Christian ideas.[52]

Education is an area of particular concern.  Distrustful of secular schools, Muslims in Kenyahave long sent their children to Islamic schools that fail to equip students with the tools needed to succeed in the emerging modern order, exacerbating an already wide education gap between Muslims and non-Muslims that will ensure a continued polarization of society.  Efforts to reverse this trend, moreover, have been resisted by Islamists.  Offers of funding from USAID for madrassas, for example, were rejected in a campaign led by CIPK and the unregistered Islamic Party of Kenya, whose chairman suggested “an ulterior [read anti-Muslim] motive behind the offer.”[53]

Islamists in Kenyaappear poised to move their agenda forward through effective political maneuvering of late.  In rallying ordinary Muslims to their cause, Islamists have created a bloc significant enough to have gained support from the country’s main opposition party, Kenya Africa National Union (KANU), that has come out against the “harassment” of Muslims – demanding, among other things, rejection of anti-terrorist legislation.[54]  The Islamist-KANU alliance has the very real potential to unseat the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) led by President Mwai Kibaki, a vital partner in the war against terrorism inEast Africa.

Islamism inKenyais steadily advancing, disrupting political, social and economic order and progress.  AsKenyaserves as the lynchpin in the East African security architecture, the instability being fomented there by Islamists has the potential to unleash chaos in an already deeply troubled region.