An African Vortex: Islamism in Sub-Saharan Africa

The eminent Islamic scholar Khalid Duran has remarked on the inherently benign nature of Islamization, calling it a “quest for authenticity, not a hunt for enemies.  It is not a turning against someone, but a turning toward the own self.”[3]  However, there exists a troubling relationship between Islamization and Islamism.

Islamization lays a foundation of Islamic awareness that is a necessary precondition for the introduction of Islamism.  Activity to promote social welfare – a tactic adopted from Christianity – is a primary method used by international Islamists attempting to demonstrate to African Muslims their importance to the umma. The short-term objective of such activity, then, is the creation of distinct Islamized segments of society that can later be leveraged for Islamist objectives.

Once established, Islamized populations are led toward acceptance of Islamism by measures intended to portray the secular status quo as antithetical to Muslim well-being.  Islamist fringe elements attempt to foster a mood of defiance among Islamized populations against external influences.  One commonly utilized tactic, for example, is to petition that Muslims be permitted to be governed by shari’a.  The inevitable opposition to this demand confirms to Muslims their sense of persecution, allowing increasingly radical rhetoric and action to become acceptable.  By portraying themselves as defenders of legitimate Muslim rights, Islamists are thus able to wrest control from the moderate center.

The different brands of Islamists have, in Africa, demonstrated a willingness to form short-term tactical alliances with one another, recognizing the imperative of Muslim unity for the immediate purpose of defeating external challenges, often leading to the development, interestingly enough, of Islamist groups with indistinct doctrinal foundations.  It is not unusual, for example, to see those of the extremist Wahhabi creed working with Sufis, nor to see Sunnis receive Iranian patronage.  Yet the common goal remains, as once expressed by Moammar Qaddafi, to “make Islam triumph in Africa.”[4]

The following is an examination of Saudi Arabia’s role, intended to provide an understanding of the methodology commonly employed to promote Islamism in sub-Saharan Africa.  This does not mean to suggest that onlySaudi Arabia is active in the region.  While Saudi activities are certainly greatest in scope, other states (particularly Iran andLibya) have descended on the subcontinent in much the same manner, and with great effectiveness.

Exporting Islamism

Wahhabism and its various offshoots made very little contact with sub-Saharan Africathrough the 18^th, 19^th and early 20^th centuries.  As late as the 1950s, Saudi Arabia – Wahhabism’s patron – was a poor country surrounded by colonized lands and in no position to have a significant impact on African Muslims except through the hajj (the pilgrimage constrained due to Africa’s poverty and geographical isolation) and through limited contacts made by African students studying under Wahhabi inspired scholars at Al-Azhar University in Egypt.[5]  While this restricted exposure introduced a rudimentary form of Wahhabism to the region, it was hardly enough to allow the ideology to flourish.

It has long been Riyadh’s policy to export the state faith, however, and when oil revenue began to swell the Kingdom’s coffers, Saudi propagation of Wahhabism in sub-Saharan Africacommenced in earnest.*  Common methods employed in this endeavor include the funding of mosques, Islamic centers and madrassas; the facilitation of travel to the Kingdom for purposes of the hajj and educational exchanges; the contribution of humanitarian aid and other charitable work; and the provision of support for “indigenous” Wahhabi organizations.  This collective effort has been aimed at assuring Saudi control of the Islamic message reaching Africa’s Muslim populations.