خلاصه ماشینی:
African pluralism and the Muslim outreach thus came to a natural convergence with the implementation of new and diverse Muslim communities whose life became entwined with the interests of the colonial, secular, and Christian forces that were penetrating Africa.
The author argues that the crowning outcome of this complex process is far from assured, but the salient fact of turbaned devotees expanding their influence in society by the progressive introduction of Islamic religious and political ideas gives the process· its identity and direction (p.
In the first two chapters, "Muslims in Non-Muslim Societies of Africa" and "Islam and the African Religious Synthesis," the author argues that in this encounter, Muslims possess the advantage of being African, although as new converts, such Muslims may be minorities with little vested interest in indigenous cultures.
A sharp debate has been developing between conservative and liberal Muslims that questions whether temporal Islam with worldly jurisprudence, or ethical Islam concerned with personal choice, is the answer for the challenge of the secular national state in Africa.
The secular influence has expressed itself in the autonomy of the national state, and the religious in the organization and extension of the missionary movement In the context of religion in Africa, and in particular Islam, the author finds gaps in the operation of the national state, raising questions about its effectiveness.
In chapter 10, "The Crown and the Turban: Public Policy Issues in Christian Muslim Relations, with Special Reference to Africa," the author searches, through comparative analysis, for the religious underpinning of democratic liberalism and the connection between the political enterprise and the life of faith.