Customer Reviews

The Africans: A Reader

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Ali A Mazrui's book is a good start at redressing the balance - for too long, we have had to make do with European analyses of the African heritage, its place in the world today and the prospects for the future.

Whilst Mazrui has done Africa some service with this book and the accompanying TV series, the book is tainted by a bias. The author uses the geographical link at Suez to suggest that Islam is more a "home" grown phenomenon than say, the Greek or Roman influence. In doing this, the opperesive colonial and cultural homogenisation principles which Islam has imposed on parts of Africa are downplayed. Equally, the indigenous nature of Ethiopian Christianity are somewhat sidelined. Nevertheless, Mazrui's analysis of "state" and "stateless" societies is the most profound I have come across. Excellent!

The author is clearly passionate about the roots of some of Africa's present ills within European colonialism and in this, he is consistent with all of his fellows from Africa, myself included. He blames "Western culture" of destroying the native African culture and traditions whilst ignoring the fact that Islam has done as much if not more to create some of the tensions in modern Africa.

Nevertheless, this is a good introduction to a vibrant continent.

Hopefully the author can write a revised version in the light of events in South Africa (majority rule), Nigeria (squandered resources amid poor governance), Sudan (religiously motivated genocide), Uganda (a resurrection after the bloodletting of the Amin era), Tanzania (political stability within a single party state).

Mazrui has been blinded and brainwashed by his religion. Arabs invaded Africa as Europeans did. Islam is a foreign religion to Africa like christianity. He probably doesn't knows their prophet or where the religion developed. For him slave masters can be Europeans only they can not be Arabs or other people. It is surprising that he doesn't know that people from East Africa where he is from have been enslaved by Arabs and deported in the Middle East.

Our continent needs scholars whose work are not based on emotions or fanatism.