Presentations

   
by Gratien Atindogbé & Endurence Midinette Koumassol Dissake

Statistics of religious practice in Cameroon reveal 38.4% Roman Catholic and 4.5% of other Christians, i.e. the revival churches (Indexmundi.com 2020). The language used to worship is dominantly the two official languages of Cameroon, English and French, but also some few Cameroon national languages into which the Holy Bible has been translated. The purpose of this paper is to propose a critical analysis of the use of languages during the meetings of the revival churches where English and French are the means to communicate with a multilingual audience. The pastor is generally monolingual, and has to resort to the services of a makeshift interpreter. Using transcriptions of recorded audio files, we demonstrate, with the use of computer-assisted translation (CAT) and the expertise of two revisers, that the amateur translators, voluntarily or involuntary mislead their audience by proposing translation equivalents or interpretations that entertain a suspicious agenda. Furthermore, the analysis of the ethnographic data of the pastors and non-skilled interpreters reveal that the understanding of the Bible by these main actors is highly linked to their level of education. Consequently, their messages to the members/audience are sometimes far from the original or intended meaning. In short, language in those churches is an important factor that contributes to religion being the opium of the people.

   
by Halkano Abdi Wario

Since the fall of the so-called Islamic State in late 2017, there has been an upsurge in the number of its affiliate violent extremist groups and to Al Qaeda across Africa with attendant destabilizing impact across the continent. At the core its recruitment narratives, legitimization of violence against its target and rationalization of its existence is instrumental interpretation of religious texts for political ends. While these narratives have similarity across Africa, there is dearth of studies that examine, categorize and interrogate how religious texts, historical injustices, perception of state neglect  and economic precarities account for major jihadi narratives. Taking the case of Kenya as a study and based on field research done in the last half of 2021, this paper will explore diverse typologies of jihadi narratives in Kenya, their spaces of circulation and assess why despite years of faith-based interventions, the appeal of these narratives have not subsided. The paper is based on the understanding that violent extremist actors are driven by both local socio-economic and political uncertainties and  influenced and sustained by translocal support systems that often position them as legitimate representatives of their political and religious constituencies despite being fringe actors in post-colonial state structures.

   
by Emnet Tadesse Woldegiorgis

The dichotomy between traditional and modern education in post-colonial Africa is related to the difference between pre-existing endogenous (mostly cultural) structures of learning and the exogenous Eurocentric or the so-called ‘modern’ educational systems. The introduction of Christianity in the Fourth century is considered as one of the landmarks for the beginning of traditional yet structured education in Ethiopia. Since Ethiopia has never been colonized, Christianity and its institutions were not introduced through European missionaries. As the Church was strongly associated with the Monarchy in the medieval period, its education profoundly influenced the socio-economic and political lives of Ethiopian societies. The Church provided legitimacy and supplied elites to the bureaucratic functions of the Monarchy while in return receiving the official status of state religion and amassing huge resources, mainly in the form of land. The design and the dispensation of education until the introduction of ‘modern’ schools in the early 20th century were almost exclusively that of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (Milkias,1976; Kebede, 2006, 2010). The traditional Ethiopian system of education has its own unique structure and context that can allude to epistemic plurality. This paper is intended to give a historical analysis of the role of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in institutionalizing the traditional education system in Medieval Ethiopia. It also interrogates the notion of duality, plurality and epistemic inclusion on the postmodern Ethiopian education systems.

   
by Lohna Bonkat-Jonathan

The Nigerian National Policy on Education stipulates the need for education of all at all levels especially for women. Despite this policy’s commitment there are still many women who have not attained higher education in Nigeria. It is based on this that this paper sets out to examine what role religion plays on the level of education and how it translates to the empowerment of women in Nigeria. The questions this paper sets out to unravel are; does religion impact on the level of education of women in Kaduna state; does the level of education empowers women in the state? Can some religious norms contribute to women attaining higher education in Nigeria? This paper will employ a qualitative approach through interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGD) to access data. Preliminary findings shows that there are more Christian women in higher education than Muslim women in the local government areas studied in Kaduna state. This also translates to them being more empowered because of their exposure and experience. It also shows that early marriage and culture are some challenges is facing most women in the local governments understudy. The study therefore recommends that women especially Muslim women should be encouraged to make efforts to continue schooling even after marriage. Also, awareness should be created to educate parents and guardians of girls and women on the importance of education and how it can be used as a vehicle towards the empowerment of women in Nigeria.

   
by Aychegrew Hadera Hailu

An Ethiopian maxim argues that religion is a private affair. The constitution (Ethiopian) also argues that “[…] the state shall not interfere in religious matters” (1994: 4). But, the government has never put aside religious matters. In fact, a Muslim protest that suddenly started in 2010 was against state interference in Islamic affairs. The protest went on unabated until 2017 (Abbink, 2014: 352). Likewise, Ethiopia’s premier, Abiy Ahmed returned Abune Merkorios, the fourth Patriarch from exile in 2018. It was to reconcile the synods of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church at home and abroad, believing that their reconciliation would bring about a national unity of Ethiopia (Herald, 2018: 1).
State’s proclivity to interfere in religious affairs originates from the fact that churches and mosques have a degree of authority over their followers. This is particularly true in nations like Ethiopia where Christianity and Islam have many followers. The Orthodox Church and Islam have currently 43.1% and 34.1% of adherents respectively (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2022). The state has begun a relationship with the Orthodox Church since the fourth century when the later was established. During those years, the state helped maintain unity of the church. Kings always thought that they had the responsibility to deal with threats that endangered unity of the church. Hence, a range of issues in ደቂቀ እስጢፋኖስ (“The Stephanites”) should be understood within the historic church-state relations. ደቂቀ እስጢፋኖስ (“The Stephanites”) deals with a religious movement and with the treatment accorder to its protagonists. As learned from the book, the protagonists were wronged. These events took place in the fifteenth century. However, this has never been a thing of the past; the harsh treatment to the protagonists casts a long shadow on current debates about religious freedom in Ethiopia. People out of the Orthodox Church express fear that the church still has a motive to extend its hegemony over other religious groups. The church responds back by arguing that the Stephanites did not challenge theological doctrines and that they expressed views that challenged the power and authority of the Ethiopian monarchs of that period; the monarchs acted independently to defend their power and authority. I will, hence, present a paper on current debates about religious freedom and then present a critical review of ደቂቀ እስጢፋኖስ (“The Stephanites”).

   
by Fulera Issaka-Toure

The Tijaniyya is the oldest Islamic religious group in Ghana linked to Sufism. It is a religious grouping which has its specific daily and weekly rituals as well as the annual Maulud-Nabih (birthday of the Prophet Mohammed) celebration/festival which distinguishes it from other groups. In Accra and in Ghana in general, Tijaniyya practices are not hard to locate and are usually headed by mature and seasoned Islamic religious authorities. However, the one particular name which has become a distinct movement within the Tijaniyya fraternity is the Jallo Maikano fraternity with following all over the country. This paper is centred around the question of how the youth of the Jallo movement have become dominant actors thereby begging the question about the shift in Islamic religious authority and its link to popular culture and youth religious performance. This question is particularly significant because of how youth actants through some specific popular culture in religious performance have helped shaped the constitution of Islamic religious authority.  Through empirical research, this paper shows that, youth maulud celebration and Sufi practices has introduced another dimension of Islamic religious authority in addition to a particular kind of popular culture which forms a distinct identity of the Jallo Maikano movement.

   
by Charles Moyo

Zimbabwe is a secular state. Yet, in recent years, especially in the post-Mugabe era, the line separating religion and politics has increasingly become blurred. There have been concerted efforts by the ruling party, the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU PF), to weaponize religious activities for political expediency, especially by placing religious leaders at the vortex of political campaigns, diplomatic activities and other politically related functions. Consequently, two antagonistic camps of religious leaders or groups have emerged in Zimbabwe: those who support the current political establishment versus those who overtly oppose its ideological bankruptcy, corruption and violent tendencies. This development has diminished the positive role that religion and religious leaders can play in terms of societal development. Since the colonial times, religion has played a crucial role in terms of shaping political and socio-economic discourses in Zimbabwe. During the colonial period, African traditional religion (espoused by spirit mediums and some traditional chiefs) and Christianity (especially missionary establishments) played a critical role in the context of resisting and dismantling colonial rule leading to Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980. This paper therefore seeks to reflect on the phenomenon of religion-politics conflation and the consequent weaponization of religion by the Mnangagwa administration in Zimbabwe. The paper will further highlight the pitfalls of such weaponization as well as offering remedies. In terms of data collection, the paper will rely on desktop research and observation.