Islam in Rwanda

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Islam was first introduced into Rwanda by Muslim traders from the East Coast of Africa in the 18th century. Since its introduction, Muslims have been a minority in the territory, while the Roman Catholic Church, introduced to Rwandans during the Belgian Invasion, occupation and colonisation by French missionaries in the late 19th century has considerably more adherents.

For the first time in its history in Rwanda, Islam is accorded the same rights and freedoms as Christianity. Estimates show that there are equal numbers of Muslims amongst the Hutus as there are amongst the Tutsis.[1] The estimates can't be verified since in the wake of the genocide, the government has banned all discussion of ethnicity in Rwanda.

Contents

[edit] History

Compared to east African countries like Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda, the history of Islam in Rwanda is relatively modern. While a few written sources are available regarding its origins, it is claimed that Islam came through Arab merchants who first entered the country in 1901. Others say that Islam came when Europeans brought in Muslim clerks, administrative assistants, and merchants, from the Swahili-speaking coast of Tanzania. Islam was also bolstered by Muslim merchants from India, who married local Rwandans. Rwandans built their first mosque in 1913.[1] This mosque is known as the al-Fatah mosque.[2]

During its history, many efforts were made to impede the spread of Islam in Rwanda. These efforts generally exploited anti-Arab sentiment, and presented Muslims as foreigners. Catholic missionaries often went to great lengths to counter what they perceived influence of rival religions, such as Islam and Protestantism.[3]

Muslims were further marginalized by the fact that most Muslims settled in urban areas, whereas 90 percent of the population was rural. As neither Arab nor Indian merchants ever attempted to further their faith, there was little spirit of preaching amongst Muslims. Only a few conversions took place, mostly amongst the marginalized urban population: women who had married foreigners, illegitimate children and orphans. Even these conversion were sometimes superficial, motivated by desire for social and economic security that Muslims provided, than for religious conviction in the Islamic faith.[4]

Under the Belgian administration, Muslims in Rwanda were to some extent marginalized. Since Muslims had no place in the Catholic church, which maintained great influence over the state, Muslims were often excluded from education and important jobs in the government. As a result Muslim employment was largely confined to engaging in petty trade, and taking up jobs as drivers.[3]

In 1960, the former government minister Sebazungu ordered the burning of the Muslim quarter and the mosque in Rwamagana. Following this event, Muslims were terrified and many of them fled to neighbouring countries. It is alleged that the Catholic Church was involved in these events, which aggravated the bitterness between Muslims and Christians.[3]

Before the 1994 Genocide, Muslims were held in low regard, because they were seen as traders, in a land where farmers are highly regarded. The Muslim population before the genocide was 4% which was unusually low compared to that of neighbouring countries.

[edit] Rwandan genocide

Main article: Rwandan genocide

During the Rwandan genocide, Muslims were not the main target of the genocide and they were also able to shield some non-Muslim Tutsis. According to Marc Lacey of The New York Times, the safest place during the genocide was a Muslim neighborhood. In Kigali, many of Rwanda's Muslims crowded together in the Biryogo neighborhood. When Hutu militias surrounded the place, Hutu Muslims did not cooperate with the Hutu killers. The Hutu Muslims say that they felt far more connected through religion than through ethnicity, and Muslim Tutsi were spared.[5] While some Hutu Muslims saved most Muslim Tutsis, they also saved the lives of thousands of Christian Tutsis as well. Most Imams spoke out publicly against the killings, urging their congregations to not partake in the massacres.[1] Nevertheless, there are allegations against one Muslim, Hassan Ngeze, that he incited Hutus to violence against Tutsis.[3]

There were only a few incidents in which Tutsis in mosques were attacked. The most widely known example occurred at Nyamirambo Main Mosque, where hundreds of Tutsi had gathered to take refuge. The refugees in the mosque fought off Hutu militias with stones, bows and arrows, putting up stiff resistance against the soldiers and militiamen of the Interahamwe. Only once the soldiers attacked with machine gun fire were the Interahamwe able to enter the mosque and kill the refugees.[1]

In some cases Hutus were afraid of searching Muslim quarters for Tutsis. The widely believed myths that both Muslims and their mosques were protected by the power of highly efficacious Islamic magic, and the fear of the jinn (creatures of fire mentioned in the Qur'an), turned out to have saved the lives of Tutsis who sought refuge with Muslims. In one case, a mosque was set ablaze in Cyangugu, but the arsonists ran away instead of destroying the mosque and its inhabitants because they believed jinn were inside the mosque. In some cases when a Muslim was inclined towards killing, one Tutsi testifies : "If a Hutu Muslim tried to kill someone hidden in our neighbourhoods, he would first be asked to take the Qur'an and tear it apart to renounce his faith. No Muslim dared to violate the Holy Book and that saved a lot of us."[3]

[edit] Post-genocide

See also Aftermath of the Rwandan genocide

It is sometimes reported in the Western media and on Muslim websites that the number of Rwandan Muslims increased after the 1994 Genocide. This shift is attributed to the sheltering of refugees - both Hutu and Tutsi - in Muslim villages and suburbs, as compared to the alleged flight of Catholic priests from their parishes (abandoning their parishioners in the process), and, it is alleged, in many cases actively partaking in the genocide by Christian clergy.[6] According to the Washington Post, "since the genocide, Rwandans have converted to Islam in huge numbers. Muslims now make up 14 percent of the 8.2 million people here in Africa's most Catholic nation, twice as many as before the killings began."[6]

The newspaper also states that Muslims now constitute 16% of the Rwandan population, and are generally held in higher regard by most Rwandans for their life-saving actions during the violence of 1994. Adherents.com[7], the CIA World Factbook[8], and the U.S. Department of State[9], however, make clear that there has been no large scale conversion to Islam and hence these claims cannot be true. The story of mass conversion appears to be an urban legend that is most popular on websites with an interest in converting people to Islam.

Officially, the percentage of Muslims remains at below 5 percent of the Rwandan population and has only grown relatively slowly since 1994.[10] However, it is also claimed that some of those who fear being accused of being involved in the genocide have turned to Islam after the Rwandan genocide as it was seen by some as the safest option.[11] So far only four priests and two nuns, out of the entire Catholic Church in Rwanda, have been charged with crimes resulting out of the genocide. Given the large number of Catholics in Rwanda this is evidence of no widespread involvement by the Catholic Church in the genocide. Nor is there any evidence that large numbers of priests fled their posts.

[edit] Activities

Muslims in Rwanda are also actively involved in jihad activities, such as their jihad to "start respecting each other", and their "struggle to heal". While there is little sign of militancy, some government officials have express concern that some of the mosques receive funding from Saudi Arabia, whose religious sect they consider as militant. Muslims have reached out to the Rwandans in many ways, including forming women's groups that provide education on child care and being a mother. [12]

The Muslim religious holiday Eid al-Fitr is observed by the government as one of the four religious official holiday (alongside Christmas, All Saints' Day, and Assumption). Muslims also operate private Islamic schools. In 2003, the US Embassy oversaw the renovations of an Islamic secondary school in Kigali. Embassy leaders also met with Muslim leaders, alongside members of Catholic and Anglican Churches, Seventh-day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, to hold interfaith talks.[13]

Rwanda used to have a religious democratic party, the Democratic Islamic Party (PDI), with non-Muslim members. However, it changed its name to Ideal Democratic Party, after the constitution mandated no party may be formed on the basis of religion.[13]

[edit] Population

There is a considerable range in the estimates of the Muslim population of Rwanda. No accurate census of the Muslim population has been done.[5]

Source Population (000s) Population (%) Year Ref
The Washington Post 1,148 14 2002 [12]
The Washington Post 7 1993 "before killings began" [12]
CIA World factbook 456 4.6 2007 [14]
The New York Times 15 2004 [5]
Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life 350 5 1998 [15]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Klusener, Rainer (May 2005). Islam in Rwanda. United States Institute of Peace.
  2. ^ Rodrique Ngowi. "Rwandan Muslims". Associated press.
  3. ^ a b c d e Kubai, Anne (April 2007). "Walking a Tightrope: Christians and Muslims in Post-Genocide Rwanda". Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations 18 (2): 219–235. Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group. doi:10.1080/09596410701214076. 
  4. ^ Bulabubi, S. Bakatu (May, 1991). "Review: L'Islam et les "Swahili" au Rwanda". Journal of Religion in Africa 21 (2): 176–177. 
  5. ^ a b c Lacey, Marc. "Ten Years After Horror, Rwandans Turn to Islam", The New York Times, April 7, 2004. 
  6. ^ a b Washington Post: Islam Attracting Many Survivors of Rwanda Genocide, September 23, 2002
  7. ^ Adherents.com: By Location
  8. ^ CIA - The World Factbook
  9. ^ Rwanda
  10. ^ Rwanda
  11. ^ BBC News: Rwanda's religious reflections
  12. ^ a b c Emily Wax . "Islam Attracting Many Survivors of Rwanda Genocide," Washington Post. Monday, September 23, 2002, Page A10
  13. ^ a b Rwanda - International Religious Freedom Report 2003, 2003 Report on International Religious Freedom.
  14. ^ Rwanda. CIA World Factbook
  15. ^ Gall, Timothy L. (ed). Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life: Vol. 1 - Africa. Cleveland, OH: Eastword Publications Development (1998), pg. 360-361.

[edit] External links

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