Conference Reports 

Conference on Islam in Africa: 

Global, Cultural and His torical Perspectives 

Academic studies regarding "fslam in Africa" have increased at a rapid 
pace over the past few years. In the 1960s, works of Trim ingham and Lewis 

were among the few which dealt with the subject. Towards the end of the 
1990s, one could select from a number of works; for example, one had a 

choice between Westurland and Brenner, Fischer and Stewart, Levtzion and 

Mazrui and others. This reflects to what extent the African continent and, 

in particular, Islam has attracted the attention of scholars who represent a 
variety of disciplines. 

A similar group of scholars participated in the conference sponsored by 

the Institute of Global Cultural Studies, Binghamton University SUNY, NY 

on "Islam in Africa" from April 19-22, 200 I. This report reflects the over­
all program adopted by the conference and mentions some of the papers 

presented. 

The conference began on Thursday, April 19, 200 I. During the two hours 

Rene Laremont, the deputy director of the Institute, chaired the two public 
presentations by John Esposito and Ali Mazrui, respectively. Esposito's topic 

for that evening was "Islam in a Global Perspective: A Wider View" and 

Mazrui's was "Islam and Cultural Globalization in Africa." Esposito covered 
several issues. He started his presentation with autobiographical notes about 

how he got involved with Islam and Muslims. He then examined the devel­

opment oflslamic resurgence movements; highlighted global perceptions of 

Muslims and Islam; tackled the issue of the supposed Islamic "threat"; 
responded to Huntington's Clash of Civilizations (Foreign Affairs 1993, and 

NY 1996); and reflected - in passing - upon Pipes' harmful articles and 

Newsweek's negative reports. He concluded with comments on the twin 

processes of"lslamization" and "kafirization" and briefly explained how they 
impacted upon the concepts of democracy, pluralism, and minorities. 

In Ali Mazrui's presentation, two types of globalization were pointed 
out: economic and cultural. The first type has deepened the divisions and 









Conference Reports 157 

From the conference's concluding discussions, it was resolved to organize 
three follow-up conferences in Africa: one in West Africa, another in East 

Africa and a third in Southern Africa. 

Muhammed Haron 

University of Botswana 

Gaborone, Botswana