Times of India/Blogs
Rudroneel Ghosh in Talking Turkey
In a significant development, Morocco’s King Mohammed VI recently chaired the inauguration of the Higher Council of the Mohammed VI Foundation for African Ulema in the historic city of Fez. It will be recalled that the formation of the Mohammed VI Foundation for African Ulema was announced last year with the aim of creating a platform for African Muslim clerics and scholars so that they could coordinate their activities, clarify the genuine tenets of Islam, and promote moderate interpretations of the faith.
It’s noteworthy that the demand for such a platform came from numerous African nations that wanted to enhance their cooperation with Morocco in the religious domain.
This in turn is a reflection of Morocco’s and King Mohammed VI’s position as a spiritual guide in Muslim Africa. And it’s in recognition of this fact that Morocco has been implementing vital steps to promote moderate Islam to counter the scourge of Islamic radicalism sweeping through many African nations. The rise of Islamic extremism is a serious problem in Africa today. The international community has already witnessed the inroads that the Islamic State (IS) terror group has made in north African nations such as Libya. In fact, many IS fighters in Iraq and Syria hail from Africa’s Maghreb region. Plus, socio-economic conditions in sub-Saharan African nations also present fertile grounds for Islamic radicalism to lay down deep roots.
Add to this jihadist groups like Nigeria’s Boko Haram and Mali’s Ansar Dine – not to mention the long-time presence of Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb – and we are staring at a situation where extremism can completely annihilate Africa’s development potential through religious conflict cloaked in the garb of political conflict. It’s precisely against this backdrop that the Mohammed VI Foundation for African Ulema seeks to gather African Muslim clerics and scholars to disseminate the moderate precepts of Islam and help combat extremism, reclusiveness and terrorism. For at the end of the day the fight against radicalism within the Islamic faith is an ideological battle. And since there has been a steady decline in scholarly authority within the Muslim world over the past several decades, the Mohammed VI Foundation for African Ulema can play the role of a theological pillar of the Muslim ummah.
That said, there’s another reason why the African Ulema needs to be treated as an important institution of global significance. In today’s world of globalisation we see accelerated exchange of goods and services accruing from an increasingly integrating global market. However, we still haven’t been able to harmonise global values. And one of the key aspects of the rise of Islamic radicalism is the clash of value systems between the Muslim world – defined by its increasing Arab-centric approach – and the rest of the international community. Thus, here too the Mohammed VI Foundation for African Ulema can play a critical role by bringing together African Muslim clerics and scholars from diverse ethnic backgrounds and giving positive direction to the Muslim ummah on the basis of ideals such as moderation, tolerance and co-existence.
Taken together, one should hope that the Mohammed VI Foundation for African Ulema gathers strength and becomes a strong pole for moderate Islam in the years to come.
DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author’s own.
