Description: Recent studies of Muslims in Kenya and Tanzania have tended either to examine governance of Muslims in relation to security issues, or to discuss the reforms attempted within communities and their implications for Muslim theology, rituals and general welfare. Both these approaches are covered in this book, and a third is added - the study of Muslims as citizens or residents of their respective countries, looking at their activities and attitudes in relation to the various challenges they face together with their fellow compatriots and citizens.
Brief description: Farouk Topan is Professor Emeritus at the Aga Khan University, Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations, London. He has taught at the universities of Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, Riyad and the School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London. He is also a writer of Swahili fiction and has published several short stories and two of his plays have been part of the school curriculum in Tanzania.
Review Quotes:
This volume focuses on politics, institutions and law in Islamic East Africa. By adopting a broad and multidisciplinary approach at both the macro and micro level, we are given new and sometimes surprising insights into changing relations between the state and Islam. A very welcome addition to the literature.
--Pat Caplan, Goldsmiths, University of London