African Traditional Religion (ATR) and Islam are two of the biggest religions on the continent of Africa, along with Christianity as well. When it comes to ATR, there are many religious phenomena from which we are able to analyze. Some examples of this include the belief in a Supreme Being, belief in spirits/divinities, belief in life after death, witchcraft and magic practices. Belief in a Supreme Being is very universal amongst African traditional religions especially because God created humanity and the rest of creation to be united together and receive life from only Him. Spirits also play an important role in the lives of Africans. They are designed to protect, guide and defend humankind and/or punish evil doers. They can also come in two forms, either nature spirits which are linked with natural things or human spirits on behalf of immediate family members death. The celebration of death is very significant in ATR which is why there is such belief in life after death. Africans believe that when a person dies their physical body now takes the form of a spirit who is with them at all times. This is why it is very common for Africans to involve their ancestors in everyday lives and activities such as marriage, birth, death and many others. In the religion of Islam, there is consensus among Muslims in the profession of their faith. There is agreeance on one Qur’an, belief that Muhammad is a prophet from God, belief in the five pillars of Islam, the way in which prayer should be in the direction towards Mecca and the practice of saying liturgical prayers in Arabic (Azumah 2020). ATR will continue to influence the lives of Africans, however as this religion continues to penetrate to other parts of Africa, we see different influences from religions such as Islam and Christianity begin transform the identity of ATR.
Before the 2nd wave of Islam reached North Africa, the Berbers in Libya had polytheistic and animistic religious practices. These beliefs were primarily influenced by their neighbors in Egypt as well as by other people who lived in the area such as the Jews, Greeks and Romans. Some examples of these beliefs are lunar and solar deities. Along with these beliefs are also aspects of African Traditional Religion. One of these aspects is practice of witchcraft/voodoo. Amongst the Berber communities, especially with the women, there is a belief in a type of practice called sihr, a type of witchcraft. This primarily involves the use of potions to make someone fall in love or to either invoke a curse as revenge. Spiritually, Berbers often believe in spiritual beings called jinn. Jinn take the form of animals and to ward off these spirits, Berbers wear an amulet with verses from the Quran printed on it that acts as a form of protection (Njoroge 2020). Ceremonies and rites of passage such as birth, death, marriage seen in traditional Africa were also present within Berber communities. For example, circumcision which is also seen in the religion of Islam, is a rite of passage that marks a child’s transformation “from passive to active membership in the community” (Mbiti 2010). In the Berber community, boys are circumcised from ages 2-6, however while some African societies have female circumcision, the Berbers do not participate in this. ATR practices have always remained a constant in African societies. As Islam is introduced, these practices are now refined to fit a specific African community’s ideologies.
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The identity and culture of Berbers has always been present in Libya and in North Africa in general ever since before the time of the spread of Islam. However, the Arab conquest of North Africa in the 7th century is where we see the transition of African traditional practices to Islam. Tactics used by the Arabs to spread Islam in North African communities included recruiting Berbers to their armies or slowly intermarrying with them. Today in modern day Libya, the religion that is most dominant is Islam. Most Muslims here identify themselves with a certain sect under Islam called Sunni Muslim. While most Muslims are of the Sunni sect, there is also a small community of Christians and Jews. This is because before the complete conversion to Islam in the Berber community, some groups had converted to Christianity or Judaism, while others still practiced traditional polytheism (Ezez. 2020). The Sunni Muslim sect places a lot of emphasis on “baraka, meaning blessing and on the belief that descendants of Muhammad can perform miracles”. There is also no intermediary between man and God. Every Berber community has a teacher called a fqih who trains young men to recite the Quran (Njoroge 2020).
In matters where Islamic law and African traditional practices encounter each other come amongst matters that concern sexual relations, theft, and community ties. However, in matters that concern inheritance of land, livestock, property and family, it is more common for people to follow traditional practices rather than the Islamic law. While both Islam and African traditional religion place great emphasis on marriage ceremonies, there is can also be some conflict in cases where the husband is Muslim, and the wife is not or vice versa. It is recommended that the wife also embrace Islam and make the switch from traditional to Islamic rule. The act of giving a marriage gift in an Islamic marriage is a similar concept seen in traditional African marriages, the only difference is that the larger share of the gift is given to the bride and not her relatives. It is important that we acknowledge the many different faces of Islam. As mentioned before, Sunni is a sect within Islam. There are other sects within Islam as well such as Shia, Ahmadiyya, Nation of Islam, etc. There are four schools of law in Sunni Islam: Maliki, Shafi’i, Hanafi, and Hanbali. Even more significant are the regional and cultural configurations of Islam: West and East Africa, Yoruba and Hausa/Fulani and more (Azumah 2020). This just goes to show how important Islam plays into the society of Africans. Removing any one of these pieces can disrupt our understanding of the Islamic component of the African heritage which is crucial in the engagement between ATR and Islam.
There has always been interaction between Islam and African Traditional Religion. In fact, both religions have participated in mutual borrowing of certain ideals and cultures, one influencing the other. One example of this as mentioned earlier are the similarities between Islam and ATR and how both religions believe that charms and amulets have the power to protect against evil spirits. While Muslim amulets contain scriptures of the Qur’an and not medicine as seen in ATR, they essentially work against a common thing. One may wonder if African Traditional Religion will be able to stand as different changes have disrupted the communities in which it strives. Despite Islam and Christianity working its way onto the continent, African Traditional religions have been able to withstand many of their ideologies being refined. Islam and ATR are no longer foreign to one another. Together they play a crucial part in African heritage. A heritage that forms the identity of individual Africans.
References
- Azumah, John. 2020. 'The Church and Islam in Africa - Fuller Studio'. Fuller Studio. https://fullerstudio.fuller.edu/featured-article-the-church-and-islam-in-africa/.
- Ezez. 2020. . https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Berber.
- Mbiti, John S. 2010. African religions & philosophy. Jordan Hill: Heinemann.
- Njoroge, M. 2020. 'Berbers | Encyclopedia.com'. Encyclopedia.com. https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences-and-law/anthropology-and-archaeology/people/berbers.
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