Islam and Christianity in contemporary Africa

Introduction

Even today, there is worldwide attention directed towards Africa. At present, there is interest in resolving negative issues that are plaguing particular regions of the continent. Particularly, the issues include the AIDS epidemic, civil strife, and localized poverty. At the same time, it must be understood that these problems are products of an extended history of Western interference, primarily in the form of colonialism, which resulted in a diaspora of millions of native Africans to remote regions of the world and the exploitation of those left behind.

Islam and Christianity in contemporary Africa

Accordingly, this dispersal led to sexual, social, and cultural amalgamations between dispersed Africans and Asians, Australians, Europeans, and Native Americans. This goes to show that the African influence on other cultures was a worldwide phenomenon. To this day, their influence can be seen and felt in the same areas they were taken to during the Diaspora. Therefore, it is appropriate to argue that Africa has repeatedly made its mark in the broader history of civilization.

Before establishing a brief discussion of Africa's influence in the history of world civilizations, it is important to recognize that Africa's cultural influence stems from the pre-colonial civilizations and societies of the continent. Many historians and cultural anthropologists observe aspects of the cultures that shaped and defined particular pre-colonial societies. The African way of life, for the most part, was constructed by political, economic, and social organizations.

In terms of political institutions, organized kingdoms, isolated family states, and village states were the chief political units in Africa. While all political units were not organized kingdoms, “they all seem to indicate the normal capability and desire of establishing governments to solve the problems that every community encounters” (Franklin and Moss, 12-13). The impact of governing entities was a reflection of the sovereignty owed to them by their constituents. As the number of village states increased, many of them began to merge. These mergers resulted in larger, more developed central political organizations. Eventually, each unit formed its own chain of command and military organization.

African economy was driven mostly by agriculture and specialization. Agriculture played an important role in the further development of government organization, as communities sought local leadership over division of labor, crop maintenance, and product distribution. In addition to harvesting crops, domestication of animals was also an important aspect of African economy. Tribes were known for their great skill in breeding, raising, and grazing their livestock. One individual presents his observations of agriculture and domestication from his experience in a small town in Northern Africa: “The natives cultivate the soil, and keep large droves of horses, cows, sheep, goats, and some asses. The great grain crop is rice…Besides rice, they cultivate a species of red maize, millet, and Guinea corn. They also grow beans, pumpkins, okra, tomatoes, cucumbers, and cotton…The usual food is rice, milk, butter, fish, beef, and mutton. The domesticated animals are horses, used for riding, asses and camels for carrying loads; cattle, the bulls of which have ...