Islam in Africa : Historical and Contemporary Processes of Islamisation and Re-islamisations
Dead line : November 30th 2014.
[Version bilingue allemand-français en pdf ci-joint]
An estimated 500 million Africans or roughly 45% of the total population on the African continent is Muslim and many countries are predominantly Muslim or have significant Muslim populations. However, there is a huge diversity within Islam. The conference aims to explore the dynamics behind this diversity. It is interested in both historical and contemporary processes of islamisation and re-islamisations in Africa and their consequences.
Earlier examples include economic and cultural exchanges in Northern and Eastern Africa and the Horn that were triggered by trade and frequently pre-dated contact with Europeans. These exchanges had significant impacts, among other, on the political sphere, education, science, and everyday practices.
Beyond these earlier examples and their transformations, there are both transnational and domestic contemporary processes. They include adapted trade flows, investment and banking relations or development aid. Among the consequences are reform movements, but also (violent) political change. These forms of change have different social effects depending on gender, age, social class and other markers of difference. Other processes of islamisation and re-islamisation are based on migration and cultural flows based on the internet, media or popular culture, again having distinct effects on the micro, the meso and the macro level.
The organizers welcome papers by anthropologists, archaeologists, historians, geographers, sociologists, political scientists, researchers in Islamic studies and other related disciplines with a focus on the following sub-themes of the conference (see the pdf)...