African Traditions Meeting Islam

Lawrence Oseje

Description

In many communities across the world traditional beliefs and practices are passed down generations and are a feature of day-to-day life, despite the influence of outside sources. Focusing on Luo Muslims in Kenya, Dr Lawrence Oseje looks at the interaction of Islam and traditional Luo practices, especially those around death and burial.
Dr Oseje’s research with Luo Muslims in Kendu Bay investigates the impact of the traditional Luo conceptualization of death with their current views, and provides new understanding of fundamental issues that affect the lives of ordinary Muslims. From his observation of this community, Oseje encourages a celebration of traditions and customs, showing that an appreciation of traditions and beliefs can help develop ministry to local communities. Dr Oseje’s findings result in a deepened understanding of cultures, how they develop from a blend of influences, and provides anthropological and missiological guidelines for cross-cultural ministry, particularly in times of bereavement.

Sujets

• Islam

Informations

• Publié par: Langham Creative Projects
• Date de parution: 02 janvier 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783685554
• Langue: English

Extrait

Dr Lawrence Oseje has carried out an unusual phenomenological research into a local Muslim culture. His descriptions and analyses of Luo-Muslim funeral practices in Kendu Bay, located in the western part of Kenya, reveal the complex nature of religio-cultural expressions of Islam in Africa. The kind of Islam that Luo Muslims uphold is a result of the integrative synthesis of two human realities: Luo traditions and Islamic ideas. Dr Oseje takes painstaking effort to present the insider’s religio-cultural perspective of life and death among the Luo Muslims. His work provides us with many insights into intriguing realities of ordinary Muslims. I am certain that this book will be a source of invaluable information on cultural features that have been missing in the field of Islamic studies. I recommend this rare volume on Muslim culture to cross-cultural missionaries, inter-religious academicians, and organizational leaders, who intend to understand cultural concepts and values that ordinary Muslims hold, particularly in Africa.
Caleb Kim, PhD
Director, Institute for the Study of African Realities
Coordinator, Centre for the Study of Religions
Africa International University, Nairobi, Kenya
A study into cultural issues of death such as this is indeed a milestone into seeing the very fabrics that hold, guide and inform the day-to-day experiences of the life of ordinary Muslims in Africa. From the beginning of his writing to the very end, Dr Oseje has demonstrated that the real fear that faces ordinary Muslims is not mainly found in the major issues of life, such as joblessness, economic deprivation and national governance, but mostly in the very basics of life, such as disease, sickness, natural disasters and death. The funeral, as he has discussed it, is the converging point where both tradition and Islam meet. The similarities and the differences between Luo traditions and Islam thus define the kind of identity to which these ordinary Muslims ascribe. His research has no doubt demonstrated the need to understand every culture from its own context. By so doing, the temptation to generalize cultures will be avoided.
Josephine Mutuku, PhD
Senior Lecturer, Africa International University, Nairobi, Kenya
This study on the impact of Luo traditional views on the contemporary Luo-Muslim conceptualization of death is simultaneously relevant and articulate. Part of the strength of this work is the manner in which it utilizes religio-cultural images to clarify important theological justifications. The story of the late S. M. Otieno that Dr Lawrence Oseje writes about exemplifies this reality. His focus on Luo-Muslim funerals narrows the larger conversation to one ethnic extraction’s point of view in respect to the question of death. The solidarity and the unity that the Luo Muslims demonstrate when one of their own or any other member in the Luo community dies, is itself very insightful. The Luo-Muslim community discussed here not only presents the significance of the place in which one should be buried, but it also provides meaning and value attached to one’s ethnic identity. Oseje has thus reminded us that our traditions affect our religious beliefs, our practices and ultimately our theology.
James Kombo, DTh
Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Academic Affairs
Associate Professor of Systematic Theology,
Daystar University, Nairobi, Kenya

African Traditions Meeting Islam
A Case of Luo-Muslim Funerals in Kendu Bay, Kenya
Lawrence Oseje

© 2018 Lawrence Oseje
Published 2018 by Langham Monographs
An imprint of Langham Publishing
www.langhampublishing.org
Langham Publishing and its imprints are a ministry of Langham Partnership
Langham Partnership
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www.langham.org
ISBNs:
978-1-78368-543-1 Print
978-1-78368-555-4 ePub
978-1-78368-556-1 Mobi
978-1-78368-557-8 PDF
Lawrence Oseje has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988 to be identified as the Author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-78368-543-1
Cover & Book Design: projectluz.com
Langham Partnership actively supports theological dialogue and an author’s right to publish but does not necessarily endorse the views and opinions set forth here or in works referenced within this publication, nor can we guarantee technical and grammatical correctness. Langham Partnership does not accept any responsibility or liability to persons or property as a consequence of the reading, use or interpretation of its published content.

Converted to eBook by EasyEPUB

To: My lovely wife Dorcas, and our beautiful, handsome, and wonderful children – Jael, Rosebell and Emmanuel.
Contents

Cover


Acknowledgements


Abstract


Arabic Transliteration


Chapter 1 Introduction


Relationships in the Triple Religions


The Challenges of African Traditional Religion


The Luo People in Islam


The Perception of Luo on Death: A Case Study of S. M. Otieno


Luo Muslims in Kenya


Luo Muslims in Kendu Bay


Problem Statement


Research Questions


Objectives of the Study


Significance of the Research


Delimitations


Limitations


Assumptions


Definition of Terms


Chapter 2 Literature Review


Introduction


The Influence of Islam on Luo Traditional View of Death


Luo Traditional Elements in Luo-Muslim Perception of Death


Synthesis of Luo Traditional and Luo-Muslim View of Death


Conclusion


Chapter 3 Methodology


Introduction


Data Collection


Data Analysis


Validity and Reliability


Ethical Issues in Research Field


Conclusion


Chapter 4 The Influence of Islam on Luo-Muslim Traditional View of Death


Introduction


The Islamic Teachings on Death That the Luo Muslims in Kendu Bay Follow


The Outcomes of Islamic Teachings on the Luo-Muslim View of Death


Conclusion


Chapter 5 Elements of Luo Tradition in Luo-Muslim Perception of Death


Introduction


Explaining the Existence of Luo Traditions in the Luo-Muslim Perception of Death


Conclusion


Chapter 6 The Effects of Luo Traditional View on Luo-Muslim Understanding of Death and Its Related Practices


The Influence of Luo Traditions in the Initial Stage of Luo-Muslim Funerals


The Influence of Luo Traditions in the Middle Stage of a Luo-Muslim Funeral


The Influence of Luo Traditions in the Later Stage of Luo-Muslim Funerals


Continuity and Discontinuity of the Luo Traditional View of Death among Luo Muslims


Conclusion


Chapter 7 The Synthetic Conceptualization of Death among the Contemporary Luo Muslims in Kendu Bay


Introduction


Religio-Cultural Characteristics and Themes Underlying Luo-Muslim Views of Death


The Luo-Muslim Conceptualization of Death as Reflected in Funeral Rituals


Conclusion


Chapter 8 Conclusions


Summary of Findings


Implications and Recommendations to Different Stakeholders


Recommendations for Further Studies


Appendix A Ethnographic Research Questions


Appendix B A History of Luo in Kenya and Their Contact with Islam


Appendix C The History and the Development of Islam in Kendu Bay


Appendix D Relationships in Ijma , Jumia and Ijumma


Appendix E Relationship between ‘Iddah and Talāq (Divorce) in Islam


Bibliography


Interviews


Primary Resources


About Langham Partnership

Endnotes
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, my deepest gratitude and sincere appreciation go to the almighty God who has enabled me to come this far. I am indebted to my family for their prayers and encouragement. My lecturers, colleagues with whom we have toiled together in our doctoral studies, and my students whom I have taught in various colleges, seminaries and universities, have all been a blessing to me and my family. A very special appreciation goes to African Scholarship Exchange (ASE), Langham Scholars Programme, and friends to Prof Caleb Kim in South Korea and USA. They have overwhelmingly supported me financially and with their prayers. In 2014, Langham Scholars Programme through Dr Ian Shaw gave me the opportunity to travel and do library research in Oxford University in England. While there, I made new friends with people like Drs Ida G