THE BATTLE FOR AFRICA

THE BATTLE FOR AFRICA

IN RECENT TIMES, THE AFRICAN CONTINENT HAS COME TO SYMBOLIZE THE SOCIO-CULTURAL FLASH POINT BETWEEN THE CHRISTIAN AND ISLAMIC CIVILIZATIONS.

Africa, the most diverse geographical and demographic entity in the world today has become a new battle ground between the two civilizational poles- Christianity and Islam.

One of the most serious challenges which the modern world is facing is the growing Islamic fundamentalism on the one hand and increasing western imperialism and interference on the other. This has undoubtedly and clearly led to a clash of interests between Christendom and Crescentdom which unfortunately is taking the shape and form of a major Clash of Civilizations.

While the West and Islam are engaged in countering each other in various parts of the world, the theatre of this clash in the African continent presents a somewhat different picture. Africa is largely tribal, extremely diverse, where modern civilization is yet to take firm roots. This has made the religio-cultural situation here much more fluid than in other continents. While religion, here too, is a sensitive issue, but still religious conversions and religion change are happening at a much larger scale. While Christendom and Crescentdom are fighting political, strategic and bloody battles in the rest of the world; in Africa the issue is, by en-large which civilization would dominate the cultural and social mindscape and landscape and thus be the psychological and strategic winner.

Africa, is in a very broad sense ethnically divided into two parts- the vast desert regions in the north- called the Sahara which is inhabited by the completely Muslim

Arabs and then there is the Sub Sahara Africa, also called black Africa, which includes the central and southern regions of the continent. This is the land of Negroes, the black people. The northern Arabs do not constitute more than 20% of the African population, but being exclusively Muslim, Islam gets an easy advantage. The majority of the Negroes are Christian but it is very doubtful, arguable and contentious as to which religious community dominates overall in the continent. While most statistics give a wafer thin advantage to the Christians in the ratio of 55:45 but there are others who claim it is just the other way round.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS FLASH POINT

Africa is the only continent where Christians and Muslims, the two rivals compete neck to neck with each other. In all other continents there is no direct internal fight, positions and conditions are well defined, but in Africa, large scale conversions are a common fact. The battle for Africa is not just a psychological war. Africa is the richest continent in mineral wealth and natural resources. Both the religious civilizations are using somewhat different tactics to control the continent.

While in Christianity, the Pope and the well organized and centralised clergy dreams and attempts to fulfill its unfinished agenda of converting Africa. Huge sums of money are being pumped into Africa from Christian lands, supposedly, for humanitarian works, but it is clear that the tacit intention is propagation and strengthening of Christianity. On the contrary, this war is being fought by Islam from a much more grass root level where even the common man is making his contribution to win this Holy War (Jehad).

As this civilizational cold war intensifies and takes up more aggressive overtures, the claim over Africa which is already keenly contested will attract more and more attention of the holy followers of the two communities. This is not a very bright prospect for this not so Dark Continent.

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