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The Cross And The Crescent As Conquest Weapons
Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)
COLUMN
November 20, 2006
By Bulago A. Chilume
Chabaya revealed a deep-seated self-hatred when he/she stated: "For starters, what is Afrikan culture? Is it to be found in the semi-naked natives who used to make human sacrifices around huge bon fires while worshipping stone gods?" This is just one of numerous myths about Afrikans peddled by white people (Europeans and Arabs) to, as Stanton puts it, "attack, discredit, mock and ultimately destroy the Afrikan cultural base" for the sole purpose of weakening and conquering us.
After mis-educating the readers, it is now Chabaya's turn to be corrected and educated, and for this purpose we shall refer to the acclaimed The Destruction of Black Civilization - Great Issues of a Race From 4500 B.C. to 2000 A.D., by Prof. Chancellor Williams (1898-1992), a renowned Afrikan American historian. Williams' book is a product of 16 years of pioneering research and field studies "which concentrated on crucial areas in the history of the Blacks that had been either unknown, known and misinterpreted, or known but deliberately ignored...it was a general rebellion against the subtle message from even the most 'liberal' white authors (and their Negro disciples): 'You belong to a race of nobodies. You have no worthwhile history to point to with pride." (C Williams)
According to Dr John Henrik Clarke, a renowned Afrikan American scholar, The Destruction of Black Civilization "shifted the main focus from the history of Arabs and Europeans in Afrika to the Afrikans themselves - a history of the Blacks that is a history of the Blacks." Robert Fikes, Jr, another Afrikan American historian of note, points out that by writing The Destruction of Black Civilization, Williams "attempted to repair the reputation of sub-Saharan Afrikans prior to the conquests of Europeans by pointing out the achievements of Afrikan people and the bias of white academics who would distort knowledge of their (Afrikans) great past.
The Destruction of Black Civilization is a chronicle of the history of Afrikans presented through a number of case studies which starts with the loss of the Egyptian homeland. For the purpose of enlightening the likes of Chabaya on the bona fide religious beliefs of Afrikans before the advent of the white man, we shall look at Williams' account of the 16th century Central Afrikan kingdom of Kuba. However, it is instructive to first reflect on Williams' observation of the role alien religions played in the conquest of Afrikans and their effect on the Afrikan psyche. The following extracts from Chapter One of The Destruction of Black Civilization provide Williams' insight into the matter:
"Other invaders found penetration easy under the banners of religion. Full advantage was taken of the fact that Afrikans are a very religious people. First came the Crescent flag of the Prophet. The Islamic advance was three-fold: proselytizing (convert from one religion to another) missions claiming one brotherhood; widespread intermarriages and concubinage with Afrikan women, due to the Muslim system of polygamy; and forceful conversions at sword point. The Cross of Jesus Christ followed the Muslim Crescent... (and) conversion here meant far more than conversion to Christianity. As in the case of Islam, it meant change into the white man's image, his ideas and value system. The real object of worship turned out to be...Western man and Western civilization. Christian brotherhood? Well, eh, yes! In principle. Or, to be practical, you Blacks can have all the Christian brotherhood you desire - among yourselves. "But what happened in the process of converting the Blacks to Islam and Christianity was the supreme triumph of the white world over the black. Millions of Afrikans became non-Afrikans. Afrikans who were neither Muslims nor Christians were classed 'pagans' and therefore required to disavow their whole culture and to regard practically all Afrikan institutions as 'backward' or savage. The Blacks in their own right became non-persons, members of a race of nobodies, so hopeless that self-realization as personalities, even in a subordinate status, could only be achieved by becoming Muslims or Christians. Indeed, in order to destroy completely not only their Afrikan heritage, but also their very Afrikan identity psychologically, they were forced to change their names to Arabic and Christian names...Blacks at home in Afrika and Blacks scattered over the world bore the names of their enslavers and oppressors, the ultimate in self-effacement that promoted a self-hatred which made pride in the race difficult. That these psychological shackles still handicap not only the rebirth of modern Afrikan states, but also Blacks everywhere, should be obvious to all."
The Cross And The Crescent As Conquest Weapons
Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)
COLUMN
November 20, 2006
By Bulago A. Chilume
Chabaya revealed a deep-seated self-hatred when he/she stated: "For starters, what is Afrikan culture? Is it to be found in the semi-naked natives who used to make human sacrifices around huge bon fires while worshipping stone gods?" This is just one of numerous myths about Afrikans peddled by white people (Europeans and Arabs) to, as Stanton puts it, "attack, discredit, mock and ultimately destroy the Afrikan cultural base" for the sole purpose of weakening and conquering us.
After mis-educating the readers, it is now Chabaya's turn to be corrected and educated, and for this purpose we shall refer to the acclaimed The Destruction of Black Civilization - Great Issues of a Race From 4500 B.C. to 2000 A.D., by Prof. Chancellor Williams (1898-1992), a renowned Afrikan American historian. Williams' book is a product of 16 years of pioneering research and field studies "which concentrated on crucial areas in the history of the Blacks that had been either unknown, known and misinterpreted, or known but deliberately ignored...it was a general rebellion against the subtle message from even the most 'liberal' white authors (and their Negro disciples): 'You belong to a race of nobodies. You have no worthwhile history to point to with pride." (C Williams)
According to Dr John Henrik Clarke, a renowned Afrikan American scholar, The Destruction of Black Civilization "shifted the main focus from the history of Arabs and Europeans in Afrika to the Afrikans themselves - a history of the Blacks that is a history of the Blacks." Robert Fikes, Jr, another Afrikan American historian of note, points out that by writing The Destruction of Black Civilization, Williams "attempted to repair the reputation of sub-Saharan Afrikans prior to the conquests of Europeans by pointing out the achievements of Afrikan people and the bias of white academics who would distort knowledge of their (Afrikans) great past.
The Destruction of Black Civilization is a chronicle of the history of Afrikans presented through a number of case studies which starts with the loss of the Egyptian homeland. For the purpose of enlightening the likes of Chabaya on the bona fide religious beliefs of Afrikans before the advent of the white man, we shall look at Williams' account of the 16th century Central Afrikan kingdom of Kuba. However, it is instructive to first reflect on Williams' observation of the role alien religions played in the conquest of Afrikans and their effect on the Afrikan psyche. The following extracts from Chapter One of The Destruction of Black Civilization provide Williams' insight into the matter:
"Other invaders found penetration easy under the banners of religion. Full advantage was taken of the fact that Afrikans are a very religious people. First came the Crescent flag of the Prophet. The Islamic advance was three-fold: proselytizing (convert from one religion to another) missions claiming one brotherhood; widespread intermarriages and concubinage with Afrikan women, due to the Muslim system of polygamy; and forceful conversions at sword point. The Cross of Jesus Christ followed the Muslim Crescent... (and) conversion here meant far more than conversion to Christianity. As in the case of Islam, it meant change into the white man's image, his ideas and value system. The real object of worship turned out to be...Western man and Western civilization. Christian brotherhood? Well, eh, yes! In principle. Or, to be practical, you Blacks can have all the Christian brotherhood you desire - among yourselves. "But what happened in the process of converting the Blacks to Islam and Christianity was the supreme triumph of the white world over the black. Millions of Afrikans became non-Afrikans. Afrikans who were neither Muslims nor Christians were classed 'pagans' and therefore required to disavow their whole culture and to regard practically all Afrikan institutions as 'backward' or savage. The Blacks in their own right became non-persons, members of a race of nobodies, so hopeless that self-realization as personalities, even in a subordinate status, could only be achieved by becoming Muslims or Christians. Indeed, in order to destroy completely not only their Afrikan heritage, but also their very Afrikan identity psychologically, they were forced to change their names to Arabic and Christian names...Blacks at home in Afrika and Blacks scattered over the world bore the names of their enslavers and oppressors, the ultimate in self-effacement that promoted a self-hatred which made pride in the race difficult. That these psychological shackles still handicap not only the rebirth of modern Afrikan states, but also Blacks everywhere, should be obvious to all."