The Sunday News
By Shaibu Asali
ISLAM is the second largest religion in the world today after Christianity. There are more than 1,6 billion Muslims in the world. Therefore, a quarter of the world’s population are adherents of Islam. Islam is highly visible in Africa, and it is very prevalent in North and West Africa. Although the Arabs are strongly linked with Islam, they comprise only 20 percent of the total Muslim population (Berkely Centre). Indonesia has the largest number of Muslims with over 200 million people there professing the religion. A large number of Muslims are in the Indian subcontinent, and Asia. The rest of the Muslims are scattered in various countries on the globe, and it is highly unlikely that there is a country which does not have Muslims.
Mandivenga (1983) stated that Islam was brought to Zimbabwe by the Arabs who traded with the Mutapa Empire in the 1500s. The Arabs also intermarried with the Shona, and this increased the number of Muslims.
Another factor which helped the establishment of Islam in Zimbabwe was the importation of labourers from Asia to work in the then Rhodesia during the colonial era. The Asians continued to trickle in, and they set up businesses in the country and settled therein. Their marriage and procreation increased the number of Muslims.
Many African Muslims emigrated from Malawi to seek employment and greener pastures in Zimbabwe. This migration was noticeable during the years of the federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland from 1953 to 1963. The Malawians sought work in towns, farms and cities. These emigrants included people from the Yao tribe who are predominantly Muslim. The Yao are erroneously referred to as “Machawa” locally.
The population of Muslims in Zimbabwe
The actual number of Muslims in Zimbabwe is not documented. However, estimates of between one percent to three percent of the total population are often heard. However, some contemporary Zimbabwean Muslim scholars have disputed these estimates because they have been quoted for a very long time. That view seems to hold water because it would be reasonable to assume that Islam is increasing rather than to think that it is stagnant or dwindling. This assertion is supported by the increase in the number of mosques being built, and the people who are learning Islam.
The distribution of the Muslims in Zimbabwe
Muslims are found in urban centres, farms and mines. A sign of the presence of Muslims in an area is a mosque. This is because Islam is a communal religion, and the mosque is the centre for a number of important Islamic activities. It serves as a venue for prayer, a meeting place, a school, a social area to conduct weddings and funerals, and so on. So, when the number of Muslims in an area increases, they build a mosque which unifies them, and enables them to pray, and carry out different religious duties. So, Harare which has over 20 mosques has the highest number of Muslims in Zimbabwe. This is followed by Bulawayo which has eight mosques or so. Other urban centres also have mosques. Some mines and farms have mosques.
The definition of Islam: The linguistic meaning: In the Arabic language, the word Islam means submission. The technical meaning: Islam means submission to the Oneness of Allah (God) This simply means obeying Allah, doing what Allah wants and abstaining from what He prohibited.
-The author, Shaibu Asali is an Islamic scholar, researcher, consultant, resource person, Arabic-English and author. He has written two textbooks on Islam for the Zimsec FRS syllabus.
