South African History Online

"Renewal and Renaissance - Towards a New World Order" - Lecture by President Nelson Mandela at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies

Oxford, 11 July 1997

Professor Nizami, Director of the Oxford Centre for Islamic
Studies;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen;

In this month of July, exactly five hundred years ago, a navigator by the
name of Vasco da Gama set out from Europe on a mission "in search of Christians
and spices".

His long and dangerous journey outflanking Islamic control of trade with the
East, would take him round a continent of Africa that represented not much more
to him than an obstacle between Europe and Asia, and possibly the home of
Prester John, the mythical Christian King who, it was believed, would "help
fight the infidel".

The southern tip of Africa - from whence I come today to share with you some
reflections on our joint past and our common future - still bears the imprint of
the mission, in names like Natal and Algoa Bay and Delegoa Bay. Long after
Europe had discarded the myth of Prester John he lived on in the minds of
settlers who followed Da Gama, and of their descendants - unable, for example,
to contemplate the magnificent Zimbabwean civilisation as a product of
Africa.

The whole world bears a more profound imprint. The voyages of Da Gama and his
contemporaries were strands in the grand tapestry of the Western European
Renaissance. The expansion of European influence and domination over virtually
the entire planet was a central aspect of European ambition in that period of
European history. Thus was the foundation of a world economic system forged.

Juxtaposing the artistic, intellectual, scientific and technological
achievements of the Western European Renaissance with some of the effects of the
voyages of exploration, reminds us of the maxim of a later writer, who said that
cultural treasures owe their existence not only to the efforts of the great
minds and talents who have created them, but also to the efforts of the great
minds and talents who have created them, but also to the anonymous toil and
suffering of their contemporaries, often in distant places.

For those who could not match the military, economic and social power of
Europe during this period of expansion, the consequences were adverse, and often
disastrous. That included the Islamic world, in particular that part of it which
was African and that part which enjoyed thriving and productive relations with
Africa. The Nineteenth Century colonisation of the African Continent was in many
respects the culmination of the Renaissance-initiated expansion of European
dominion over the planet. The effects on the colonised continent are too well
known to need repetition.

Yet, as it has been said, the purpose of studying history is not to deride
human action, nor to weep over it or to hate it, but to understand it. And
hopefully then to learn from it as we contemplate our future.

Today, I come here as an African, as the guest of a Centre that is devoted to
the study of Islam, in a European institution of excellence. And I come to pose
the question whether our generation has the capacity to close the circle on
these five centuries.

Can we say with confidence that it is within our each to declare that never
again shall continents, countries or communities be reduced to the smoking
battlefields of contending forces of nationality, religion, race or
language?

Shall we rise to the challenge which history has put before us, of ensuring
that the world's prodigious capacity for economic growth benefits all its people
and not just the powerful? Will future generations say of us: Indeed, they did
lay the foundations for the eradication of world poverty; they succeeded in
establishing a new world order based on mutual respect, partnership and
equity?

Ladies and gentlemen

I am most grateful to the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies for the
invitation to share ideas with you. When da Gama finally reached the Indian
Ocean, he found navigators there far more competent than himself to guide his
expedition, and wisely he relied on them in the same way that I know that I am
following where others have opened the way, and that we are amongst those from
who we have much to learn.

What encourages me to add my humble contribution, is the Centre's commitment
to the promotion of understanding, tolerance and co-operation as essential
conditions for advancing the welfare of all. I am emboldened by a desire that
the presence of Africa should be felt in the intellectual quest the Centre seeks
to foster. As we break free from a bi-polar view of the world, the centuries-old
discourse about relations between Islam and the West is also naturally giving
way to a more multifaceted framework of thought.

Africa, more than any other continent, has had to contend with the
consequences of conquest in a denial of its own role in history, including the
denial that its people had the capacity to bring about change and progress.

Today the world knows better. The mists that obscured our vision have all but
lifted. With independence regained, we have had the opportunity to recover our
history. A clearer understanding of Africa's past has been emerging, a past in
which the continent's internal dynamic has interacted with the rest of the world
in a two-way process.

We are better able now to distinguish between the effects of external
interventions and factors from within, in contributing to the continent's
present situation; to compute the benefits as well as the negative effects of
interaction with others; and to take pride in what others have drawn from the
continent.

In short, we have the opportunity to see our African identity as the product
of our own engagement in world history. This allows us to reflect on the
contribution Africa can make, through the reconstruction of our countries and
the rebirth of our continent, to the creation of a new world order that matches
the challenge of eradicating world poverty and insecurity.

In the recovery of Africa's history there is also a better understanding of
the role of religion in that history; and of the contribution it has made, and
could make, to the continent's rebirth.

Today Islam and Christianity represent major religions in Africa, with Islam
in fact the majority religion on the continent. These are not alien presences
but African religions. They are part of Africa's identity because they were not
merely acquired in interaction with the world, but we also transformed what was
external in origin and made it part of Africa. In doing so we have also changed
these religions.

Islam has become part of Africa in a process as complex as the history of the
continent itself. In some areas it was through military conquest; in many others
- including parts of Southern Africa - along the arteries of trade; and also -
as in South Africa - through the actions of colonial powers circumventing the
refusal of the colonised to submit to wage-labour. I may add that Robben
Island's first political prisoner, and one of the founding fathers of Islam in
South Africa, was one of several exiled leaders of resistance to colonial rule
in South-East Asia.

If the language of Islam in Africa has been Arabic, it has also been
indigenous African Languages. The coming of Islam sometimes meant the imposition
of new political and social order, but also the absorption of Islam into an
existing order.

African Muslim polities shared the ambivalence of other states and religions
towards the colonial slave trade, protecting believers from the violation of
their fundamental rights but also complicit in the trade in human lives.

In the face of European colonialism, Islamic communities took their place
along the whole spectrum of resistance politics, including the struggle against
apartheid.

If I may, I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to those South
African Muslims who died while in detention because of their resistance to
apartheid; Babla Saloojee; Imam Haroun; Ahmed Timol; and Dr Hussein Hafferjee.
They represent the involvement of the Muslim community in the struggle for
justice and freedom, as does the presence of Muslims as Cabinet Ministers and in
the highest office of our judiciary, in the new democratic political
dispensation of our country.

Though there have been times in history of our continent when religion has
inflamed tension and conflict, rather than eased it, there has generally been a
notable degree of religious tolerance.

In this vast and complex process, Islam has enriched and become part of
Africa. in turn Islam was transformed and Africa became part of it. African
centres of learning served not only as a path for the absorption of the doctrine
of Islam, but also contributed to the development of broader Islamic
learning.

Ladies and gentlemen;

If we dwell on these matters it is because an acknowledgement of our own
heritage is essential to the forging of new identities, as nations and as a
continent. The recovery of our history is both a precursor of renewal and is
promoted by it.

In this sense, the birth of a new South African nation, like the rebirth of
our continent, has been a long time in the making. Indeed, it has been in
progress from the beginning of the conquest. In reality resistance, and the
aspiration towards independence regained, have never died, even when they seemed
to have been silenced.

By bringing apartheid to an end - with the support of the whole international
community - the people of South Africa have created conditions that are
favourable for realising our vision of a new society based on justice and mutual
respect. non-racialism, non-sexism and democracy.

Such a project requires a total transformation of our society with the
central objective of addressing the legacy of our divided and oppressive past.
The ultimate test of our success will be the extent to which we manage to create
a better life for all, and more especially for the poor. This is a project which
requires the simultaneous achievement of legitimate government; sustained
economic growth in order to bring about socio-economic improvement; and the
reconciliation of formerly divided sectors of society.

Being latecomers to freedom and democracy, we have the benefit of the
experience of others. Through them, we understand that formal political rights
will remain an empty shell and democracy fragile, without real improvement in
the lives of people and without an all-inclusive approach that reconciles the
beneficiaries of the old order with those who seek improvement from the new.

Under the new conditions, in which all are included and equal rights are
accorded to all the religions, all the languages and all the cultures of our
diverse society, what was once used to divide us and weaken us is becoming a
source of unity and strength.

Thus. South Africa's vibrant Islamic heritage is a valued and respected part
of our nation. It is contributing to the forging of a new South African
identity. Democratic South Africa, unlike its predecessor, accords Islam equal
constitutional status with all other religions. Muslim marriages are now
recognised.

The religious and cultural ties that nourished solidarity in struggle, are
today strengthening partnerships for peace and prosperity between South Africa
and countries in the Gulf and the Levant, in North Africa and South-East
Asia.

The stability thus achieved and the harnessing of all our nation's energies,
have provided the conditions to turn economic stagnation into growth and to
pursue our principal mandate, the improvement of living conditions for all our
citizens.

Building a new nation out of the divided and oppressive legacy of the old, is
a protracted process and full of challenges. But we can say with confidence that
the foundations have been solidly laid.

The lessons we have learned from the experience of others are the common
property of our age. What is being achieved in South Africa is part of a process
sweeping across the continent. In the same way that the liberation of South
Africa from apartheid was an achievement of Africa, the reconstruction and
development of our country is part of the rebirth of the continent.

Ladies and gentlemen;

It is now common knowledge that the first decades of political independence
did little to free Africa from underdevelopment or instability. Indeed in many
respects the situation worsened further still.

As the world frees itself from the dominance of bi-polar power the stark
division of the world's people into rich and poor comes all the more clearly
into view. And within that division Sub-Saharan Africa occupies the most extreme
position.

However, a new trend has set in, whatever the precise combination of reasons
- the failure of development; the ending of the Cold War; the liberation of
South Africa from apartheid, and others. As Africa takes stock of the past three
decades, her people are opting in the most practical ways for the peaceful
resolution of conflict; the entrenchment of democracy and the pursuit of
policies conducive to economic growth.

During this decade already democratic elections have been held in more than
25 countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. Others, including the Democratic Republic of
Congo and Angola, are in transition towards democracy. In this spirit the
Organisation of African Unity reacted to developments in Sierra Leone by voicing
the continent's rejection of military coups and calling for urgent transition to
civilian rule.

The average growth of GDP in Sub-Saharan Africa in 1995 was three times the
average of less than 1,5% in the previous three years. This reflects economic
reform that emphasises disciplined use of public resources and partnership
between government and the private sector in pursuit of growth and development.
It provides a basis for still higher rates of growth.

These are but the outward signs of a profound change coursing through the
continent, one that makes the last decade of this century as significant as the
period of independence from colonialism. A part of that change is Africa's
response the imperatives of the global economy.

The development of regional economic associations is providing the framework
for co-operative approaches to the development of infrastructure and the
creation of larger markets. Combined with massive investment in technology and
the enhancement of skills, this boosts Africa's competitiveness in securing a
share of global investment resources.

What is of equal importance, in boosting the flow of investment into Africa,
is that it should bring benefit to the people of Africa. It should bring
employment; the transfer of technology and the enhancement of skills; and
lasting development of African productive capacity and of the African business
sector.

It would be a cruel irony of history if Africa's actions to regenerate the
continent were to unleash a new scramble for Africa which, like that of the
nineteenth century, plundered the continent's wealth and left it once more the
poorer.

The pooling of sovereignty in the consolidation of regional economic
associations, as building blocs of an African Economic Union, will help make
Africa's voice heard in the capitals of a world increasingly defined by regional
blocs within the global economy.

The process also adds strength to relations being established - and in some
cases re-established - with other regions and continents at similar stages of
development and with similar interests, as they too define their place in the
emerging world order - in Asia to the East of the African continent and in Latin
America to the West.

These relations in turn reinforce the efforts of the nations of the South to
secure a reform of international institutions as part of a restructuring of
economic. Social and political relations. That would include, amongst others,
the reform of the United Nations so that it should conform to the demands of the
current age.

The objective of such restructuring is to achieve a world order based on
partnership and mutual respect, in which the benefits of collective human
endeavour accrue to all and in which the imbalances of the past and their legacy
are redressed.

The objective is to eradicate poverty and the attendant social ills from a
world with the immense productive capacity that was unleashed in part by those
voyages of exploration five centuries ago.

Ladies and gentlemen;

South Africa, and Africa, will not succeed in isolation from Asia and Latin
America, precisely because we are now all expressly part of a single
humanity.

The renewal of nations; the rebirth of continents and the emergence of a new
world order are each processes in their own right. But they are also today part
of a single transformation of historical significance.

Believe in the possibility of change and renewal is perhaps on of the
defining characteristics of politics and of religions.

There have been other times when humanity believed that it was poised to
enter a new era defined by the achievement of shared ideals.

The establishment of the United Nations and the beginning of decolonisation
was such a time. Few would have imagined fifty years ago that the closing years
of this century would see so much of humanity still homeless, hungry, illiterate
and in poor health, so many lives still blighted by insecurity stemming from
violent conflict.

Few would have thought that the political ideals universally acknowledged and
those core religious values of tolerance, respect for the individual, justice
and concern for the poor, would still be denied to so many.

Few would have imagined that stability and security would continue to be
under threat because so little has been done to reverse the growing gap between
rich and poor.

As we enter the new millennium, as we strive to close that circle started
five centuries ago, as we embark upon the regeneration of the much neglected
continent of Africa to take its full place in the emerging new world order, can
we join hands in a partnership for justice and peace? And can we again call upon
the great spiritual values to help inspire humanity to rise to the best
potential in itself, and this time truly to achieve those shared ideals for a
better world for all its inhabitants?

Ladies and gentlemen;

When the Prophet Muhammad sent his oppressed followers to the African
Christian King Negus of Abyssinia for safety, and they received his protection,
was that not an example of tolerance and co-operation to be emulated today? Is
that not a profound pointer to the role that religion can play, and the
spiritual leadership it can provide, in bringing about the social renewal on our
continent and in the world?

Africa's history has been profoundly shaped also by the interplay between
three great religious traditions - Islam, Christianity and African traditional
religions. As it faces the new millennium, the conduct of this religious
heritage may very well again be decisive in determining how Africa meets the
challenges of the future.

As in the new global order no country, region or continent, can any longer
operate in isolation from the rest of the world. No social movement in any
country or continent can isolate itself from similar movements co-existing with
it. This would apply to religion as much as anything else living in a
society.

The way in which these three great religions of Africa interact and
co-operate with one another, could have a profound bearing on the social space
we create for the rebirth of our continent. The relationship of Islam and
Christianity to one another and of those two to African traditional religion,
may be pertinent aspects of this process. How Islam (and Christianity, for that
matter) relates to African traditional religion presents a particular challenge
to its followers all over Africa. It represents a call to Muslims to harness the
more inclusive strands in their own theological heritage in order to contribute
to a more humane Africa, acknowledging the humanity of those traditions that are
unique to the continent.

As with other aspects of its heritage, African traditional religion is
increasingly recognised for its contribution to the world. No longer seen as
despised superstition which had to be superseded by superior forms of belief;
today its enrichment of humanity's spiritual heritage is acknowledged. The
spirit of Ubuntu - that profound African sense that we are human only through
the humanity of other human beings - is not a parochial phenomenon, but has
added globally to our common search for a better world.

The nature of interaction between the strands of our religious heritage could
help lay solid foundations for the establishment of a world order based on
mutual respect, partnership and equity. On a continent battling the scourge of
underdevelopment, AIDS, ecological disaster and poverty, competition amongst
religions will be utterly misplaced. Tolerance and co-operation, on the other
hand, will give the moral leadership so gravely needed.

If I may conclude with one more reference to the experience of our own
country during the struggle against apartheid. The strength of inter-religious
solidarity in action against apartheid, rather than mere harmony or
co-existence, was critical in bringing that evil system to an end. This
approach, rather than verbally competing claims, enabled each tradition to bring
its best forward and place it at the service of all. I am confident that the
religions of our continent will walk a similar path in the reconstruction and
renewal of our continent. And in that way we shall play our full role in the
creation of the new world order.

Ladies and gentlemen;

I wish to once more thank the Centre for Islamic Studies for providing me
with this opportunity to exchange ideas with such an illustrious audience. I am
grateful for the opportunity to express in a practical way my appreciation of
the Centre's efforts to promote co-operation and understanding.

I leave from here rejuvenated, confident that we do have the capacity to
embark on this shared new voyage of exploration into the next millennium,
seeking to build a new world order from which all nations and people shall
benefit equally.

Thank You!

Issued by: Office of the President