Networks of Islamic NGOs in sub-Saharan Africa: Bilal Muslim Mission, African Muslim Agency (Direct Aid), and al-Haramayn

Abstract

This article considers the activities of three Islamic NGOs in sub-Saharan Africa. The African Muslim Agency (Direct Aid) is a Sunni Muslim NGO involved in charity, relief, development and da‘wa (missionary effort), created in 1981 by a group of Muslim Brothers (Ikhwân al-Muslimûn) from Kuwait. The Bilal Muslim Mission is a Shî′î Muslim NGO founded in Tanzania in 1963 by the Indian Shi'ites of East Africa. Its aim is to spread Twelver Shi′ism in East Africa and beyond, and to assist Shi′ites living in poverty worldwide. Until its dissolution, al-Haramayn was engaged in very much the same work as the African Muslim Agency, the main difference being that al-Haramayn emphasized the propagation of Salafî Islam rather than charity work. Like any modern Islamic NGO, these institutions pursue two aims: while giving support to those in need, they simultaneously try to spread their particular version of Islam. This article has four aims: to analyse the network structures that link these NGOs to other parts of the world; to discover the socio-political and cultural implications behind their activities; to investigate the education and formation of the actors involved in Islamic charity by tracing the biographical itineraries of two representatives of Islamic NGOs in Africa; and to analyse the state of affairs for these NGOs after the 11 September 2001 attacks in the USA.