Counter Narratives Research Articles

Observing HTI’s Da’wah Movement Following Perppu Number 2 of 2017 Concerning Community Organizations

This research was based on an academic concern regarding the dissolution of Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) on July 19, 2017 through Perppu (Enactment of Government Regulation in Lieu of Law) Number 2 of 2017 concerning Community Organizations. This Perppu has changed the map of the HTI’s da'wah and political movements which were previously massive and dominant in various media and became silent at once. Previously known as the 411, the 212, and the 505 Muslim Movements which were led HTI people, then after the HTI dissolution, this organization seemed to be in suspended animation and vanished without a trace. Even HTI’s preaching movements on various online media under the organization’s guidance have been difficult to find. Based on this concern, the formulation of the problem in this study is as follows: first, what is the doctrine and anatomy of the HTI movement? Second, how was the HTI da’wah movement since the New Order until the issuance of Perrpu Number 2 of 2017? Third, what strategies are used by Hizbut Tahrir after the enactment of Perppu Number 2 of 2017? Fourth, what Counter Narrative reveals the HTI’s inconsistencies after the enactment of Perppu Number 2 of 2017 concerning Community Organizations? These questions will be answered qualitatively through descriptive explanation of the object being studied as behavior and an event with the main location in Indonesia with its information from actors and documents scattered in the electronic and print media, so that the data source is mostly literature and does not rule out the possible date from informants. In conclusion, the HTI movement as a da'wah and political organization will continue to exist despite being banned institutionally. Based on observation and discussion with several community leaders, HTI is continues recruiting new members, especially on public campuses which have become its hub, even though it is done with silent operations. In addition, national political contestation ahead of the 2019 presidential election is also very vulnerable to being ridden by HTI, either by continuing to spread propaganda or raise the issues of government failure in alleviating poverty, securing domestic assets, and the rule of law.

Buffer or Blade: Perceived relationship closeness in couples navigating Alzheimer's

Given the paucity of support from the welfare state, the lion's share of care for American seniors with memory loss is shouldered by their spouses who tend to be older and sometimes are frail themselves. Previous research has bifurcated attention to either accounts from diagnosed individuals or carers rather than understanding the experience within a socio-relational context of sometimes half-century long relationships. The present study was a qualitative investigation of 11 community-dwelling dyads (N = 22) living in the Greater Boston Area to understand how married heterosexual couples experience Alzheimer's. They were predominately white, highly educated individuals with mild to moderate AD and their spouses. Grounded theory methodologies were used to collect, code, and analyze all narrative study data. The data from these spousal dyads reveal that most couples approached AD as a joint challenge and were committed to maintaining their prior roles and lives for as long as possible, including shared outlooks, approaches, and activities. By showing how some couples navigate AD together rather than separately, these data provide an important counter narrative to the burden-based framing of AD in our social imagination. Regardless of perceptions of relationship closeness, all dyads employed strategies to live life positively with Alzheimer's. Despite being a highly privileged sample, or an “ideal type,” these data reveal the importance of studying AD as a coupled or family event; that is, a social and relational matter, rather than simply an individual medical problem. They also highlight the importance of relationship-centered care in meeting families “where they are” in terms of existing social roles. Universalizing all AD experiences leads to an over-reliance on reductionist tropes such as “stress” and “burden” and exacerbates the very real threat to social disenfranchisement.

1. Becoming Global Knowledge Workers: How U.S. Study Abroad Programs Act in Service to a Hidden Curriculum of Consumer Capitalism and National Security

<?page nr="1"?>Abstract This paper details how a neoliberal agenda pervades study abroad and provides critical readings and counter narratives that illuminate how this practice often acts in service to a hidden curriculum of consumer capitalism and national security. It argues that rather than being part of an effort toward the creation of global citizens in service to increased cross-cultural understanding, students are largely pushed to study abroad for the end goal of being developed as knowledge workers in service of a neoliberal agenda that perpetuates U.S. dominance in the global economy. This analysis applies theoretical frameworks not commonly applied in normative study abroad discourse including neoliberalism and academic capitalism. By applying these critical theories, we can move the current discourses surrounding study abroad to more productive new lines of inquiry that ask how we can combat the neoliberal tendencies that continue to influence the Academy.

“I Think They Are Irresponsible”: Teaching Sustainability with (Counter)Narratives in the EFL Classroom

“Going Green—Education for Sustainability,” a German-American blended learning project for the EFL and STEM classrooms, asks students to challenge commonly held stereotypes about how both cultures approach sustainable development. Since the pilot project (2014), over 3,000 secondary school students in Germany and the US have enrolled in a shared learning management system (Moodle), worked collaboratively both online and offline, developed green action plans and shared them with the school and wider community as part of a competition. This article outlines the conceptual perspective of Going Green that includes the aspects of (a) teaching ‘publics,’ (b) countering expectations and misconceptions, (c) raising awareness of counter-narratives, and (d) expanding the knowledge base of the target culture (sustainable policies in the US). These components together facilitate learning objectives beyond interactional and communicative competencies by promoting learner agency and community-based actions. Attitudinal data drawn from the last two project cycles (2016–17, 2017–18) reflect a heterogeneous view of learners’ expectations and understandings regarding sustainable policies in the US and Germany. Finally, we investigate how narratives and counter-narratives of sustainable development on both sides of the Atlantic can be exploited in the technology-enhanced foreign language classroom in order to facilitate the aforementioned goals.

THE USE OF RELIGION AS TOOL FOR IDEOLOGICAL INDOCTRINATION BY BOKO HARAM: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE

Boko Haram came to limelight in 2009 as a result of its violent confrontation with the Nigerian government. However, its genesis could be linked to the effects of colonialism and the subsequent socio-economic reality of north-East Nigeria. The activities of the group resulted in the death and displacement of many people in the Lake Chad area with significant damage to Nigeria. As a terror group claiming to be operating under the principles of Islam, the ideology of Boko Haram centred on the Rejection of western education, condemnation of secularism and westernisation and the incompatibility of Islam with democracy. These gave rise to discourses on the fields and settings of acquiring knowledge in western oriented schools, the concept of taghut (polytheism), employment under a secular government, and the issue of khawarijism. Thus, to blunt the narratives of Boko Haram and to contain the rise of similar groups, this paper recommends that religious activities such as preaching, delivery of sermons, informal Islamic schools and all religious institutions have to be centralised and strictly controlled by the government. Also, a counter narratives campaign has to be embarked by the government by using the existing religious and traditional institutions to deradicalise the mind of the brain-washed people more especially the youth. The Social media is recommended to be the appropriate and effective channel.

A Moderated Mediation Effect of Online Time Spent on Internet Content Awareness, Perceived Online Hate Speech and Helping Attitudes Disposal of Bystanders

Digital counter narratives have proved to be a consistent support to victims of online speech as they are defined as online narrative activities and actions, mostly verbal that have as effect the lowering of the negative psychological distress caused by hate speech (HS) over their victims. Internet content awareness (ICA) has an indirect significant effect on the relationship between perceived online HS and helping attitudes disposal towards the victim of HS, moderated by the online time spent by youth. Does internet content awareness (ICA) influence the helping attitudes disposal of bystanders in an online hate speech situation? Is the indirect effect of ICA mediation significant in triggering the helping attitudes towards the victims? Does the online time spent by youth moderates this relationship? These are the questions proposed by this research funded by Erasmus+ project Hate’s Journey. Our research team has designed an online questionnaire addressing 206 youth from Latvia, Turkey, Spain and Romania. We have used a moderated mediation model (Model 7 from Process Hayes). The key finding of this research is that in an online hate speech situation, the more aware a person is regarding the online content, the more helping attitudes will show towards the victim of HS, under the conditioning of less and medium time spent online. Conclusions and discussions will focus on the argumentation of results with regards to emergent behaviour paradigm.

Second Amendment Sanctuaries: A Legally Dubious Protest Movement.

This article assesses the origins and spread of the Second Amendment sanctuary movement in which localities pass ordinances or resolutions that declare their jurisdiction's view that proposed or enacted state (or federal) gun safety laws are unconstitutional and therefore, local officials will not implement or enforce them. While it is important to assess Second Amendment sanctuaries from a legal perspective, it is equally as important to understand them in the context of a broader protest movement against any efforts to strengthen gun laws. As the gun violence prevention movement has gained strength across the United States, particularly at the state level, gun rights enthusiasts have turned to Second Amendment sanctuaries in order to create a counter narrative to the increasing political power of gun safety. By passing these ordinances or resolutions, local officials legitimize and fuel Second Amendment absolutism which poses real risks to public safety and democracy.

Öykü Ören Kadın Dedektifler ve Miss Silver Polisiyelerinde Anlatının Biçimlendir

Polisiye edebiyatın günümüzdeki hem genel hem akademik popülerliğine nazaran “evde kalmış” dedektif hikayeleri akademik anlamda pek ilgi görmeyen bir alt tür olmuştur. Büyük ihtimalle dedektif tiplemesinin yaşlı bir kadın olmasından dolayı bu tür, revaçta olduğu 1930-1950’lerden sonra az sayıda üretilmiş ve okuyucusunu kaybetmiştir. Kadın olması, yaşlı olması, incelemeler sırasında pek hareketlilik göstermemesi, zaman içinde daha popüler hale gelen “aksiyon” polisiyeler tarafından gözden düşmesine sebep olmuştur. “Whodunit” (kim yaptı?) tarzı dedektif romanlarında karşılaşılan profesyonel dedektif tiplemesi ile bir tezat oluşturan bu dedektif figürü, olaylar etrafında gelişirken, ya kendi evinde ya da suç mahalinde, bir köşede oturup örgü örmeyi ve insanları gözlemlemeyi tercih etmektedir. Bu durumda, İngilizce’de “evde kalmış” kelimesinin “spinster” olması ve bu kelimenin de “spinning”den (iplik eğirme/çekme) gelmesi ilgi çekicidir. Agatha Christie’nin meşhur Miss Marple karakterinden bu yana, hem edebiyatta hem de film uyarlamalarında “spinster” dedektiflerin genel olarak örgü, tığ ören veya dokumacılık, nakış ile ilgilenen yaşlıca kadınlar olarak betimlenmişlerdir. Hikayelerdeki “iplik eğirme” işinin hafiyecilik kadar önemli oluşu etkili bir anlatım yöntemidir. Evde kalmış dedektifin yaptığı, kanıtları inceledikten sonra bir olay “örgüsü”nü ortaya çıkarmaktır, suçun neden ve kim tarafından işlendiği bu şekilde ortaya çıkmaktadır, dolayısıyla bu iki işlem arasında mutlak bir bağlantı vardır. Kadın dedektifin ortaya koyduğu anlatı ise sıklıkla polislerin olay incelemesine bir karşıtlık olarak sunulur. Patricia Wentworth’ün otuz iki romanında dedektiflik yapan Miss Silver karakteri, her romanda sayısız yeğenleri için mutlaka bir giysi örmekte, ve sıklıkla incelemenin sonunda örgüsünü de bitirmektedir. Bu yazının amacı da Patricia Wentworth’ün romanlarında Miss Silver’ın masum görünen örgü örme hareketi ile anlatıda varlığını göstermesi arasındaki bağlantıyı incelemektir.

Revisiting the legacy of Neil Aggett

Revisiting the legacy of Neil Aggett Edward Webster (bio) Preface Five years ago I gave the Neil Aggett memorial lecture at Rhodes University. I titled it 'The death of Neil Aggett: unions and politics, then and now'. I never submitted it for publication; it all seemed a long time ago and the issues seemed lost in time. But the inquest into Aggett's death – postponed indefinitely on February 24, 2020 due to the presiding judge falling ill – has made me reflect on the argument I made in the lecture on how and why Neil Aggett died and what it meant then for labour and what it means now. Beverley Naidoo (2014) in her brilliant biography of Aggett suggests two possible scenarios on his death: one scenario is that he was murdered and his killers faked it as a suicide; the other is that he killed himself. In a very sensitive and subtle way Naidoo argues for the latter interpretation. In the light of the evidence presented so far at the re-opened inquest, she now believes that the first scenario 'looks much stronger'. She suggests that Aggett's 'courage in making a statement to Sgt Blom could well have infuriated his torturers to want to teach him an even tougher lesson than he endured in the "long weekend"' (personal communication, April 4,2020). Importantly, Naidoo stands by her argument that she believes he was not a 'member' of the ANC. Barbara Hogan testified at the reopened inquest that she reached out to Aggett to join the ANC. Aggett, however, turned her down. She remembered that he was sympathetic to the ANC's aims and goals but was also emphatic about not wanting to become a member because he knew that being connected to a banned organisation, as the ANC was since 1960, would compromise his work for the Food and Canning Workers Union (FCWU) (interview with Barbara Hogan-Wits Communication Office, unpublished article. February 15, 2020). Indeed, the Aggett story could in some ways be seen as a counter narrative to those [End Page 131] who mistakenly believe that the ANC was the only actor in the struggle for democracy in South Africa. The deeply moving evidence at the reopened inquest of those detained at the time of Aggett's death brought back memories of the rich democratic tradition that emerged in the 1970s and 1980s inside South Africa. Many of those who have been on the witness stand for the reopened inquest have included Aggett's fellow detainees and anti-apartheid activists in the 1980s. Many of them have a personal connection to Wits University, including Barbara Hogan, Auret van Heerden, Clive van Heerden, Keith Coleman, Ismael Momoniat, Maurice Smithers, Cedric De Beer, Hannchen Koornhof, and Firoz Cachalia (a former student and now also law professor at Wits). Ï remember the occasion of their detention in 1981 well, as Clive, Keith and Firoz were all students in my Honours class at the time. Suddenly, nearly half my Honours class disappeared, detained under the frightening Terrorism Act. But it was a turning point for anti-apartheid activists as it mobilised their parents – Max and Audrey Coleman as well as Firoz's father, dr Cachalia. The Colemans formed the courageous and inclusive Detainee Parents Support Committee (DPSC). I recall vividly a visit after Keith's detention from a visibly angry Coleman, who indicated clearly that they were 100 per cent behind their son and would not rest until he was released. They went on to play an active role in the struggle against detention without trial, mobilising parents across the country. My reason for publishing this lecture is not only to enter the debate on how and why Aggett died but also to reflect on the legacy of the democratic left in South Africa. Democracy is, as Michelle Williams argued in her inaugural lecture, a contested concept (Williams 2021). It is a contest between two types of democracy. The one is narrow, where the state resists popular forces, ensuring that power is in the hands of the political and economic elite. This she called 'market democracy'. In the other, the state protects society from the market and facilitates democratic deepening by creating...

“WE SPEAK BACK!”

AbstractA body of scholarship interrogates conventional notions of citizenship, viewing full social inclusion beyond formal status and as a matter of belonging. This paper integrates the perspective of anti-Blackness with that of belonging and theorizes anti-Black non-belonging. Based on more than a year of fieldwork in the Lisbon metropolitan area, I illustrate how the reality of anti-Black non-belonging in Portugal means that African-descendant women are vulnerable to racist, everyday practices in public space that impact their individual and group reality and feelings of national belonging. Employing a counter narrative methodology, I argue that Cape Verdean women’s narratives of anti-Black non-belonging illustrate the agentic strategy that they deploy to carve our alternative modes of belonging as they navigate their everyday lives. Their accounts illustrate the continued need for African-descendant women to draw from their everyday knowledge of domination to employ resistance, whether through their own parenting or through their own reactionary voices in public space. Anti-Black non-belonging is therefore both a form of racialization and a matter of resistance; as African-descendent women are racialized as foreign, non-being, and out of place, they also challenge the ideology of Portuguese anti-racialism that places Africans and African descendants outside of European citizenry.

“That Sure is Racist”: Classroom Race Talk as Resistance

This work analyzed three grade 9 English Language Arts classroom discussions and contributions by Black youth as resistance acts. Using a framework of resistance based on an indigenous understanding of progress provided insight into how student resistance emerged in language as metaphor and stories. Thematic analysis of the three classroom discussions indicate student resistance is captured in the naming of what is often left silent or often silenced. Through transgressing evasion and silence, students’ counter stories and experiences shared in the classroom named social realities inscribed in their day-to-day experiences, as well as how schools are complicit in silencing the lives and history of Black and indigenous people. This work demonstrates the importance of situating resistance as counter narratives that work to reconfigure interpretations of personal and social identities situated more completely within embodied experiences.

Integrating Nonviolent Communication in Performing Arts to Counter Narratives of Hate

Integrating Nonviolent Communication in Performing Arts to Counter Narratives of Hate

Discourse on the Significance of Rituals in Religious Socialization

The reformist movement initiated by the Waliullah family mainly focusing upon the prevailing rituals took a new turn in the last quarter of the twentieth century, when Sir Syed started his own movement against certain rituals under the banner of Tahzib ul Akhlāq (Mohammedan Social Reformer). Not only did the modernists, but also the traditional scholars joined his movement. The rationale for this article is the absence of any counter-narrative for this position in the religious discourse. Those who have worked upon this discourse have usually been focusing upon its permissibility, which has already been explained in Usool i Fiqh under the heading of Urf and Adaat. Right after the wave of secularization in the west, the crisis of spirituality and tradition forced sociologists to write about the functions of rituals and traditions in the formation of a healthy society. This article tries to evaluate the literature produced against the concept of rituals and re-establishes the importance of rituals and customs in an Islamic society by providing evidences from the texts of different schools of thought. Consequently, this article tries to establish a religious and sociological counter narrative for the significance of rituals and customs in an Islamic society.Keywords:

Appreciative inquiry for physical education and sport pedagogy research: a methodological illustration through teachers’ uses of digital technology

ABSTRACT With the increasing drive towards exploring strengths based and positive discourses in PESP, it is important to explore approaches that can help researchers and practitioners. This has particular relevance for areas such as digital technology where there is a need to appreciate not only the technologies themselves, but also the pedagogical practices that surround their use. Without such discussions, it is difficult to unpick ‘what works’ for practitioners and ‘why’. Furthermore, in our efforts to be critical researchers we continue to recycle deficit accounts of technology. In short, we learn most about the ‘do nots’ and, in the process, struggle to advance change. Running as a counter narrative to the tales of ‘do nots’ is the burgeoning literature of appreciative inquiry. This approach prompted us to ask if it could be used, methodologically, to investigate digital technology and practices with digital devices. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to suggest and illustrate a way in which appreciative inquiry can be used to provide insights into teachers’ use of digital technology. This is achieved by discussing the use of appreciative inquiry before presenting examples from a research study that explored PE teachers’ uses of digital technology. Through the use of a methodological illustration, we suggest that appreciative inquiry is capable of providing a reflective space for practitioners and researchers regarding practices with digital technology. We conclude by arguing that appreciative inquiry is useful in our continued negotiation of digital practices in PESP.

ECHO CHAMBERS DI DUNIA MAYA: TANTANGAN BARU KOMUNIKASI ANTAR UMAT BERAGAMA

This article tries to see a phenomenon called Echo Chambers through the perspective of Stella Ting-Toomey’s Intercultural Communication Theory. This study shows that the development of social media was also followed by the shadow of Echo Chambers. The tendency to isolate oneself and associate with those who understand one another will create separate spaces between one religion and another. As a result, communication which is an effort to eliminate the polarization of the differences between "Us" and "The Others" is precisely the way to form an exclusivism in cyberspace. Among the efforts to anticipate the emergence of a gap is to create melting-pot spaces in the real world. Counter narrative also needs to be built to open these exclusive barriers. Muslim scholars sought to introduce the importance of communication in achieving the harmony in community. Some Ulama have also explained the role and function of communication in achieving the goals of the ummah, as well as trying to provide an Islamic perspective regarding communication behavior. More important, is to create a person who is a wise, open user of social media and uses epoche in looking at the world outside.

Ufen nwet ketu mi Eka Iban, a Sculptural Discourse

Aided by the reportage of photography, Ufen nwet ketu mi Eka Iban investigates the radical turn in the reality of motherhood and aggressive feminism in Nigeria. Grounded on Buchi Emecheta’s The Joys of Motherhood (2007); Mi Eka Iban is at the telos of a narration of the lives of real mothers of my country. Engaging the photographic image as the censure on which the passing memoriam of the discourse of the day to day lives of real women, this essay attempts to expose the temerity of neo-feminity in a new epoch of Nigerian history. Adopting Emecheta’s novel as the synchronic take off point for the discourse of feminist radicalism, the writer asserted that history and culture are not single narratives, instead together struggle to come to terms with the relations of power. Engaging Michel Foucault’s Power/Knowledge and Kobena Mercer’s cosmopolitanism hyped on the reality of a counter narrative of global contemporaneity the essay explicates the impact of media saturation and globalisation on society, particularly womanhood in post 1960s Nigeria. These influences reveal the reality of Mercer’s “dialogical principle” of cross-cultural interface (2016) that transformed perceptions of motherhood. A simulacrum of Foucauldian “capillary modes of power” narrates how the media saturation of postcolonial/post-independence climes inflects Mercer’s “dialogical principle” of cross-cultural interface. This transforms perception of motherhood and narrates that radical turn.Key Words: sculptural discourse, reportage of photography; temerity of neo-feminity, simulacra; “capillary modes of power”

When all seemed lost. A social network analysis of the waste-related environmental movement in Campania, Italy

The Italian region of Campania and its capital Naples have epitomized waste management failure in Europe since 2008 when international media covered extensively the waste crisis occurring there. In response to the crisis, the Italian national government took an authoritarian turn in waste policies and criminalized citizens' grievances and mobilizations against waste-facility siting in Campania. The state authorities' intervention gained popular consent and obscured the multifaceted and unjust geographies of waste management in the region. It was a serious blow for the waste-related justice movement in Campania. However, just when waste management seemed under control the movement re-emerged stronger and more effective than it had been prior to the 2008 crisis. Activists created a new counter narrative and liberated themselves from the constraints imposed by the repressive measures of the national government. They built a new frame around the unhealthy space, whose expansion, they maintained, was caused by the waste-related contamination. Yet the strength of the movement and its transformation following 2008 can only be fully understood when the structural property and the components of the EJ activists’ networks are also considered. We apply a Social Network Analysis to show how an effective environmental justice movement requires a cohesive and robust network as well as a comprehensive narrative. The waste-related movement in Campania went from being an archipelago of isolated clusters of organizations with a plural but fragmented claims (before 2008), to a tightly interconnected network supporting a unified political platform (after 2008). We link together the reframing of the movement around health issues with the reconfiguration of activist networks. We use the Campania case to show how environmental justice movements might overcome repression and criminalization and progress toward social justice and ecologically sound transformations.

Gus Nadir as an Ideal Role Model: Sociological Study on Counter Narratives Towards Caliphate Issue in Twitter

Due to internet contribution in supplying informations, radicalism has inevitably followed the stream and been disseminated in every layers of society. As one of the most used platform, social media becomes the biggest contributor in sharing ideology. Pesantren as religious institution that ought to spread values of peace religion has also been affected. The debate in internet is getting more crowded nowadays, especially, the debate about caliphate which created pro and cons group. This paper picks Twitter since it ranks as the highest turnover information platform, including in caliphate debate, to discuss how does the debate run, what are the user talking about in terms of it, what are the anvils they use. Out of this crowd, comes Gus Nadir as the representative figure of campus and pesantren in giving counter narrative for the caliphate narratives in Twitter, also as the antithesis of pesantren as radicalism producer. By using sociological approach which based on social media this paper offers Gus Nadir as the ideal role model in giving counter narrative towards radicalism, especially caliphate notion, who is capable in knowledge, reliable in giving statements, and casual in explaining, for all people, especially pesantren people.

Ongoing IS Radical Ideology in Malaysia: Factors and Counter Strategies

Malaysia has long been recognized for its ability to manage threats from Islamic radical movements by overcoming significant obstacles and major challenges to national security. Although many movements have been banned and appropriate actions taken, Islamic radicalism nevertheless persists and appears on the rise. This study identifies factors associated with its persistence despite years of efforts to hinder or eradicate Islamic radicalism. Using qualitative historical sociology, the author used several resources for this analysis, including interviews and literature. Findings reveal four major factors that allow Salafi Jihadi ideology to prosper: a false reading of jihad, personal inclinations, political pressure, and globalization. Government actions countering this threat include declaring Malaysia an Islamic state; deradicalization and rehabilitation programs; national think tanks, prohibiting fatwas; introducing the concept of wasatiyyah; and implementation of counter narratives. Although the ideology cannot be completely eradicated, actions taken have managed to contain the contagion and also prevent major threats to national security.

Xenophobia and Africa in the 21st Century: Towards a Xenophilial Framework For Sustainable Development*

Africa and in fact all of the globe is experiencing unprecedented and fast-paced changes at virtually all fronts; political, ecological and economic, among others. The almost inseparable twin phenomena of globalization and digitalization have created what can best be described an Heraclitean global society of constant flux; a society of constant change that reminds us of the Greek Logos of Heraclitus. The continent Africa in particular finds itself in a constantly evolving globe where time is of the essence and where no one waits for the other to catch up. Africa in the 21st century exists within a framework of global competitiveness and knowledge economy; a world where what you bring to the global table determines or defines your identity or place in the global village. The germane question is: is the continent Africa ready to take its place in the emergent globalized society of the 21st century? Put differently, is the continent Africa on the path to sustainable development? Are the dynamics playing out on the contemporary African continent supportive of the kind of roadmap capable of engendering growth and development? Against the background of the prevalent and contemporary experiences of xenophobia and xenophobic attacks in Africa, the paper attempts to interrogate the phenomenon xenophobia vis-à-vis the desideratum for sustainable development in Africa. The paper comes in three overlapping parts. In the first part we conceptualize the phenomenon xenophobia. With particular reference to South Africa, the second part of the paper discusses the content and consequences of the African experience of xenophobia and xenophobic behaviors and tendencies. Against a background of the need to address the threats poised by contemporary xenophobic trends and tendencies, the paper, in the third part, develops an epistemological construct xenophilia as a veritable opposite to counter narrative to xenophobia. The fourth and concluding part of the paper prescribes a xenophilial framework, which the paper argues provides a veritable tool for positioning Africa for development in the 21st century.