Ali A. Mazrui’s Followers (49)

Ali A. Mazrui

Born

in Mombasa, Kenya

February 24, 1933

Died

October 12, 2014

Genre

Nonfiction

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Ali Al'amin Mazrui is an academic and political writer on African and Islamic studies and North-South relations. He is an Albert Schweitzer Professor in the Humanities and the Director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies at the State University of New York at Binghamton.

Mazrui obtained his B.A. with Distinction from Manchester University in Great Britain in 1960, his M.A. from Columbia University in New York in 1961, and his doctorate (DPhil) from Oxford University (Nuffield College) in 1966.

Upon completing his education at Oxford University, Mazrui joined the faculty of Makerere University (Kampala, Uganda), where he served as head of the Department of Political Science and Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences. He served at Maker Ali Al'amin Mazrui is an academic and political writer on African and Islamic studies and North-South relations. He is an Albert Schweitzer Professor in the Humanities and the Director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies at the State University of New York at Binghamton.

Mazrui obtained his B.A. with Distinction from Manchester University in Great Britain in 1960, his M.A. from Columbia University in New York in 1961, and his doctorate (DPhil) from Oxford University (Nuffield College) in 1966.

Upon completing his education at Oxford University, Mazrui joined the faculty of Makerere University (Kampala, Uganda), where he served as head of the Department of Political Science and Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences. He served at Makerere University until 1973, when he was forced into exile by Idi Amin. In 1974, he joined the faculty of the University of Michigan as professor and later was appointed the Director of the Center for Afroamerican and African Studies (1978-1981). In 1989, he was appointed to the faculty of Binghamton University, State University of New York as the Albert Schweitzer Professor in the Humanities and the Director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies (IGCS).

Mazrui's research interests include African politics, international political culture, political Islam and North-South relations. He is author or co-author of more than twenty books. Mazrui has also published hundreds of articles in major scholastic journals and for public media. He has also served on the editorial boards of more than twenty international scholarly journals.
He first rose to prominence as a critic of some of the accepted orthodoxies of African intellectuals in the 1960s and 1970s. He was critical of to African socialism and all strains of Marxism. He argued that communism was a Western import just as unsuited for the African condition as the earlier colonial attempts to install European type governments. He argued that a revised liberalism could help the continent and described himself as a proponent of a unique ideology of African liberalism.
At the same time he was a prominent critic of the current world order. He believed the current capitalist system was deeply exploitative of Africa, and that the West rarely if ever lived up to their liberal ideals. He has opposed Western interventions in the developing world, such as the Iraq War. He has also long been a critic of Israel's policies, being one of the first to try and link the treatment of Palestinians with South Africa's apartheid.
Especially in recent years, Mazrui has also become a well known commentator on Islam and Islamism. While utterly rejecting violence and terrorism Mazrui has praised some of the anti-imperialist sentiment that plays an important role in modern Islamic fundamentalism. He has also argued that sharia law is not incompatible with democracy.
In addition to his written work, Dr. Mazrui was also the creator of the television series The Africans: A Triple Heritage, which was jointly produced by the BBC and the Public Broadcasting Service (WETA, Washington) in association with the Nigerian Television Authority. A book by the same title was jointly published by BBC Publications and Little, Brown and Company.

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Ali A. Mazrui's Blog

Ali A. Mazrui isn't a Goodreads Author (yet), but they do have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from their feed.

An African half-century

Fifty years on, we have yet to discover whether the legacy of colonialism will be brief or long-lasting

This year 17 African countries have been celebrating the 50th anniversary of independence from the largest, such as Nigeria and the former Belgian (now Democratic Republic of) Congo, to the vulnerable, like Niger and Somalia.

But how deep was the impact of European colonialism? Was it exceptional

Combine Editions
Ali A. Mazrui’s books

Average rating: 4.13 · 470 ratings · 39 reviews · 66 distinct works

	The Africans: A Triple Heritage 3.99 avg rating — 93 ratings — published 1986 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The African Condition: A Political Diagnosis 4.03 avg rating — 38 ratings — published 1980 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Trial of Christopher Okigbo 3.92 avg rating — 37 ratings — published 1971 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cultural Forces in World Politics really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 24 ratings — published 1990 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Islam: Between Globalization & Counter Terrorism by Ali A. Mazrui, Shalahudin Kafrawi, Ruzima Sebuharara 3.80 avg rating — 15 ratings — published 2004 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. VIII: Africa since 1935 by Ali A. Mazrui (Editor), Mazrui, Ali Alamin (Ed.) / Wondji, Christophe (Ed. Mazrui, Ali Alamin (Ed.) / Wondji, Christophe (Ed 3.67 avg rating — 15 ratings — published 1994 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Power of Babel: Language & Governance in the African Experience by Ali A. Mazrui, Alamin Mazrui 4.20 avg rating — 10 ratings — published 1998 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Nationalism and New States in Africa: From About 1935 to the Present by Ali A. Mazrui, Michael Tidy 3.64 avg rating — 11 ratings — published 1984 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Africanity Redefined: Collected Essays of Ali A. Mazrui 3.56 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 2002 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	براهمة العالم ومنبوذوه by Ali A. Mazrui, أحمد حسن المعيني (Translator) 2.90 avg rating — 10 ratings — published 2015	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Ali A. Mazrui…

Quotes by Ali A. Mazrui (?)

“Africa PRODUCES what it does NOT CONSUME and CONSUMES what it does NOT PRODUCE.”
― Ali A. Mazrui, Africa, the next thirty years

tags: africa, african, african-authors, african-leaders, african-literature, ali-a-mazrui, ali-mazrui, harmon-okinyo, harmon-okinyo-quote, leadership, prof-ali-mazrui

17 likes

“Culture is the celebration of diversity. Let us therefore not deny our origin; but instead celebrate ours as a cultural mosaic not a tower of Babel , but a power of Babel”
― Ali A. Mazrui, Cultural Forces in World Politics

tags: africa, ali-mazrui, cultural-differences, culture, harmon-okinyo, kenya

2 likes

Ali A. Mazrui’s Followers (49)

Ali A. Mazrui

4 postsAli A. Mazrui's Blog

An African half-century

Combine EditionsAli A. Mazrui’s books

4 posts
Ali A. Mazrui's Blog

Combine Editions
Ali A. Mazrui’s books