First Edition of Dr. Mazrui’s Latest publication in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA)
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Alexandria, 4th January 2006—Dr. Aly Mazrui donated a copy of the first edition of his book, Islam between Globalization and Counterterrorism to the BA. Dr. Mazrui presented his book along with several other books before beginning his lecture entitled, Afrabia: Is Africa Merging with the Arab World? on Tuesday, 3rd January 2006 at the BA. Dr. Mazrui addressed on one side how the Jews over the centuries gradually merged with Europe and the west, and on the other side how the Arabs over the centuries gradually merged with Africa.
In his lecture, Dr. Mazrui explained the Afro-Arab convergence, in relation to the Euro-Jewish convergence. He indicated that the dispersal of the Hebrews among gentile began with the Babylonian exile in 586 B.C. Dr. Mazrui added that Cyrus, the Great of Persia, was credited with having liberated the Jews, when he conquered Babylon, and permitted the Jews to go back home to ancient Israel in 538 B.C. Dr. Mazrui also said that the Europeanization of the Jews began in Alexandria before the Christian era, as the Jews amounted to about 40 % of the population of Alexandria. He added that the major centers of Jewish presence from than on alternated and shifted between Babylonia, Persia, Byzantium and more clearly European centers of Spain, France, Russia, Germany, Poland, and eventually the United States of America. Dr. Mazuri explained that the Jewish Holocaust had two long-term consequences, on one side the Nazi holocaust gave greater support to the Zionist movement towards the creation of a new Jewish state in Palestine. As a result, the integration of the Jews into western society resulted in massive Jewish presentation into citadels of power, especially in the United States.
Dr. Mazuri moved to the Africanization of the Arabs; across the centuries the Arab world has become Africanized demographically and territorially. He explained that the majority of the population of the Arab world is now in Africa- demographic Africanization. Also the territory under Arab control and settlement is now in Africa-this is territorial Africanization of the Arab world.
Dr. Mazuri added that the African world is getting Arabized culturally and religiously, and that the Arab impact on Africa consists not only in the spread of Islam, but also in the emergence of new languages deeply influenced by the Arabic language (Swahili and Hausa), and in the penetration of Arab ideas and concepts.
More on the ideas of Dr. Mazurui can be obtained here