Mazrui’s father, Sheikh Al-Amin Ali Mazrui, was an eminent Islamic scholar, and Kenya’s chief judge of Islamic law. His father and mother, Bibi Safia, came from a politically powerful clan that had ruled over Mombasa for over a century until 1837. Mazrui’s father died when he was only 14, but his legacy made an impact on the burgeoning scholar – Mazrui himself has made somewhat controversial statements that shariah law is not incompatible with democracy.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Mazrui criticized African socialism and Marxism, which were widely accepted orthodoxies among African intellectuals of the time. He believed that communism was a Western thought that would not fit with the African condition, and promoted instead a unique ideology of “African liberalism.” He rejected communism, along with other colonially imported European-type governments, and proposed the idea of racial sovereignty to describe a movement in which Africans broke free of colonial influence and took charge of their future.
Source: WashingtonPost.com
In 1966, Mazrui joined the faculty of Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, where he served as the head of the political science department and the dean of social sciences. He remained in that post until 1973, when Idi Amin forced him out of Uganda after public disagreements. Mazrui was known for his outspoken criticism of African dictators, and refused Amin’s invitation to serve as his chief advisor on international affairs. Since then, he made the U.S. his base — first at the University of Michigan and later at Binghamton University.
In 2005, Prospect Magazine (U.K.) and Foreign Policy (U.S.A.) released the Top 100 Public Intellectuals list, ranking Mazrui as 73rd. The list is based on readers’ ballots, and is meant to determine the top 100 mos- important public intellectuals who are still alive and active in public life.
In his book, “Black Reparations in the Era of Globalization,” released in 2002, he argued that former colonial powers should pay reparations to Africa and other colonized societies, particularly in the Western world. He criticized the Western world for its imperialistic tendencies, particularly the U.S. “arrogance of power in world politics.”
Source: MG.co.za
In 1986, Mazrui helped produce a nine-part documentary for BBC called “The Africans: A Triple Heritage.” For the documentary, he traveled to 16 African countries to explore his views of Africa’s past and future. He believed these were made up of three core components: indigenous traditions, Islamic faith, and Western cultural influences. The documentary was well received across Africa and parts of Europe, but was widely criticized for being anti-Western in the U.S.
In 1986, Mazrui said black Africa should have nuclear weapons, despite his position against nuclear bombs. In an interview with the LA Times, he said, “Actually, I’m against nuclear bombs, but I’m against them in the hands of anybody, not just blacks. I’m very uneasy Reagan can start a nuclear war, or Gorbachev. I want black Africa to have the bomb to frighten the system as a whole.”
Source: Articles.LATimes.com
Mazrui’s research covers African politics, international political culture, political Islam, and more. Due to the breadth of his work, he co-authored more than 20 books, and hundreds of articles in scholastic journals and public media. He served as a consultant for heads of state and governments, international media, and research institutions that sought him out for strategies and alternative thoughts in his fields.
No stranger to controversy, Ali Mazrui was an early support of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, and was one of the first to compare the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories to apartheid. In his article, “Cultural Forces in World Politics,” he compared the logic of Zionism with the logic of apartheid, and wrote early on about the racism and discrimination that existed in the conflict.
Following his death, Mazrui’s body was repatriated to Mombasa and was taken to his family home, where it was washed according to Islamic custom. His burial was attended by Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala, Majority Leader Aden Bare Duale, Governor Hassan Ali Joho, and Senators Hassan Omar and Abu Chiaba.
