Faith In The Balance; Contents; Acknowledgments; Preface; Introduction; Morocco: Islam as the Foundation of Power; Tunisia: Searching for a Postrevolutionary Religious Equilibrium; Nigeria: Between Formal and Informal Religious Regulation; Kenya: Cooperation, Co-optation, and Confrontation; Burkina Faso: State and Religious Authority in Turbulent Times; Conclusion; Index; Contributors; About CSIS
Summary:
"Across deeply diverse religious landscapes, states in Africa are seeking the right tools to manage religious affairs. Governments throughout the continent employ religious slogans, symbols, and doctrine to advance their political interests and to undermine religiously inspired sources of violence. Different contexts and different state capacities produce different outcomes. This volume analyzes the distinct ways that the governments of Morocco, Tunisia, Nigeria, Kenya, and Burkina Faso attempt to manage religious affairs. The case studies aim to identify the objectives and consequences of state religious policies, as well as the constraints that each government faces when exerting control over the religious realm. States that intervene too frequently in the religious realm risk undermining religious authorities who are critical allies; too little regulation can create a vacuum that is exploited by violent actors. Finding the right balance is an urgent task because how states manage and intervene in religious affairs has far-reaching consequences for politics, security, and social stability in Africa." --provided by publisher, back cover
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.