Academicians across the world and heads of state have paid glowing tributes to Professor Ali Mazrui, the renowned Kenyan academic who died about two weeks ago.
Words like “towering”, “pan-Africanist”, and have been used, but surprisingly none has used the word “prophet”. But that’s exactly what he has turned out to be through one his books.
The book in question is his, Islam between Globalizations and Counter Terrorism, in which he explained how Islam is “entrapped in the danger” of rising extremism, which precisely is what has happened.
Talk of the Talibans, Al Kadar, Islamic State of Syria & Iraq, the Sunnis, … and the Boko Haram, to mention but a few. Mazrui’s numerous books, includes “The Africans: A Triple Heritage” and “Christianity and Islam in Africa’s Political Experience: Piety, Passion and Power.”
His writings, though embedded in history, still resonate because he talks about the need to recognise national heroes, without worshipping them. They also give insight into some of the greatest concerns currently facing the world as he wrote about terrorism and Islam.
In 2005, the US journal “Foreign Policy” and British journal “Prospect” listed him as among the world’s top 100 public intellectuals.
Until his passing at 81, after several months of illness he was a professor at Binghamton University in New York.
Among tributes to Mazrui is one from Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta who said Africa had been robbed of one of its greatest scholars.
“Mr Mazrui has been a towering academic whose intellectual contributions played a major role in shaping African scholarship”, he added.
His body will be flown to Kenya for burial, said Khelef Khalifa, chairman of Kenya’s Muslims for Human Rights group.
This was confirmed by his nephew, Alamin Mazrui, Mazuri’s wish was to be buried in Kenya, where he has been a household name in Kenya as well as beyond.
Mr Mazrui is survived by his wife and six children.