Ali A. Mazrui
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Ali Al'amin Mazrui (24 February 1933 – 12 October 2014), was a Kenyan-born American academic, professor, and political writer on African and
Islamic studies Islamic studies is the academic study of Islam, which is analogous to related fields such as Jewish studies and Quranic studies. Islamic studies seeks to understand the past and the potential future of the Islamic world. In this multidiscipli ...
, and North-South relations. He was born in
Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...
,
Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
. His positions included Director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies at
Binghamton University The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university in Binghamton metropolitan area, Greater Binghamton, New York, United States. It is one of the four uni ...
in
Binghamton, New York Binghamton ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the c ...
, and Director of the Center for Afro-American and African Studies at the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
. He produced the 1980s television documentary series '' The Africans: A Triple Heritage''.


Early life

Mazrui was born on 24 February 1933 in
Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...
,
Kenya Colony The Colony and Protectorate of Kenya, commonly known as British Kenya or British East Africa, was part of the British Empire in Africa from 1920 until 1963. It was established when the former East Africa Protectorate was transformed into a Brit ...
. He was the son of Al-Amin Bin Ali Mazrui, the Chief Islamic Judge (Qadi) in Kadhi courts of Kenya Colony. His father was also a scholar and author, and one of his books has been translated into English by
Hamza Yusuf Hamza Yusuf (born Mark Hanson; 1958) is an American Islamic scholar, neo-traditionalist, and co-founder of Zaytuna College. He is a proponent of classical learning in Islam and has promoted Islamic sciences and classical teaching methodologies ...
as ''The Content of Character'' (2004), to which Ali supplied a foreword. The Mazrui family was a historically wealthy and important family in Kenya, having previously been the rulers of Mombasa. Ali's father was the Chief Qadi of Kenya, the highest authority on Islamic law. Mazrui credited his father for instilling in him the urge for intellectual debate, as his father not only participated in court proceedings but also was a renowned pamphleteer and public debater. Mazrui would, from a young age, accompany his father to court and listen in on his political and moral debates."Ali Mazrui: A Confluence of Three Cultures" from April/May 1982 Research News, Ali Mazrui Papers, Box 9, Bentley Library Mazrui initially intended to follow the path of his father as an Islamist and pursue his study in
Al-Azhar University The Al-Azhar University ( ; , , ) is a public university in Cairo, Egypt. Associated with Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Islamic Cairo, it is Egypt's oldest degree-granting university and is known as one of the most prestigious universities for Islamic ...
in
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
. Due to poor performance in the Cambridge School Certificate examination in 1949, Mazrui was refused entry to Makerere College (now
Makerere University Makerere University (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in ...
), the only tertiary education institute in East Africa at that time. He then worked in the Mombasa Institute of Muslim Education (now
Technical University of Mombasa Technical University of Mombasa (TUM) is a public university located in the coastal city of Mombasa. It is amongst the oldest institution of higher learning in Kenya. It is one of the National Polytechnics recently elevated to a fully fledged U ...
).


Education

Mazrui attended primary school in Mombasa, where he recalled having learned English specifically to participate in formal debates, before he turned the talent to writing. Journalism, according to Mazrui, was the first step he took down the academic road. In addition to English, Mazrui also spoke Swahili and Arabic. After getting a Kenyan Government scholarship, Mazrui furthered his study and obtained his B.A. degree with Distinction from
Manchester University The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...
in Great Britain in 1960, his
M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
from
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
in 1961, and his doctorate (
DPhil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
) from
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
(
Nuffield College Nuffield College () is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is a graduate college specialising in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and sociology. N ...
) in 1966. He was influenced by
Kwame Nkrumah Francis Kwame Nkrumah (, 21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He served as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast from 1952 until 1957, when it gained ...
's ideas of pan-Africanism and consciencism, which formed the backbone of his discussion on "Africa's triple heritage" (Africanity,
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
and
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
).


Academic career

Mazrui began his academic career at
Makerere University Makerere University (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in ...
in Uganda, where he had dreamed of attending since he was a child. At Makerere, Mazrui served as a professor of political science, and began drawing his international acclaim. Mazrui felt that his years at Makerere were some of the most important and productive of his life. He told his biographer that 1967, when he published three books, was the year that he had made his declaration to the academic world "that I planned to be prolific – for better or for worse!" During his time at Makerere, Mazrui also directed the World Order Models Project in the Department of Political Science, a project which brought together political scientists from across the world to discuss what an international route to lasting peace might be. Mazrui reflected that he felt forced to leave the University of Makerere. His departure was likely the result of his desire to remain a neutral academic in the face of pressures to attach his growing prestige as a political thinker to one of the regional factions. His first solicitation was from
John Okello John Gideon Okello (26 October 1937 – ) was a Ugandan revolutionary and the leader of the Zanzibar Revolution in 1964. This revolution overthrew Sultan Jamshid bin Abdullah and led to the proclamation of Zanzibar as a republic. Biography Y ...
, the leader of the Zanzibar Revolution, who came to Mazrui's house in 1968 to urge Mazrui to join his cause. Okello originally tried to convince Mazrui to become an advisor to him and then simply tried to enlist Mazrui's assistance in writing a constitution for Zanzibar. Mazrui told Okello that, while he was inclined to sympathize with the cause, it would be a violation of the moral duty of a professor and an academic to join with a political agenda. This incident shows the level of international prestige that Mazrui had already accumulated. Okello had sought him out specifically because he knew and valued Ali's reputation as an anti-imperialist intellectual. Mazrui was later approached by Idi Amin who was the president of Uganda at the end of Mazrui's time at Makerere. Amin, according to Mazrui, wanted Mazrui to become his special adviser. Mazrui declined this invitation, for fear that it would be unsafe, and by doing so lost his political standing in Uganda. This would be what Mazrui ultimately felt forced him to leave the University of Makerere. Mazrui often said that he would like to return to Uganda, but cited his strained relationship with the Ugandan government, as well as the unfriendliness of the Ugandan people towards a Kenyan political scientist as the factors keeping him away. In 1974, Mazrui was hired as a professor of political science at the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
. During his time at Michigan, Mazrui also held a professorship at the
University of Jos The University of Jos, abbreviated as Unijos, is a federal university in Jos, Plateau State, central Nigeria. History What became the University of Jos was established in November 1971 from the satellite campus of the University of Ibadan. T ...
in Nigeria. He held that spending time teaching and being part of the discourse in Africa was important to not losing his understanding of the African perspective. From 1978 until 1981 Mazrui served as the Director of the Center for Afro-American and African Studies (CAAS) at the University of Michigan. While he had a relatively quiet tenure in the chair, his presence there was important for a couple reasons. First, it was a central view of Mazrui's that the African American and the African connection had to be strengthened. He believed the way to better Africa was to educate African Americans in global politics and to strengthen their connection with Africa, all things that could be under the purview of CAAS. However he also seemed to doubt the ability of a program like CAAS to accomplish anything. During his earlier years at U of M he criticized such programs saying that, in response to black activism, "some universities just established a black-studies program with a kind of political cynicism which I found rather difficult to admire, to say the very least." Mazrui taught at the University of Michigan until 1989, when he took a two-year leave of absence to accept the Albert Schweitzer professorship at
SUNY Binghamton The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public research university in Greater Binghamton, New York, United States. It is one of the four university centers in the State University of New Y ...
. Mazrui's departure from U of M was no less eventful than his departure from Makerere. Mazrui announced his resignation from the University of Michigan on 29 May 1991. Leading up to this point, there had been a highly publicized bidding war between U of M and SUNY. Reportedly, SUNY offered Mazrui a $500,000 package which included a $105,000 salary (as compared to his $71,500 salary at U of M) as well as the funds for three professors of Mazrui's choosing, three graduate assistants, a secretary, and travel expenses. The University of Michigan reportedly matched this offer, but Mazrui decided it was too little too late. He stated that he was unconvinced by U of M's commitment to the study of political science in the third world. Both governor
Mario Cuomo Mario Matthew Cuomo ( , ; June 15, 1932 – January 1, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ...
from New York and Governor
James Blanchard James Johnston Blanchard (born August 8, 1942) is an American attorney, diplomat, and politician who served as the 45th governor of Michigan from 1983 to 1991. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Blanchard previo ...
from Michigan gave Mazrui personal calls to convince him to choose the university in their states. The whole affair sparked questions about the commodification as well as the celebrity of university professors. His departure also caused a conversation about racial diversity at the University of Michigan; a conversation he had not been a huge part of for the fifteen years while he was on the U of M campus. In spite of the University of Michigan's efforts to retain Ali Mazrui,
James Duderstadt James Johnson Duderstadt (December 5, 1942 – August 21, 2024) was an American academic administrator who served as the 11th President of the University of Michigan from 1988 to 1996. Duderstadt was elected a member of the National Academy of ...
, the president of the university at the time, came under heavy fire for not being proactive enough in the retention of an esteemed Black professor. Mazrui had been hired in 1974, while the university was under heavy criticism, especially from the second
Black Action Movement The Black Action Movement was a series of protests by African American students against the policies and actions of the University of Michigan. The protests themselves took place on three occasions in 1970, 1975, and 1987 (BAM I, BAM II, BAM III). ...
, for not keeping its promises for diversity in the student body and among the faculty. In contrast, Duderstadt argued that, by 1989, the University was doing a much better job of diversifying. They had added 45 minority faculty that year, 13 more than the year before and the College of Literature, Science and the Arts had seen "skyrocketing minority recruitment." Even still there was a worry that the university was focusing only on recruiting minorities, and not on making them stick around.


Appointments

In addition to his appointments as the Albert Schweitzer Professor in the Humanities, Professor in Political Science, African Studies, Philosophy, Interpretation and Culture and the Director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies (IGCS), Mazrui also held three concurrent faculty appointments as
Albert Luthuli Albert John Luthuli ( – 21 July 1967) was a South African anti-apartheid activist, traditional leader, and politician who served as the President-General of the African National Congress from 1952 until his death in 1967. Luthuli was bor ...
Professor-at-Large in the Humanities and Development Studies at the
University of Jos The University of Jos, abbreviated as Unijos, is a federal university in Jos, Plateau State, central Nigeria. History What became the University of Jos was established in November 1971 from the satellite campus of the University of Ibadan. T ...
in
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
, Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large Emeritus and senior scholar in Africana Studies at
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
, Ithaca, New York and chancellor of the
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) is a public university that is situated in Juja, 36 kilometres northeast of Nairobi, along the Nairobi-Thika SuperHighway, off Exit 15. It offers courses in Technology, Engineering, ...
,
Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...
,
Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
. In 1999, Mazrui retired as the inaugural
Walter Rodney Walter Anthony Rodney (23 March 1942 – 13 June 1980) was a Guyanese historian, political activist and academic. His notable works include '' How Europe Underdeveloped Africa'', first published in 1972. He was assassinated in Georgetown, ...
Professor at the
University of Guyana The University of Guyana, in Georgetown, Guyana, is Guyana's national and most prestigious higher education institution. It was established in April 1963 with the following Mission: "To discover, generate, disseminate, and apply knowledge of th ...
, Georgetown,
Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...
. Mazrui has also been a visiting scholar at
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
, The
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
,
Colgate University Colgate University is a Private university, private college in Hamilton, New York, United States. The Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York ...
,
McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...
,
National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national university, national Public university, public research university in Singapore. It was officially established in 1980 by the merging of the University of Singapore and Nanyang University ...
, Oxford University,
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
,
Bridgewater State College Bridgewater State University is a public university with its main campus in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest of nine state universities in Massachusetts. Including its off-campus sites in New Bedford, Attleboro, and ...
,
Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...
, and at other institutions in
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
,
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,
Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
,
Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...
,
Teheran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District. With a population of around 9.8 million in the city as of 2025, ...
,
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,
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,
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, and
Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...
, among others. In 2005, Ali Mazrui was selected as the 73rd topmost intellectual person in the world on the list of Top 100 Public Intellectuals by ''
Prospect Magazine ''Prospect'' is a monthly British general-interest magazine, specialising in politics, economics and current affairs. Topics covered include British and other European, as well as US politics, social issues, art, literature, cinema, science, th ...
'' ( UK) and ''
Foreign Policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...
'' (
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
).


Central views


Africa's triple heritage

The inspiration for his documentary series '' The Africans: A Triple Heritage'' was Ali's view that much of modern Africa could be described by its three main influences: # the colonial and imperialist legacy of the West, # the spiritual and cultural influence of Islam spreading from the east, and # Africa's own indigenous legacy.


The paradoxes of Africa

Mazrui believed there were six paradoxes that are central to understanding Africa: # Africa was the birthplace of humankind, but it is the last continent (besides Antarctica) to be made habitable in a modern sense. # Although Africans have not been the most abused group of people in modern history, they have been the most humiliated. # Africa is the most different from the West culturally, but is westernizing very quickly. # Africa possesses extreme natural wealth, but its people are very poor. # Africa is huge, yet very fragmented. # Africa is geographically central, but politically marginal.


The problem of Africa's dependency

Mazrui argued that, as long as Africa remained dependent on the developed world, no relationship between the developed world and Africa would be beneficial to Africa. In the face of
détente ''Détente'' ( , ; for, fr, , relaxation, paren=left, ) is the relaxation of strained relations, especially political ones, through verbal communication. The diplomacy term originates from around 1912, when France and Germany tried unsucces ...
between the US and the USSR, Mazrui was quoted as saying: "When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. When elephants make love, however, it is also the grass that suffers."


Africa's greatest resource

Mazrui believed the greatest resource that Africa possessed was the African people. In particular, he pointed to
African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...
, arguing that they must remember their African heritage and find a way to exert their influence over U.S. foreign policy if Africa ever hopes to climb out of its marginal position. Ali explained to a friend, Dr Kipyego Cheluget, that his joint professorship at Michigan and Jos was his attempt to be a part of such a connection.


Professional organizations

In addition to his academic appointments, Mazrui also served as president of the
African Studies Association The African Studies Association (ASA) is a US-based association of scholars, students, practitioners, and institutions with an interest in the continent of Africa. Founded in 1957, the ASA is the leading organization of African Studies in North ...
(USA) and as vice-president of the
International Political Science Association The International Political Science Association (IPSA) is an international scholarly association, founded under the auspices of UNESCO in 1949. IPSA is devoted to the advancement of political science in all parts of the world. During its history ...
and has also served as special advisor to the
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...
. He has also served on the board of the
American Muslim Council The American Muslim Council (AMC) is an Islamic organization and registered charity in the United States. Its headquarters is located in Chicago, Illinois. An earlier organization with the same name was founded in 1990 by Abdul Rahman al-Amoudi ...
,
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...


Works

Mazrui's research interests included 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. Mazrui was widely consulted by heads of states and governments, international media and research institutions for political strategies and alternative thoughts. 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
African socialism African socialism is a distinct variant of socialist theory developed in post-colonial Africa during the mid-20th century. As a shared ideological project among several African thinkers over the decades, it encompasses a variety of competing inte ...
and all strains of
Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...
. He argued that
communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
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 Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...
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 Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
system was deeply exploitative of Africa, and that the West rarely if ever lived up to their liberal ideals and could be described as
global apartheid Global apartheid is a term for a concept of how Global North countries are engaged in a project of "racialization, segregation, political intervention, mobility controls, capitalist plunder, and labor exploitation" affecting people from the Global ...
. He has opposed Western interventions in the developing world, such as the
Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
. He has also long been opposed to many of the policies of
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, being one of the first to try to link the treatment of Palestinians with South Africa's apartheid. Especially in recent years, Mazrui became a well known commentator on
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
and
Islamism Islamism is a range of religious and political ideological movements that believe that Islam should influence political systems. Its proponents believe Islam is innately political, and that Islam as a political system is superior to communism ...
. While 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, controversially, that
sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...
law is not incompatible with democracy. In addition to his written work, Mazrui was also the creator of the television series '' The Africans: A Triple Heritage'', which was jointly produced by the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
and the
Public Broadcasting Service The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the ...
(WETA, Washington) in association with the
Nigerian Television Authority The Nigerian Television Authority or NTA is a Nigerian government-owned and partly commercial broadcast station. Originally known as Nigerian Television (NTV), it was inaugurated in 1977 with a monopoly on national television broadcasting, after ...
, and funded by the Annenberg/CPB Project. A book by the same title was jointly published by BBC Publications and Little, Brown and Company in 1986.


Controversy

''The Africans'' was a controversial series for some. In the UK, where it aired on the BBC, it slid more or less under the radar. In the United States, however, where it aired on some PBS channels, ''The Africans'' drew a great amount of scrutiny for being allegedly anti-western. According to critics, ''The Africans'' blames too many of Africa's problems on the negative influences of Europe and America, and the loudest criticisms came for the portrayal of
Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until Killing of Muammar Gaddafi, his assassination by Libyan Anti-Gaddafi ...
as a virtuous leader. The loudest critic of the documentary series was
Lynne Cheney Lynne Ann Cheney ( ; ; born August 14, 1941) is an American author, scholar, and former talk show host. She served as the second lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009 when her husband was vice president. Childhood and education Lynne An ...
, who was at the time the chairperson of the
National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...
(NEH). The endowment had put $600,000 toward the funding of ''The Africans'' and Cheney felt that Mazrui had not held to the conditions on which the endowment had granted the funding. Cheney said that she was promised a variety of interviews presenting different sides of the story, and was outraged when there were no such interviews in the show. Cheney demanded that the NEH name and logo be removed from the credits. She also had the words "A Commentary" added to the American version of the series, alongside Mazrui's credits. In defense of the series and its alleged bias, Mazrui made the statement: "I was invited by PBS and the BBC to tell the American and British people about the African people, a view from the inside. I am surprised, then, that people are disappointed not to get an American view. An effort was made to be fair but not to sound attractive to Americans." Ward Chamberlain, the president of series co-producer WETA, also stepped in to publicly defend the series and Mazrui by saying that, in a fair telling of history, the western world should not be expected to come out looking good from the African perspective.


Other academic controversies

His experience as a controversial figure was different in the two continents. While he was surrounded by controversy at U of M (he has been accused of being anti-Semitic, anti-American, and generally radical) he wrote to his African colleagues saying that the debate had remained remarkably civil and academic. On the other hand, in Jos, things got so heated that the university faculty once put out a flyer threatening to punish anti-Mazrui libel "in the pugilist style". Ironically, the libeler was a socialist accusing Mazrui of being overly imperialist for participating in western dialogues.


Israel-Palestine

Probably the most fire Mazrui came under during his tenure at the University of Michigan was in response to his views on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Mazrui was an outspoken supporter of Palestine and, more than that, an outspoken critic of the state of Israel. Mazrui made the argument that Israel and the Zionist movement behaved in an imperialist fashion and that they used their biblical beliefs and the events of the holocaust for political gain. He went so far as to call the Israeli government "fascist" in its behavior.Marc Brennan, ''Michigan Daily'', Opinion Piece. 26 September 1988. News and Information Services Faculty and Staff Files, Box 85, Bentley Library. This sparked controversy. The large Jewish population at the University of Michigan was highly critical of these remarks, accusing him of
anti-Semitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
. In the campus newspaper, ''The Michigan Daily'', there was a prolonged back-and-forth in 1988. One student wrote: "Mazrui is completely ignorant regarding Jewish faith and history. To compare Israel to Nazi Germany is the ultimate racial slur … To digress from politics to anti-Semitic tones only fuels the fire of hatred." On the other hand, in a joint letter to the ''Michigan Daily'', members of the Palestine Solidarity Committee wrote: "A recent letter has accused Dr. Ali Mazrui and his supporters of anti-Semitism… we categorically reject this vicious slander." Mazrui, in his own defense, stated unequivocally that he was anti-Zionist, but that that was a fundamentally different thing from anti-Semitism. He admitted to having problems with the Israeli government and the Zionist movement, but said that he held these views independent of any views about the Jewish people as an ethnicity.


Nuclear proliferation

Throughout his career Mazrui held the controversial position that the only way to prevent a
nuclear holocaust A nuclear holocaust, also known as a nuclear apocalypse, nuclear annihilation, nuclear armageddon, or atomic holocaust, is a Futures studies, theoretical scenario where the mass detonation of nuclear weapons causes widespread destruction and radi ...
was to arm the "Third World" (Africa in particular) with nuclear weapons. This was a view spotlighted in ''The Africans''. Speaking largely with a mind to cold war international politics, Mazrui argued that the world needed more than two sides holding nuclear arms. By virtue of the continent's central location and relative non-alignment, he argued that Africa would be the perfect keeper of the peace between the East and the West. Furthermore, as long as the third world did not have nuclear capabilities, it would continue to be marginalized on the global stage. This view encountered heavy criticism from those who believed that the more countries with nuclear capabilities, and the more unstable those countries are politically, the greater the risk of some leader or military organization launching nuclear missiles.


Positions held

* Professor of Political Science,
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
,
Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...
, MI, U.S.A. * Director, Center for Afro-American and African Studies, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, U.S.A. * Director, Institute of Global Cultural Studies, Binghamton University, State University of New York,
Binghamton, New York Binghamton ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the c ...
, U.S.A. *
Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was a German and French polymath from Alsace. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. As a Lutheran minister, ...
Professor in the Humanities, Binghamton University, State University of New York, Binghamton, New York, U.S.A. * Professor of Political Science, African Studies and Philosophy, Interpretation and Culture, Binghamton University, State University of New York, Binghamton, New York, U.S.A. * Chancellor,
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) is a public university that is situated in Juja, 36 kilometres northeast of Nairobi, along the Nairobi-Thika SuperHighway, off Exit 15. It offers courses in Technology, Engineering, ...
,
Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a reference to the Nairobi Riv ...
*
Albert Luthuli Albert John Luthuli ( – 21 July 1967) was a South African anti-apartheid activist, traditional leader, and politician who served as the President-General of the African National Congress from 1952 until his death in 1967. Luthuli was bor ...
Professor-at-Large,
University of Jos The University of Jos, abbreviated as Unijos, is a federal university in Jos, Plateau State, central Nigeria. History What became the University of Jos was established in November 1971 from the satellite campus of the University of Ibadan. T ...
, Jos, Nigeria * Senior Scholar in Africana Studies and Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large Emeritus,
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
,
Ithaca, New York Ithaca () is a city in and the county seat of Tompkins County, New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York (state), New York, Ithaca is the largest community in the Ithaca metrop ...
, U.S.A. * 2008–2009 M. Thelma McAndless Distinguished scholar,
Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public university, public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal ...
,
Ypsilanti, MI Ypsilanti ( ), commonly shortened to Ypsi ( ), is a college town and city located on the Huron River in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,648. The city is bounded to the north b ...
, U.S.A. * President, Association of Muslim Social Scientists of North America,
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, U.S.A.


Membership of organizations (1980–1995)

* Fellow,
African Academy of Sciences The African Academy of Sciences (AAS) is a non-aligned, non-political, not-for-profit, pan-African learned society formed in 1985. The AAS elects fellows ( FAAS) and affiliates. The AAS also awards the Obasanjo Prize for Scientific Discovery a ...
* Member, Pan-African Advisory Council to
UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...
(The United Nations' Children's Fund) * Vice-President, World Congress of Black Intellectuals * Member,
United Nations Commission on Transnational Corporations The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) is an instrument consisting of 31 principles implementing the United Nations' (UN) "Protect, Respect and Remedy" framework on the issue of human rights and transnational co ...
* Distinguished Visiting Professor, The
Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...
,
Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...
, U.S.A. (Spring) * Member, Bank's Council of African Advisors, The
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...
(Washington, D.C.) * Vice-President,
International African Institute The International African Institute (IAI) was founded (as the International Institute of African Languages and Cultures - IIALC) in 1926 in London for the study of African languages. Frederick Lugard was the first chairman (1926 to his death in 19 ...
,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, England * Member of the Advisory Board of Directors of the Detroit Chapter, Africare


Media

* Featured in 2010 film ''
Motherland A homeland is a place where a national or ethnic identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethnic natio ...
'', directed by Owen Alik Shahadah, featuring key academics from around the continent of Africa
Ali Mazrui in Motherland film
* Main African consultant and on-screen respondent, "A History Denied" in the television series on ''Lost Civilizations'' (
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
and
Time-Life Time Life, Inc. (also habitually represented with a hyphen as Time-Life, Inc., even by the company itself) was an American multi-media conglomerate company formerly known as a prolific production/publishing company and Direct marketing, direct ...
, 1996), U.S.A. * "The Bondage of Boundaries: Towards Redefining Africa", in the 150th anniversary issue of ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
'' (London) (September 1993), Vol. 328, No. 7828. * Author and narrator, ''The Africans: A Triple Heritage'',
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
and
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
television series in cooperation with
Nigerian Television Authority The Nigerian Television Authority or NTA is a Nigerian government-owned and partly commercial broadcast station. Originally known as Nigerian Television (NTV), it was inaugurated in 1977 with a monopoly on national television broadcasting, after ...
, 1986, funded by the Annenberg/CPB Project. * Author and broadcaster, ''The African Condition'', BBC Reith Radio Lectures, 1979, with book of the same title (New York:
Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...
, 1980) * Advisor to the award-winning, PBS-broadcast documentary '' Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet'' (2002), produced b
Unity Productions Foundation
Mazrui was a regular contributor to newspapers in Kenya, Uganda, and
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, most notably the ''
Daily Nation The ''Daily Nation'' is a Kenyan newspaper. It was founded in 1958 and is published in Nairobi. History The ''Daily Nation'' was started in the year 1958 as a Swahili weekly called ''Taifa'' by the Englishman Charles Hayes. It was bought in 1 ...
'' (Nairobi), ''
The Standard The Standard may refer to: Entertainment * The Standard (band), an indie rock band from Portland, Oregon * ''The Standard'' (novel), a 1934 novel by the Austrian writer Alexander Lernet-Holenia * ''The Standard'' (Tommy Flanagan album), 1980 * ...
'' (Nairobi), the ''
Daily Monitor The ''Daily Monitor'' is an independent daily newspaper in Uganda. Launched in 1992 as ''The Monitor'', it established itself as a leading voice critical of the government and is one of the two largest national newspapers, alongside the state-ow ...
'' (Kampala), and the ''City Press (South Africa), City Press'' (Johannesburg).


Awards

* Millennium Tribute for Outstanding Scholarship, House of Lords, Parliament Buildings, London, June 2000 * Special Award from the Association of Muslim Social Scientists (United Kingdom), honoring Mazrui for his contribution to the social sciences and Islamic studies, June 2000 * Honorary Doctorate of Letters from various universities for fields which include Divinity, Humane Letters, and the Sciences of Development * Icon of the Twentieth Century, elected by Lincoln University (Pennsylvania), Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., 1998 * Appointed Walter Rodney Professor,
University of Guyana The University of Guyana, in Georgetown, Guyana, is Guyana's national and most prestigious higher education institution. It was established in April 1963 with the following Mission: "To discover, generate, disseminate, and apply knowledge of th ...
, Georgetown, Guyana, 1998 * Icon of the Twentieth Century Award, Lincoln University (Pennsylvania), Lincoln University, Lincoln University, Pennsylvania (CDP), Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, 1998 * DuBois-Garvey Award for Pan-African Unity, Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland, 1998 * Appointed Ibn-Khaldun Professor-at-Large
Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences
Leesburg, Virginia, 1997–2001 * Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award,
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
, Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A. 1988 * Appointed Distinguished Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large,
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
,
Ithaca, New York Ithaca () is a city in and the county seat of Tompkins County, New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York (state), New York, Ithaca is the largest community in the Ithaca metrop ...
, U.S.A. (1986–1992) * Rumi Forum Extraordinary Commitment to Education Award, 2013 Mazrui was ranked among the world's top 100 public intellectuals by readers of ''
Prospect Magazine ''Prospect'' is a monthly British general-interest magazine, specialising in politics, economics and current affairs. Topics covered include British and other European, as well as US politics, social issues, art, literature, cinema, science, th ...
'' (UK) ''Foreign Policy Magazine'' (Washington, D.C.) (see The 2005 Global Intellectuals Poll).


Death

According to press reports, Mazrui had not been feeling well for several months prior to his death. He died of Death by natural causes, natural causes at his home in Vestal, New York, Vestal in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
on Sunday, 12 October 2014. His body was repatriated to his hometown
Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...
, where it arrived early morning on Sunday 19 October. It was taken to the family home where it was Islamic funeral#Bathing the deceased, washed as per Islamic custom. The Islamic funeral#Funeral prayer, funeral prayer was held at the Mbaruk Mosque in Mombasa Old Town, Old Town and he was laid to rest at the family's Mazrui Graveyard opposite Fort Jesus. 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.


Publications

*2008: ''Islam in Africa's Experience'' [editor: Ali Mazrui, Patrick Dikirr, Robert Ostergard Jr., Michael Toler and Paul Macharia] (New Delhi: Sterling Paperbacks). *2008: ''Euro-Jews and Afro-Arabs: The Great Semitic Divergence in History'' [editor: Seifudein Adem], (Washington DC: University of America Press). *2008: ''The Politics of War and Culture of Violence'' [editor: Seifudein Adem and Abdul Bemath] (Trenton, New Jersey: Africa World Press). *2008: ''Globalization and Civilization: Are they Forces in Conflict?'' [editor: Ali Mazrui, Patrick Dikirr, Shalahudin Kafrawi], (New York: Global Academic Publications). *2006: ''A Tale of two Africas: Nigeria and South Africa as contrasting Visions'' [editor: James N. Karioki] (London: Adonis & Abbey Publishers). *2006: ''Islam: Between Globalization & Counter-Terrorism'' [editors: Shalahudin Kafrawi, Alamin M. Mazrui and Ruzima Sebuharara] (Trenton, NJ and Asmara, Eritrea: Africa World Press). *2004: ''The African Predicament and the American Experience: a Tale of two Edens'' (Westport, CT and London: Praeger). *2004: Almin M. Mazrui and Willy M. Mutunga (eds). ''Race, Gender, and Culture Conflict: Mazrui and His Critics'' (Trenton, New Jersey: Africa World Press). *2003: Almin M. Mazrui and Willy M. Mutunga (eds). ''Governance and Leadership:Debating the African Condition'' (Trenton, New Jersey: Africa World Press). *2002: ''Black Reparations in the era of Globalization'' [with Alamin Mazrui] (Binghamton: The Institute of Global Cultural Studies). *2002: ''The Titan of Tanzania: Julius K. Nyerere's Legacy'' (Binghamton: The Institute of Global Cultural Studies). *2002: ''Africa and other Civilizations: Conquest and Counter-Conquest, The Collected Essays of Ali A. Mazrui'', Vol. 2 [series editor: Toyin Falola; editors: Ricardo Rene Laremont & Fouad Kalouche] (Trenton, NJ and Asmara, Eritrea: Africa World Press) *2002: ''Africanity Redefined, The Collected Essays of Ali A. Mazrui'', Vol. 1 [Series Editor: Toyin Falola; Editors: Ricardo Rene Laremont & Tracia Leacock Seghatolislami] (Trenton, NJ, and Asmara, Eritrea: Africa World Press). *1999: ''Political Culture of Language: Swahili, Society and the State'' [with Alamin M. Mazrui] (Binghamton: The Institute of Global Cultural Studies). *1999: ''The African Diaspora: African Origins and New World Identities'' [co-editors Isidore Okpewho and Carole Boyce Davies] (Bloomington: Indiana University Press). *1998: ''The Power of Babel: Language and Governance in the African Experience'' [with Alamin M. Mazrui] (Oxford and Chicago: James Currey and University of Chicago Press). *1995: ''Swahili, State and Society: The Political Economy of an African Language'' [with Alamin M. Mazrui] (Nairobi: East African Educational Publishers). *1993: ''Africa since 1935'': Vol. VIII of UNESCO General History of Africa [editor; asst. ed. C. Wondji] (London: Heinemann and Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993). *1990: ''Cultural Forces in World Politics'' (London and Portsmouth, N.H: James Currey and Heinemann). *1986: ''The Africans: A Triple Heritage'' (New York: Little Brown and Co., and London: BBC). *1986: ''The Africans: A Reader Senior Editor'' [with T.K. Levine] (New York: Praeger). *1984: ''Nationalism and New States in Africa: From about 1935 to the Present'' [with Michael Tidy] (Heinemann Educational Books, London). *1980: ''The African Condition: A Political Diagnosis'' [The Reith Lectures] (London: Heinemann Educational Books. and New York: Cambridge University Press). *1978: ''The Warrior Tradition in Modern Africa'' [editor] (The Hague and Leiden, The Netherlands: E.J. Brill Publishers). *1978: ''Political Values and the Educated Class in Africa'' (London: Heinemann Educational Books and Berkeley, CA: University of California Press). *1977: ''State of the Globe Report, 1977'' (edited and co-authored for World Order Models Project) *1977: ''Africa's International Relations: The Diplomacy of Dependency and Change'' (London: Heinemann Educational Books and Boulder: Westview Press). *1976: ''A World Federation of Cultures: An African Perspective'' (New York: Free Press). *1975: ''Soldiers and Kinsmen in Uganda: The Making of a Military Ethnocracy'' (Beverly Hills: Sage Publication and London). *1975: ''The Political Sociology of the English Language: An African Perspective'' (The Hague: Mouton Co.). *1973: ''World Culture and the Black Experience'' (Seattle: University of Washington Press). *1973: ''Africa in World Affairs: The Next Thirty Years'' [co-edited with Hasu Patel] (New York and London: The Third Press). *1971: ''The Trial of Christopher Okigbo'' [novel] (London: Heinemann Educational Books and New York: The Third Press). *1971: ''Cultural Engineering and Nation-Building in East Africa'' (Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press). *1970: ''Protest and Power in Black Africa'' [co-edited with Robert I. Rotberg] (New York: Oxford University Press). *1969: ''Violence and Thought: Essays on Social Tentions in Africa'' (London and Harlow: Longman). *1967: ''Towards a Pax Africana: A Study of Ideology and Ambition'' (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, and University of Chicago Press). *1967: ''On Heroes and Uhuru-Worship: Essays on Independent Africa'' (London: Longman). *1967: ''The Anglo-African Commonwealth: Political Friction and Cultural Fusion'' (Oxford: Pergamon Press).


References


Further reading

*Adam, Hussein M. "Kwame Nkrumah: Leninist Czar or Leninist Garvey?" in Omari Kokole (ed.), ''The Global African: A Portrait of Ali A. Mazrui'' (Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 1998), pp. xi–xvii. *Annan, Kofi, "The Global African", in Parviz Morewedge, ''The Scholar Between Thought and Experience'' (Binghamton, NY: Institute of Global Cultural Studies, 2001), pp. 339–340. *Anwar, Etin, "Mazrui and Gender: On the Question of Methodology", in ''The Mazruiana Collection Revisited: Ali A. Mazrui debating the African condition''. An annotated and select thematic bibliography 1962–2003, compiled by Abdul Samed Bemath (Pretoria, South Africa: Africa Institute of South Africa and New Dawn Press Group, 2005), pp. 363–377. *Anyaoku, Emeka, "Foreword", in ''The Mazruiana Collection Revisited: Ali A. Mazrui debating the African condition. An annotated and select thematic bibliography 1962–2003'', compiled by Abdul Samed Bemath (Pretoria, South Africa: Africa Institute of South Africa and New Dawn Press Group, 2005), pp. ix. *Avari, Burjor, "Recollections of Ali Mazrui as an Undergraduate", in Omari Kokole (ed.), ''The Global African: A Portrait of Ali A. Mazrui'' (Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 1998), pp. 291–296. *Assensoh, A B., and Alex-Assensoh, Y. M. "The Mazruiana Collection Revisited: An Introduction", in ''The Mazruiana Collection Revisited: Ali A. Mazrui debating the African condition. An annotated and select thematic bibliography 1962–2003'', compiled by Abdul Samed Bemath (Pretoria, South Africa: Africa Institute of South Africa and New Dawn Press Group, 2005), pp. xxiii–xxviii. *Ayele, Negussay. "Mazruiana on Conflict and Violence in Africa", in Omari Kokole (ed.), ''The Global African: A Portrait of Ali A. Mazrui'' (Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 1998), pp. 105–119. *Bakari, Mohamed. "Ali Mazrui’s Political Sociology of Language", in Robert Ostergard, Ricardo Rene Laremont and Fouad Kalouche (eds), ''Power, Politics, and the African Condition. Collected Essays of Ali A. Mazrui''. Vol. 3. Trenton, NJ, and Asmara, Eritrea: Africa World Press, 2004, pp. 411–429. *Bemath, Abdul Samed. ''The Mazruiana Collection. A Comprehensive Annotated Bibliography of the Published Works of Ali A. Mazrui'' (1st edition 1998; 2nd edition 2005). *Bemath, Abdul Samed. "In Search of Mazruiana", in Parviz Morewedge, ''The Scholar Between Thought and Experience'' (Binghamton, NY: Institute of Global Cultural Studies, 2001), pp. 33–62. *Dunbar, Robert Ann. "Culture, Religion, and Women’s Fate: Africa's Triple Heritage and Ali Mazrui’s Writings on Gender and African Women", in Robert Ostergard, Ricardo Rene Laremont and Fouad Kalouche (eds), ''Power, Politics, and the African Condition. Collected Essays of Ali A. Mazrui'', Vol. 3. Trenton, NJ, and Asmara, Eritrea: Africa World Press, 2004, pp. 431–452. *Elaigwu, Isawa J. "The Mazruiana Collection: An Academic Introduction", in ''The Mazruiana Collection: A Comprehensive Annotated Bibliography of the Published Works of Ali A. Mazrui, 1962–1997'', compiled by Abdul Samed Bemath (Johannesburg, South Africa: Foundation for Global Dialogue, 1998), pp 1–8. *Toyin Falola, Falola, Toyin and Ricardo René Larémont, Ricardo Rene Laremont. "Editors' Note", in Ricardo Rene Laremont and Tracia Leacock Seghatolislami (eds), ''Africanity Redefined. Collected Essays of Ali A. Mazrui'', Vol. 1. Trenton, NJ, and Asmara, Eritrea: Africa World Press, 2004, pp. vii–viii. *Frank, Diana. "Producing Ali Mazrui's TV Series", in Omari Kokole (ed.), ''The Global African: A Portrait of Ali A. Mazrui'' (Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 1998), pp. 297–307. *Gowon, Yakubu. "Foreword", in ''The Mazruiana Collection: A Comprehensive Annotated Bibliography of the Published Works of Ali A. Mazrui, 1962–1997'', compiled by Abdul Samed Bemath (Johannesburg, South Africa: Foundation for Global Dialogue, 1998), pp. vii–viii. *Harbeson, John W. "Culture, Freedom and Power in Mazruiana", in Omari Kokole (ed.), ''The Global African: A Portrait of Ali A. Mazrui'' (Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 1998), pp. 23–35. *Juma, Laurence. "Mazrui's Perspectives on Conflict and Violence", in ''Africa Quarterly: Indian Journal of African Affairs'', Vol. 46, No. 3 (August–October 2006), pp. 22–33. *Kalouche, Fouad. "The Nexus of the Triple Heritage and the Call for Justice in the Scholarship of Ali Mazrui", in Robert Ostergard, Ricardo Rene Laremont and Fouad Kalouche (eds), ''Power, Politics, and the African Condition. Collected Essays of Ali A. Mazrui'', Vol. 3 (Trenton, NJ and Asmara, Eritrea: Africa World Press, 2004), pp. 453–463. *Kokole, Omari H. "Introduction", in Omari Kokole (ed.), ''The Global African: A Portrait of Ali A. Mazrui'' (Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 1998), pp. xxi–xxiii. *Kokole, Omari H. "The Master Essayist", in Omari Kokole (ed.), ''The Global African: A Portrait of Ali A. Mazrui'' (Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 1998), pp. 3–22. *Kokole, Omari H. "Conclusion: The Master Essayist", in ''The Mazruiana Collection: A Comprehensive Annotated Bibliography of the Published Works of Ali A. Mazrui, 1962–1997'', compiled by Abdul Samed Bemath (Johannesburg, South Africa: Foundation for Global Dialogue, 1998), pp 290–311. *Laremont, Ricardo Rene and Fouad Kalouche. "Editors' Note", in Ricardo Rene Laremont and Fouad Kalouche (eds), ''Africa and Other Civilizations. Conquest and Counter-Conquest. The Collected Essays of Ali A. Mazrui'', Vol. 2. Trenton, NJ, and Asmara, Eritrea: Africa World Press, 2002, pp. xi–x. *Makinda, Samuel M. "The Triple Heritage and Global Governance", in ''The Mazruiana Collection Revisited: Ali A. Mazrui debating the African condition. 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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mazrui, Ali 1933 births 2014 deaths 20th-century Kenyan philosophers 20th-century male writers 21st-century philosophers Academic staff of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology Academic staff of Makerere University Academic staff of the University of Jos Alumni of Nuffield College, Oxford Alumni of the University of Manchester Anti-Zionism in Africa American anti-Zionists Binghamton University faculty Columbia University alumni Fellows of the African Academy of Sciences Geopoliticians Historians of Africa Islamic philosophers Kenyan expatriates in Nigeria Kenyan Muslims Kenyan pan-Africanists Kenyan political scientists Kenyan social scientists People from Mombasa Presidents of the African Studies Association Stanford University staff State University of New York faculty Swahili-language writers University of Michigan faculty Historians of Islam Historians of Uganda