U.A.R.: Calling All Africans

“Fate does not play jokes,” wrote President Nasser back in 1955. “We are in a group of circles which should be the theater of our activity—an Arab circle, the circle of the continent of Africa on which fate has placed us,” and “a third circle, the circle of our Moslem brethren.” Now that Nasser has played out his Arab role for all it was worth, he is turning to exploit Cairo’s considerable resources in the other two circles.

Even as Nasser hobnobs with Africa’s new political leaders at Casablanca and sends planes to supply Congolese revolutionaries, he is also driving to extend his influence southward through religion. Islam, with an estimated 88 million African followers, is the continent’s biggest religion, far surpassing Christianity with its 34 million. Nasser is out to convince 75 million Africans who still worship old bush gods that Christianity is tainted with “imperialism,” that Islam is the only faith fit for a free Africa. Says one Cairo tract, printed in Swahili and other African languages: “Christian missionaries preach one wife to you in order to make your race diminish. Islam permits four wives.” So all-corrupting was Christian colonialism’s influence, says Mohammed Heikal, editor of Cairo’s Al Ahram, that it has even caused good Arabic names to be debased and mispronounced. His examples: the name of Guinea’s President, Sékou Touré, is a corruption of Sheikh el Tarika (meaning chief of tribe); Mali’s President Modibo Keita is properly Muadab Kita (meaning polite); Nigeria’s Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa should be called Abu Bakr Abu Eleiwa (all proper names).

As the new African states take their place in the world’s councils, Nasser hopes to get their Moslem population looking to Cairo for guidance and help. With this in mind, the United Arab Republic’s religion ministry will this year open a broadcasting station called the Voice of Islam—to do for religious affairs what the famed Voice of the Arabs now does for Cairo’s political propaganda. Nasser also plans to appoint a religious attaché to every U.A.R. embassy or legation in Africa.

Perhaps the most powerful religious force working for Nasser is Cairo’s 1,000-year-old al-Azhar University, greatest center of higher learning in the Islamic world and seat of an “Islamic Missions City” that attracts students from every Moslem land. Recently, one Omar Salah walked all the way from Ghana to enroll at al-Azhar. It is some measure of Nasser’s expectations that al-Azhar has already awarded scholarships to 2,000 Africans—as many Africans as are now studying in the whole of the U.S.