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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Ariadne auf Naxos: Islam and Politics in a Religiously Pluralistic African Society
Author:Ryan, Patrick J.ISNI
Year:1996
Periodical:Journal of Religion in Africa
Volume:26
Issue:3
Pages:308-329
Language:English
Geographic term:Ghana
Subjects:Islam
politics
chieftaincy
Politics and Government
Religion and Witchcraft
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/1581647
Abstract:A study of Islam and politics in the religiously pluralistic society of Ghana, like the opera of Richard Strauss, 'Ariadne auf Naxos', involves two conflicting but ironically complementary plots, schemata that no ordinary impresario would combine. On the one hand, the bearers of the Muslim religious tradition have penetrated the area of modern Ghana for at least as long as they have penetrated the northern half of Nigeria. But the progress of Islam in Ghana has not equalled the progress of Islam in Nigeria. Islam in Ghana, like Ariadne, has had to contend with a very vigorous 'commedia dell'arte': religiously sanctioned but non-Islamic political developments, traditional or modern. The resulting dialectic has softened Islam in Ghana and invigorated the model of chieftaincy in government, some would say to the benefit of both. This paper describes the varying relationships between Islam and chieftaincy in several traditional areas: Gonja, Dagomba and Ashanti; Islam in the Nkrumah era (1951-1966); Islam in the military era (1966-1992) and afterwards; and religious pluralism in Ghana. Bibliogr., notes, ref.
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