Religion, Politics and Society: A progressive primer - Paperback

by Karim Hirji (Author)

Written by Karim F Hirji, a retired professor of Medical Statistics, Religion, Politics and Societyfocuses on the four major global religions-Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam-together with minor religions like the Ahmadiyya, Confucianism, Sikhism, Seventh Day Adventism and Traditional African Religion as well as on Secularism, New Age beliefs and the ancient Paleolithic and Neolithic era belief systems to explore the origin, spiritual import and social function of religion in human society. Utilizing the canons, beliefs, practices, history, eminent personages, institutions of the diverse faiths, it tackles matters like: How did the social function of religion evolve over time? How does religion relate to the power structure of society? Does religion promote or hinder social harmony, justice and equality? Under what circumstances? Is religion necessary for morality? What are the roots of interfaith conflict? How do modern religions and neoliberalism interact with each other? Does religion have a future? Can religion and secularism be harnessed for resolving the globally vexing yet pivotal concerns of human society? If so, how? These and related issues are tackled with the help of a variety of past and contemporary individual level and broader type of richly illustrated examples. The role of women in religion a topic of focus throughout the text. The varied functions of religion under slavery, feudalism, capitalism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, imperialism. socialism, and neoliberalism are also attended to. The foundational premise of this book is that while spiritual beliefs differ, all humans are equal in dignity and have equal rights. No religion is more exalted than others; there are no chosen people. We all belong to the global human family. Our religious and cultural diversity is a cause for celebration, not conflict. Respectful in style and targeted towards the general and knowledgeable readers, Religion, Politics and Societyis the first of a two-book project. The second book, Religion, Science and the Pandemic, addresses the relationship between religion, science and mathematics. The key objective of these books is to help uplift the quality and tenor of the current discourse on religion and explore how faith can promote human dignity, equality, social justice and harmony. A genuine consensus and peaceful coexistence cannot emerge from diluting the truth.

Author Biography

Karim F Hirji is a retired Professor of Medical Statistics and a Fellow of the Tanzania Academy of Sciences. A recognized authority on statistical analysis of small sample discrete data, the author of the only book on the subject, he received the Snedecor Prize for Best Publication in Biometry from the American Statistical Association and International Biometrics Society for the year 1989. He has published many papers in the areas of statistical methodology, applied biomedical research, the history and practice of education in Tanzania, and written numerous essays on varied topics for the mass media and popular magazines. He is the author of Exact Analysis of Discrete Data (Chapman and Hall/CRC Press, Boca Raton, 2005), Statistics in the Media: Learning from Practice (Media Council of Tanzania, Dar es Salaam, 2012) and Growing Up With Tanzania: Memories, Musings and Maths (Mkuki na Nyota Publishers, Dar es Salaam, 2014). He also edited and is the main author of Cheche: Reminiscences of a Radical Magazine (Mkuki na Nyota Publishers, Dar es Salaam, 2011). His most recent books are The Enduring Relevance of Walter Rodney's How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (Daraja Press, Montreal, 2017), The Banana Girls (Mkuki na Nyota Publishers, Dar es Salaam, 2017) and The Travails of a Tanzanian Teacher (Daraja Press, Montreal, 2018). He resides in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and may be contacted at kfhirji@aol.com.

Zarina Patel is a Kenyan South Asian woman, who not only struggled against the oppression faced by fellow women, but who was also involved in other movements, above and underground, which fought against injustice. She has worked with people from different walks of life; across cultures, gender, generation, religion and region, ethnicities and races. Zarina has not led the stereotypical life of a South Asian woman. She has followed in the footsteps of Makhan Singh, the father of trade unionism in Kenya; Manilal Desai who worked closely with Harry Thuku in the anti-colonial struggles and her grandfather, Alibhai Mulla Jeevanjee, who bestowed Jeevanjee Gardens to Nairobians. She has authored the biographies of all three personalities as well as the work of South Asian journalists in The In Between World of Kenya's Media. She is the Managing Editor of AwaaZ magazine that started with recording the lives of East African heroes of South Asian descent, and now focuses on minority and diversity issues. AwaaZ is now in its eighteenth year of publication and has the SAMOSA Festival as its cultural arm. Although she was born and raised in an upper middle class family, she rejected opulence and sought personal liberty and fulfillment by identifying with multi-ethnic and multi-racial groups that were struggling for human rights and freedom from exploitation and domination. She not only liberated herself from the shackles of patriarchal Asian society, but also interacted with Kenyans of similar character and thinking. Zarina's fight for women, her struggles against a corrupt Bohra priesthood, fruitful efforts to save Jeevanjee Gardens from land grabbers, to working with the organization Kikuyus for Change and the Kenyan Constitution Review process and being one of the founder members of the Kenya Asian Forum - are a few illustrations of her diverse contributions to post-independence Kenya. She understood the connection between freedom of creative expression and the struggles for democratic space and the concomitant benefits of conscientising the public of the prevailing social, political, cultural, global, and economic circumstances.

Rosa K. Hirji is an experienced attorney for educational, civil, and disability rights of children and youth. She has assisted families since 2001, in schools and districts throughout Southern California, and on behalf of children with a wide range of disabilities. She represents youth and their families at IEP meetings, mediation, due process hearings and in state and federal court.