By Ali Sultan
Zanzibar, Tanzania - African Muslims need to adopt family planning to deal with a population explosion that was threatening development in Africa and the Islamic world, a Zanzibari Cabinet minister told an international gathering of Muslim clerics on Tuesday.
Zanzibar's Good Governance Minister Ramadhan Shaban gave that as an example of ways in which Islam can be adapted to suit the modern world.
"Islam is for all times and times have changed," Shaban told Muslim clerics from about 35 African countries attending a three-day conference organised by the Network of African Islamic Organisation on Population and Development, whose aim is to look at development issues in Africa from an Islamic perspective.
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The meeting aims to develop ideas on issues such as HIV and Aids, population control and domestic violence.
"Whether we like it or not we have to change by applying the teaching of Islam in the context of a world that is radically different," from when Islam began, Shaban said.
"Muslims have become so weak, African too are very weak. One of the crucial factors hampering our development efforts is the existing technological gap between the developing countries and the industrialised world. Because of technology, the African people have lagged behind their European counterparts," Shaban said.
The minister said that African Muslim clerics should not complain too much about the world economic system. Instead, he said that Africans and Muslims need to unite to be able pursue their interests and demand a greater and fairer share of global prosperity.
Quoting from the Quran, Shaban said several issues like human rights, democracy and education must be addressed within Islam.
"Good governance is vital for development and the implementation of an accountable, transparent, just, fair and democratic system which responds to the people's need," Shaban said. - Sapa-AP
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