Malawi
In recent years the Church in Malawi has been facing an onslaught of da‘wa, Islamic missionary activity. Islamic schools provide free food, clothes and education; young men are offered scholarships for Islamic universities in Saudi Arabia and Libya; grants for businesses are given only to Muslims; famine support is provided by Islamic aid agencies, who also build and improve the road system, with mosques being built every 5-10km; Muslim men are encouraged to marry Christian women, and polygamy is promoted to ensure that there will be as many Muslim children as possible.
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It is partly the fact that Malawi is one of the world’s poorest countries that has made da‘wa so successful. In the past 15 years the number of Muslims has increased from 5% to just under 20%, and some Muslims claim the figure could be as high as 40%. While there is freedom of religion in Malawi, violence by families and communities against Christian converts from Islam has increased.
Islam, which arrived in Malawi with the Arab Muslim slave traders, predates Christianity by several centuries. It was David Livingstone who first introduced Christianity in the 19th century and who also had a major influence in stopping the Muslim slave trade. The Church grew rapidly, and around 70% of the population today regard themselves as Christian.
Yet the first democratically elected president, Bakili Muluzi (1994- 2004) was a Muslim, and he introduced measures to promote Islam, often with financial support from Muslim countries. The number of Muslims in the current Parliament is such that they are able to block any government policy. It is thought Muluzi will regain power in the general elections later this year.
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