Swahili scholars, poetry and politics

Audio

Poetry by Ustadh Ahmad Nassir
Recitation_1
Recitation_2
Recitation_3

Lecture by Sheikh Abdilahi Nassir and Discussion

Sheikh Abdilahi Nassir in conversation with Miraji Othman
(Deutsche Welle)

Ustadh Ahmad Nassir in conversation with Miraji Othman
(Deutsche Welle)

Kai Kresse in conversation with Miraji Othman
(Deutsche Welle)

We gratefully acknowledge the support of Miraji Othman, Deutsche Welle Swahili Service, for providing sound recordings and interviews that were broadcast in July 2008.

Video

Swahili Poetry by Ustadh Ahmad Nassir

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Lecture by Sheikh Abdilahi Nassir and Discussion

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As part of ZMOs effort to strengthen exchange with non-academic scholars from the global south, the Islamic scholar and former politician Sheikh Abdilahi Nassir (*1932) and the poet Ustadh Ahmad Nassir (*1936) from Mombasa, Kenya, were invited as visiting scholars to the ZMO from June 30 to July 11, 2008.This project was initiated and organised by Dr. Kai Kresse, who was first introduced to the two brothers during his field research in Kenya in 1998-9, and has written extensively on both figures. Not only are the two wazee (the term for honoured and respectable elderly people in Kiswahili) witnesses to Kenyan colonial and post-colonial history. They are also notable public intellectuals of Kenyan society.
At a first baraza, an open discussion round held in Kiswahili on July 3, the topics ranged from questions such as ‘who are “the Swahili”?’ to Swahili literature and politics in post-colonial Kenya. The highlight of their stay was their public talk on July 10, 2008, an event that attracted Swahili speakers and specialists from all over Germany and even London. Several broadcasts of the Deutsche Welle reported on the event. After a brief welcome address by Kai Kresse, Abdilatif Abdalla, himself a famous Swahili poet and essayist, and currently Lecturer in Swahili at University of Leipzig, introduced Ustadh Ahmad Nassir. In the first part of the event we had the honour of hearing a selection of poems by Ustadh Ahmad Nassir, who is one of the most notable current Swahili poets.

Swahili Poetry by Ustadh Ahmad Nassir

Ustadh Ahmad Nassir recited selections from his poetry including poems like ‘Malimwengu ni bahari’, ‘Kicho’ and ‚‘Ya kale Yakele’. The audience visibly enjoyed the exceptional occasion of listening to this unique poetry which was recited by the author himself. His eloquence and wordplay even involved the integration of English, Gujarati and Arabic, which reflects the long standing cosmopolitan nature of Swahili society. This point was taken up in the ensuing discussion which was conducted entirely in Swahili.
Ustadh Ahmad Nassirs collection of poems ‘Malenga wa Mvita’ (Oxford UP, 1971) is a modern classic, and his ‘Poems from Kenya: Gnomic Verses in Swahili’ (University of Wisconsin Press, 1966) and ‘Taa ya Umalenga’ (edited by Abdilatif Abdalla, Kenya Literature Bureau 1978) are also well-known in the field of Swahili poetry.

His epic poem ‘Utenzi wa Mtu ni Utu’ (MacMillan, 1979) elaborates upon utu, the Swahili term for humanity and goodness, and presents a theory of morality in poetic form. Many of his poems have been popularised as songs by the Swahili taarab musician, Juma Bhalo. Apart from being a poet, Ustadh Ahmad Nassir also stepped into the footsteps of his mother, Maryam Ahmad, as a healer- another profession in which he enjoys high reputation.

Lecture by Sheikh Abdilahi Nassir:
“Kenyan Muslims and the Righting of Historical Injustices: the Case of Mwambao”

Sheikh Abdilahi Nassir generously held his lecture for the non-Swahili speakers in the audience in English, which he had not done in public for twenty eight years. In his captivating and rhetorically excellent lecture on “Kenyan Muslims and the Righting of Historical Injustices: the Case of Mwambao”, he talked about the historical background of his position as leader in the Mwambao (the coastal Independence movement in the early 1960s) and also made reference to current politics in Kenya. In response there was a lively discussion on various topics concerning Muslims in postcolonial Kenya.
Sheikh Abdilahi Nassir was a Member of Parliament in Colonial Kenya, he participated in the negotiation processes for Independence at Lancaster House in London. He worked as Editor and Managing Director for Oxford University Press East Africa in the 1970s, and later founded his own publishing house, Shungwaya Publishers in Nairobi. He was educated as a teacher and Islamic scholar, and turned to Shiism in the 1980s. He has published a variety of Islamic pamphlets and booklets in Swahili, and many audio- and video-recording of his lectures circulate widely in East Africa and beyond, and can also be found on the internet.

Text and choice of pictures by Katharina Zöller and Liese Hoffmann

Impressions of the Public Talks on July 10, 2008:

Sheikh Abdilahi Nassir during his lecture and Kai Kresse (ZMO)

Ustadh Ahmad Nassir reciting his poetry

Abdilatif Abdalla (Lecturer of Swahili, Leipzig University) introducing the two scholars

(Foreground from left to right) Gudrun Miehe and Clarissa Vierke, Bayreuth University

(Left to right): Hassan Mwakimako (ZMO), Ridder Samsom (Lecturer for Swahili, Hamburg University ) and Kai Kresse (ZMO)

Applause by the Swahili speaking audience

(foreground, left to right) Kai Kresse and Ridder Samsom talking with the two scholars and (in the background from left to right) Katrin Bromber (ZMO) and Marloes Janson (ZMO) and Shemil Jeppie (University of Cape Town)

Sheikh Abdilahi Nassir and Gudrun Miehe

(left to right): Othman Miraji Othman (Swahili Section, Deutsche Welle), Sheikh Abdilahi Nassir and Abdilatif Abdalla

Impressions of the first baraza, July 3, 2008:

Ustadh Ahmad Nassir

Sheikh Abdilahi Nassir

Sheikh Abdilahi Nassir and Ustadh Ahmad Nassir discussing in the courtyard of the ZMO with (clockwise, from to bottom): Kathriina Ranne (SOAS London), a student of Swahili, Lutz Diegner (Lecturer for Swahili, Humboldt University Berlin), Abdilatif Abdalla (University of Leipzig), Kai Kresse (ZMO), Hassan Mwakimako (ZMO), Liese Hoffmann (ZMO)

(from left to right): Katharina Zöller (ZMO), Liese Hoffmann (ZMO) and Ustadh Ahmad Nassir

A German lunch at the ZMO (clock-wise from bottom left: Katrin Bromber, Sheikh Abdilahi Nassir, Liese Hoffmann, Chanfi Ahmed and Ustadh Ahmad Nassir)