From devastation to mobilisation: the Muslim community's involvement in social welfare in post-conflict DRC

Abstract

Undisputedly, more than a decade of war in the Democratic Republic of Congo has had an immensely negative impact on the social fabric of communities. However, tales of woe and destruction are not all that have arisen out of the ashes of the Congo wars. In fact, the minority Muslim community has capitalised upon the opportunity of this historical moment of state weakness and desperate human need to mobilise for the benefit of the larger society. Despite decades of marginalisation and withdrawal from political and development realms, in post-conflict DRC, Muslim associations are organising to provide social services, especially education.

[De la dévastation à la mobilisation : le rôle de la communauté musulmane dans la fourniture deles services sociaux dans la période après-conflit en RDC] Incontestablement, plus d'une décennie de guerre dans la République Démocratique du Congo a eu un impact très négatif sur la structure sociale des communautés. Pourtant, les histoires de malheur et de destruction ne sont pas les seules choses qui sont nées des cendres des guerres du Congo. En fait, la communauté minoritaire musulmane a misé sur l'opportunité de ce moment historique de faiblesse de l'État et de besoins humanitaires urgents pour se mobiliser en faveur de la société dans son ensemble. Malgré les décennies de marginalisation et le retrait des domaines politiques et du développement, dans la RDC d'après conflit, les associations musulmanes s'organisent pour fournir des services sociaux, en particulier dans le domaine de l'éducation.

Mots-clés : Congo ; Islam ; sciences politiques ; éducation ; états défaillants ; institutions hybrides

Keywords:

• Congo
• Islam
• politics
• education
• failed states
• hybrid institutions

Acknowledgements

Research for this paper was carried out in the DR Congo in two phases, June–July 2008 and January–June 2009. Fieldwork was conducted in four sites of historical and contemporary significance to the Muslim community within the DR Congo – the towns of Kindu and Kasongo in the eastern province of Maniema, Kisangani in the Orientale province, and the capital Kinshasa. This research was made possible by a Dissertation Research Grant from the African Power and Politics Program (APPP), through the Center for African Studies at the University of Florida. APPP is a consortium research programme funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), with additional support from Irish Aid, for the benefit of developing countries. The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and not necessarily those of DFID, Irish Aid or the APPP as a whole. I am grateful to Leonardo Villalon for his comments on early drafts of this paper, to John F. Clark for organising and inviting me to present this paper at ‘The Wars of the Democratic Republic of Congo: Human Survival and Social Change Amidst Devastation’ conference at Florida International University in March 2011; to Ann Laudati for exploring publication outlets; to the editors and anonymous reviewers of ROAPE; and to the many Congolese without whose willingness to be interviewed this research would not have been possible.

Notes

Bornstein (2003) demonstrates how protestant NGOs have taken over state functions in one African case. Jacobson (1964) describes the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in the Congo (ONUC) in the early 1960s performing numerous state functions. Murphy (2006) details the United Nation's Development Programme's similar role in newly independent Congo. Malkki (1995) describes how international organisations act as governments for refugees. Reno (1998) argues that warlords provide security, which should be the state's responsibility, in various African countries, including the Congo. Vlassenroot and Raeymaekers (2004) detail the struggle for power between rebels, militias, and mineral-extracting entrepreneurs as they establish informal governance structures in the DR Congo.

See for example Belshaw et al. (2001), Marshall and Keough (2004), United States (2006), Haynes (2007), and Marshall and Van Saanen (2007).

For more information on this history and Tippo Tip, see Alpers (1975), Brode (1969), and Renault (1987).

Interview with imams and elderly men of Mosque 17, Kasongo, 15 April 2009.

Interviews with male members of Mosque 18, Kasongo, 5 July 2008 and 16 April 2009; interview with head imam for Kindu region, Kindu, 27 March 2009; interview with head imam for Orientale province, Kisangani 10 June 2009.

A Catholic priest, not surprisingly, asserted the much smaller estimate of Muslims comprising 65% of the Kasongo population (Tata 2003, p. 67).

For example, an interview with the financial and administrative officer of Caritas, a Catholic humanitarian organisation, Kindu 2 July 2008.

Interviews with development employee of Bureau Diocésain pour le Développement (BDD), a Catholic association, Kasongo, 7 July 2008; and Protestant bishop of Maniema province, Kindu 25 March 2009.

The 2003–04 statistics from République Démocratique du Congo Ministère du Plan (2004, p. 33); 2008–09 statistics gathered from Division Provincial d'Enseignement Primaire, Secondaire et Professionel in Kindu, February 2009.

Interview with provincial coordinator of Islamic public schools for Orientale, Kisangani, 25 May 2009.

Interview with national coordinator of Islamic public schools, Kinshasa, 18 June 2009.

Interview with provincial coordinator of Islamic public schools for Maniema, Kindu, 23 March 2009.

Interview with provincial coordinator of Islamic public schools for Maniema, Kindu, 23 March 2009.

Statistics from documentation gathered at the State Provincial Education Inspection Office, Kisangani, 12 June 2009.

For a discussion of the shift in internal politics of the Muslim minority that also facilitated collective action and involvement in social welfare provision, see Leinweber (2012).

Interview with President of Association des Femmes Lettrées au Maniema (AFILMA), Kindu, 1 July 2008.

Interview with the coordination office for Protestant public schools in the Maniema province, Kindu, 25 March 2009.

Interview with coordinator for Islamic public schools in Maniema, Kindu, 23 March 2009. Interview with staff at the coordination office for Protestant public schools in Maniema, Kindu, 25 March 2009. Interview with Catholic bishop for Kindu diocese, Kindu, 26 March 2009.