Malawian Muslim

Muslims in Malawi are categorized in two major groups namely those of Asian origin mostly comprising of those originally from India and Pakistan and the local Malawians who are of African descent. The former constitutes about 10% of the entire Muslim population while the later constitutes approximately 90%.

These two groups often become evident in terms of their economic status and level of indulgence in Muslim activities. Muslims of Asian origin are economically active as evidenced by their active participation in the country’s business ventures. In fact one can comfortably approximate a market/business share of more that 30% of the Malawian economy as owned by the Muslims of Asian origin.

The education levels of the Muslims of Asian origin are high as they easily afford better schools for their children with most of them sending their kids to pursue further studies in other countries such as South Africa and United Kingdom.

 In fact, a Muslim visitor who first interacts with a Muslim of Asian origin, will be fast misled with an impression that all the Muslims in Malawi are economically well off and educationally developed by seeing the active and considerable involvement of this Muslim both in business and muslim cultural activities.

The second category is that of local Muslims who are largely of black African decent. This category is best characterized by poverty, illiteracy, and lack of active participation in Islamic activities. The local Malawian Muslim is on average village based, poor, as he does not participate in the active business world, illiterate as he cannot afford to send his kids to better schools and can only do so to the available ‘free’ education institutions which are largely government owned currently with the lowest quality standards. This Malawian Muslim does not actively and effectively participate in Islamic spiritual and economic development due to lack of requisite civic awareness and financial resources.

Even in a situation when this Muslim has been able to complete school in the country, he is not able to practice his religion because he cannot get a decent job as he lacks the necessary tertiary qualifications and connections in the employment industry that will offer him a better job. Indeed, even where a job is found, in a secular Malawi, he is faced with limitations in choosing the proper and decent job that will continue to allow him to practice his religious dictates;  indeed enable him remain a practical Muslim. A Muslim who when he or she falls sick, does not afford an opportunity to choose a proper health service provider on account of inadequate requisite financial resources, as the best health providers charge exorbitant fees; or on account of fearing for their privacy, a strong ingredient in a Muslim life, desists from visiting available health facilities where for example, a pregnant Muslim wife can not be accorded an opportunity to deliver with a lady doctor as such opportunities are non existent.

The paper focuses on the Muslims in the latter category given the fact that they are the ones most affected by the greater part of problems to be outlined below to which urgent and emergent solutions are necessary.

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