what a well argued and thought provoking article. Medase!
what a well argued and thought provoking article. Medase!
Kojo T 12 years ago
That is why it is important , all of us " look into ourselves' to decifer the pain, the hurt we cause others through word, actions, omissions perhaps deliberately ot ignorantly. We need to think 2x and ask ourselves " what if ... read full comment
That is why it is important , all of us " look into ourselves' to decifer the pain, the hurt we cause others through word, actions, omissions perhaps deliberately ot ignorantly. We need to think 2x and ask ourselves " what if it were me?"
Adjei 12 years ago
A food for thought. Well done. You only have to make it simple next time. Many of us are not scholers, you know.
A food for thought. Well done. You only have to make it simple next time. Many of us are not scholers, you know.
GIDEON 12 years ago
Religion should be judged based on its doctrine.I find it mischievious when atheists like the writer tries to hold christianity responsible for the wrongs of church leaders in the dark days of the Church. The fact is, those c ... read full comment
Religion should be judged based on its doctrine.I find it mischievious when atheists like the writer tries to hold christianity responsible for the wrongs of church leaders in the dark days of the Church. The fact is, those christians were bad christians and christians will quickly and shamefully condemn them for dragging the name of the religion in mud by doing what Jesus christ and the deciples will never have approved.
Needless to say, I will urge critics of this peaceful and harmless religion not to lamp us together with the dangerous and evil cults in religious disguise. But rather judge every religion on the bases of its founder's lifestyles and and the lifestyles of the first generation followers, and not excluding the lifestyles of its current followers.
Ask those in the west who have fought christianity to pave way for others to come in whether they feel save criticising the very people they fronted for for the take over. Terrorism is on the rise and we are all endangered, including them.They have lost their freedom as well in their own countries.
kofi. mozano 12 years ago
Tell me who should be held responsible by the evil deeds done by the church eldest of the dark age in the name of Christianity? God? I said and will repeat that we as people are not worshipping the true God. Why all these blo ... read full comment
Tell me who should be held responsible by the evil deeds done by the church eldest of the dark age in the name of Christianity? God? I said and will repeat that we as people are not worshipping the true God. Why all these blood letting, hatred, human cleansing genocide? Mr. Gideon, have you forgotten what the catholic church said about the black not having a soul. The atrocities commited against mankind in the name of organized religion is beyond measure. Reminds of Christ telling his disciples that people who kill you would think they are doing the service of God.john16.
Kojo T 12 years ago
Slavery was there in Jesus days , It was accepted so not much is mentioned. But if you read baout the centurion you will realize he owned slaves . It was its mass application and the greed of the slave raiders on BOTH sides t ... read full comment
Slavery was there in Jesus days , It was accepted so not much is mentioned. But if you read baout the centurion you will realize he owned slaves . It was its mass application and the greed of the slave raiders on BOTH sides that make it horrendous. Hitler was a Christian but he had the bigotted ideas he did. You need to travel though S Africa and check the Christianity of the Afrikaaner side by side with his brutality and complete disregard for his " neighbor" the black person . Francis is not an atheist but seems to have felt what west africans and South africans felt from slavery by Christians and east Africans from the Moslem faith
francis kwarteng 12 years ago
Dear Gideon,
I am sorry you see me as an atheist. I wonder how you are able to deduce a writer's religious orientation from his/her essays!
In fact, I am not one. Or should I say I may not be one? I only want to be "fai ... read full comment
Dear Gideon,
I am sorry you see me as an atheist. I wonder how you are able to deduce a writer's religious orientation from his/her essays!
In fact, I am not one. Or should I say I may not be one? I only want to be "fair" and not be irresponsibly judgmental.
Are you religious yourself? And which religious persuasion are you affiliated with?
Could you share that with me if you don't mind? You did not give me enough information in your comment for me to make an informed assessment on your religious philosophy!
I don't think the fact of your concentrating on Christianity here necessarily makes you a Christian.
I have Christian friends who passionately defend Christianity at the slightest provocation, religiously attend church, but make passionate pre-marital sex with Ghanaian gospel music.
I wonder why they don't use lovers rock, soul, neo-soul, R&B, country, or even soft rock! I always wonder.
In the end, I also want us to be the best in whatever religion we find ourselves, be it Traditionalists, Judeo-Christians, Moslems, Ba'hais, Mormons, Hindus, Shintoists, Buddhists, Eckists (ECK chelas), atheism, etc.
Don't forget that an atheist may be a better person than a Christian or Buddhist. On the other, both can be diabolically evil. Hitler and Christopher Columbus were Christians. Mao Tse-Tung, Joseph Lenin, and Vladimir Lenin were atheists.
And therefore I do not think these sentiments of mine must necessarily hinge on my religious beliefs.
In any case, I will agree with your implied assertion (I may be wrong; and I stand to be corrected) that atheism itself may be religion for some. Yes, atheism is a religion in and of itself.
However, I shall not discuss my religious beliefs here as doing so will not accomplish or prove anything.
Having said that, I think you may well agree with me that religion is a matter of the heart as well as a province of privacy.
Finally, I am not the kind to carry my cross, the Guru Granth Sahib, the Book of Coming Forth By Day (so-called Egyptian Book of the Dead) Koran, Babylonian/Jerusalem Talmud, Veda, Book of Mormon, or Torah in the holy sun.
Thanks.
LONTO-BOY 12 years ago
There're fanatics and extremists in all religions. Terrorism is just another tool of human violence. Throughout history, there have been horrifying stories and acts of civilian massacre, human brutalities, horrifying acts of ... read full comment
There're fanatics and extremists in all religions. Terrorism is just another tool of human violence. Throughout history, there have been horrifying stories and acts of civilian massacre, human brutalities, horrifying acts of genocide, ethnic cleansing and appalling stories of human rights abuse. It's the manifestation of human cruelty, brutality and ruthlessness.
akosua yeboah 12 years ago
the title does not always relate to the content of the article. do we have to read the same amount of books to understand your message?please reserve your copious amount of quotes, and put your own views/points across.
the title does not always relate to the content of the article. do we have to read the same amount of books to understand your message?please reserve your copious amount of quotes, and put your own views/points across.
francis kwarteng 12 years ago
Dear Andy and all,
Some of these readers don't have any clue what I go through to answer private mails.
I give the references for the sake of my piece of mind. I was surprised a reader wrote to ask me for a page number ... read full comment
Dear Andy and all,
Some of these readers don't have any clue what I go through to answer private mails.
I give the references for the sake of my piece of mind. I was surprised a reader wrote to ask me for a page number in regard to one of my quotes?
It turned out that she was a history professor in America and needed to use that essay in one of her class. She thought the essay was very interesting and wondered why she had not seen it before!
Anyway, I just finished reading your response to Part 1. Indeed, it raises and answers many important questions Part l of my article didn't touch upon.
Of course, I specifically tailored both parts to readers who said it was not necessary addressing Prof. Awoonor's unfortunate death in the context of history/historiography).
In regard to your comments here, I agree that slavery is slavery. In fact, there has been some futile attempts by some scholars to raise the profile of one form of slavery, particularly the Transatlantic Slavery, above others, Arab Trans-Saharan Slave Trade and domestic/indentured servitude in Africa, for their selfish ends. I myself even fell victim to the dubious dichotomy.
In my "Clash of Civilizations: Africa and the Arab World," for intsance, I brought up that same question.
This came up during the "Decolonizing Our Conference" when an Iranian scholar raised the issue of Arab Trans-Saharan Slave Trade.
I hope readers will add your meticulous and thoughtful analyis here to the ongoing discussions on slavery and religious terrorism in Africa.
I hope you will find time to critique the other issues I raise here, Part ll. Also, I have not forgotten our confrontation with Prof. Salahuddi.
A great weekend to you all.
C.Y. ANDY-K 12 years ago
My Brother,
Not quite what I expected judging by the title but quite within the ambit of the discourse: focus on the internal ramifications of the African Holocaust from the perspective of the African participants and vest ... read full comment
My Brother,
Not quite what I expected judging by the title but quite within the ambit of the discourse: focus on the internal ramifications of the African Holocaust from the perspective of the African participants and vestiges today. Yes, the "warped mentality" that Awolowo said it left with the African elite, besides other negatives. e.g., the native prejudice some Akans still exhibit against some non-Akans today.
In my own 2-series on the subject, I drew attention to the internal COMPLICITY of Africans in whatever happened during the African Holocaust, King Leopold's ravages in the Congo, ETC. To reconcile this apparent contradiction and its associated complex articulation in consequences such as expressed by say Chief Obafemi Awolowo in the First Kwamw Nkrumah Memorial Lectures in UCC, I put fwd the concept of Internal Reparations, not quite dissimilar to the TRC but more profound, as amends shall be made to internal victims of Africa still suffering the consequences of 1000s of years, indeed, over a 1000 at some places when you bring in the Arabs, of slave raids and supply. Issue touched on in more detail in a coming series, so I won't expand on that here.
Of course, we had had quite an extensive exchange on that in the '90s on Okyeame.
Andy-K
AKASI MARTHA NZEMA 12 years ago
YOUR ARTICLE TAKES US TO THE HISTORY MOST OF US DON'T KNOW, BUT I GET LOST IN THE MIDDLE. WILL YOU PLEASE WRITE IN A WAY THAT MORE LIKE ME CAN READ AND ENJOY IT? 'THANKS'
YOUR ARTICLE TAKES US TO THE HISTORY MOST OF US DON'T KNOW, BUT I GET LOST IN THE MIDDLE. WILL YOU PLEASE WRITE IN A WAY THAT MORE LIKE ME CAN READ AND ENJOY IT? 'THANKS'
francis kwarteng 12 years ago
Dear friend,
Maybe I should not post the same articles I post on other Ghaiaian websites here.
Others raeders have asked me to simplify what I post on other Ghanaian websites. But time is the problem.
I will consid ... read full comment
Dear friend,
Maybe I should not post the same articles I post on other Ghaiaian websites here.
Others raeders have asked me to simplify what I post on other Ghanaian websites. But time is the problem.
I will consider your point nonetheless.
Thanks
kwasi boakye 12 years ago
Ref upon ref just to put your point across.Do you seriously think ko mensa in ghana has access to all these books to verify your points? kay,brevity is the soul of wit.why can"t you simply things for sec sch students to under ... read full comment
Ref upon ref just to put your point across.Do you seriously think ko mensa in ghana has access to all these books to verify your points? kay,brevity is the soul of wit.why can"t you simply things for sec sch students to understand? prof adu boahen made it easy for us,yours on the other hand seems to be for MA students...why?
francis kwarteng 12 years ago
Dear Kwasi Boakye,
How are you?
Ghanaweb gives more headaches than all the other Ghanaian websites combined.
I have never received one such headache from any of the other Ghanaian websites. Not one.
Did I tell y ... read full comment
Dear Kwasi Boakye,
How are you?
Ghanaweb gives more headaches than all the other Ghanaian websites combined.
I have never received one such headache from any of the other Ghanaian websites. Not one.
Did I tell you one reader asked me to provide the page number of a book I quoted from in the article "End of Dilemma: The Tower of Babel-Part IV"?
Another reader even sent me a book title and asked me if I had read it? I said yes. And he asked: Why didn't you discuss it in such and such article? I don't know if these readers live in Ghana or abroad!
That said, I read Adu Boahen, too, like you and others did. In fact, Adu Boahen did not necessarily write in a way as simplistic as you think, whether he wrote for secondary schoolers or graduates.
Besides, his write-ups in UNESCO's General Hitory of Africa are not necessarily simplistic either--though UNESCO's historical profile on Africa is supposed to be read by all, I mean, by the general public, which, in some way, may be likened to the readership here.
On the other hand, I am not Adu Boahen. Adu Boahen and I did not share the same English teachers or professors. Neither must our writings styles be necessarily the same or even identical.
Yet those of you here who are attacking me write well, giving me the impression that you are highly literate in English.
Therefore, you must not have problems with my write-ups. There are many in America who cant write what you write here but who are familiar with most of the international topics discussed in this essay.
As an aside, I have sat in graduate classes before (including students taking MA/PhD in the humanities/liberal arts, as in Dr. Asante's class; I have ocassionally visited Dr. Asante and he has asked me to join his class).
I have seen MAs/PhDs do presentations. What I put out here don't match the literary quality of the MA presentations you just referred to. Also, I have had the occassion to read some of the presented papers. Have you taken note of the errors I make here on Ghanaweb?
So what is the problem? And how do these references and quotes particularly make the article cumbersome?
Finally, if Adu Boahen were alive today, he would be my grandfather. As I have said to Dani and others, those who don't need the quotes and references can avoid them. There are others who need them. This puts me in a dilemma.
For instance, a reader from Ghana wrote to tell me Dr. Molefi Kete Asante's website helped him prepare for his exams in Ghana. And that the website also helped him avoid buying textbooks/pamphlets which he did not have the money for.
In fact, when I began writing for Ghanaweb three months ago, some readers accused me of plagiarism, though the same articles they read contained every single source/reference from which I quoted (See the comments on my Ghanaweb articles "Leave Tsatsu Tsikata Alone" part l/ll.
I learnt my lessons then. Now I give all the relevant references/quotes and everyone is complaining. Oh Africa!
Who should I listen to, those who accused me of plagiarism or those who claim I should stop using references/quotes? Is Ghanaweb a site for secondary school students alone or for all kinds of people with reading abilities?
I have seen the write-ups of columnists like C.Y.ANDY-K, Kwesi Atta Sakyi, Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Kofi Atta (Cambridge), Henry Kpapko Allotey, and several others who don't seem to tailor their writings to secondary schoolers, given your definition!
They give long statistics, they bring social-political references and cross-refernces from other parts of Africa and the world, etc. What makes theirs different from mine. I read these colummnists myself.
Do they write for the general public as well? I have seen Andy (and others not mentioned here) give long quotes, references, complicated historical analysis, etc.
Kwasi Boakye, I have made it easier by giving titles,sometimes page numbers, etc.
If you want to read further, you can get some of the books which are free online (PDFs). Our school libraries (Ghana) have most of these African titles.
Our Unibversity libraries (Ghana) have most of these African titles as well. You might as well google the quotes and cited newspaper articles free online.
Let us learn to do more than the little writers do here. Remember that we may be lying to you guys after all. I have learnt not to take any given writer in the world at face value.
For instance, Dr. Calestous Juma, a Kenyan professor at Harvard University (Professor of the Practice of International Development and Director of the Science, Technology, and Globalization Project), wrote a famous book with several misquotes. Readers had to point them out to him. He didn't know. The question is: How did readers know that many of his quotes were indeed misquotes?
Don't trust writers.Go further than what they tell you. You might take a writer's idea at face value (somewhere) only to discover that his reference/quote is even wrong or a sham.
Another example: The author, Herman Rosenblat, wrote a best-selling book, "Angel at the Fence," and later appeared on Oprah Winfrey's show to talk about the book. The book became an instant best-seller. It turned out that it was a fraud.
So even with my referenes and quotes, there is no quarantee that I may be telling all the truth.
I may even be misrepresenting or misintepreting my sources and bibiography.
You need to get the quotes from their original contexts (and references) to in order to perform your own interpretation. That's the true essence of learning.
I don't see anything particularly wrong if the quotes and references are contextually appropriate. I am the type who wants to credit my sources.
Most, in fact, if not all, of the articles published on Ghanaweb (and other Ghanaian websites) are original. Forget about all the hyped pretences. To begin with, most doctoral (and master's) dissertations are not even original. Whenever you see a dissertation, look too see if it has referrences/biographies/sources! Most of the articles on Ghanaweb are reinterpretations, glosses, news, reviews, stories columnists have heard from friends/relatives/teachers, etc. There is nothing original.
I don't want to pretend like others. Where an idea comes directly from me, I shall make that known to the reader. When they are from others, I make that unequivocably clear. That's my style. Others have their styles. I am not ready to copy theirs.
I want people to learn from my articles. Not just take anything for granted.
what a well argued and thought provoking article. Medase!
That is why it is important , all of us " look into ourselves' to decifer the pain, the hurt we cause others through word, actions, omissions perhaps deliberately ot ignorantly. We need to think 2x and ask ourselves " what if ...
read full comment
A food for thought. Well done. You only have to make it simple next time. Many of us are not scholers, you know.
Religion should be judged based on its doctrine.I find it mischievious when atheists like the writer tries to hold christianity responsible for the wrongs of church leaders in the dark days of the Church. The fact is, those c ...
read full comment
Tell me who should be held responsible by the evil deeds done by the church eldest of the dark age in the name of Christianity? God? I said and will repeat that we as people are not worshipping the true God. Why all these blo ...
read full comment
Slavery was there in Jesus days , It was accepted so not much is mentioned. But if you read baout the centurion you will realize he owned slaves . It was its mass application and the greed of the slave raiders on BOTH sides t ...
read full comment
Dear Gideon,
I am sorry you see me as an atheist. I wonder how you are able to deduce a writer's religious orientation from his/her essays!
In fact, I am not one. Or should I say I may not be one? I only want to be "fai ...
read full comment
There're fanatics and extremists in all religions. Terrorism is just another tool of human violence. Throughout history, there have been horrifying stories and acts of civilian massacre, human brutalities, horrifying acts of ...
read full comment
the title does not always relate to the content of the article. do we have to read the same amount of books to understand your message?please reserve your copious amount of quotes, and put your own views/points across.
Dear Andy and all,
Some of these readers don't have any clue what I go through to answer private mails.
I give the references for the sake of my piece of mind. I was surprised a reader wrote to ask me for a page number ...
read full comment
My Brother,
Not quite what I expected judging by the title but quite within the ambit of the discourse: focus on the internal ramifications of the African Holocaust from the perspective of the African participants and vest ...
read full comment
YOUR ARTICLE TAKES US TO THE HISTORY MOST OF US DON'T KNOW, BUT I GET LOST IN THE MIDDLE. WILL YOU PLEASE WRITE IN A WAY THAT MORE LIKE ME CAN READ AND ENJOY IT? 'THANKS'
Dear friend,
Maybe I should not post the same articles I post on other Ghaiaian websites here.
Others raeders have asked me to simplify what I post on other Ghanaian websites. But time is the problem.
I will consid ...
read full comment
Ref upon ref just to put your point across.Do you seriously think ko mensa in ghana has access to all these books to verify your points? kay,brevity is the soul of wit.why can"t you simply things for sec sch students to under ...
read full comment
Dear Kwasi Boakye,
How are you?
Ghanaweb gives more headaches than all the other Ghanaian websites combined.
I have never received one such headache from any of the other Ghanaian websites. Not one.
Did I tell y ...
read full comment