Publisher: Qira’at Afriqiyah Magazine
Issue: 70, October 2026
ISSN: 2634-131X
Year : 22
Pages: 8-27
Author: Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Ismail – Sudan
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Abstract:

This study examines the phenomenon of sacred villages and cities established by Christian Salvationist movements in sub-Saharan Africa, viewing them as geographical and urban manifestations of a theology of “holistic salvation” that integrates the spiritual, material, and spatial dimensions of religious life. The study is guided by a central question: How do places founded by African Christian prophets become sacred spaces that perform religious, social, political, and economic functions, and how do these spaces negotiate with the modern state, globalization, and contemporary digital transformations?

Drawing on a comparative socio-anthropological and historical approach, and through an analysis of theological discourse, urban planning, and symbolic functions, the study examines four representative cases: Nkamba/Nkongo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Moria and eKuPhakameni in South Africa, and Redemption City in Nigeria. The findings indicate that these sacred settlements share several foundational characteristics: they are established by a “prophet” who claims to have received a revelation inaugurating a new covenant; they are conceived as “centers of the world” and pilgrimage destinations; and they are governed, to varying degrees, by internal religious norms that distinguish them from the surrounding social and legal order. These characteristics make them practical manifestations of Michel Foucault’s concept of “heterotopia,” while also representing a reconfiguration of the traditional African “theology of land” within the context of African Christian redemptive movements.

The study concludes that the sacred village is not merely an isolated spiritual refuge, but a complex institution that redefines the relationship between the sacred, land, and authority in postcolonial contexts. Its functions evolve from the “anti-colonial prophetic village” toward forms of the “neoliberal ecclesial city” integrated into globalization, without losing its fundamental character as an alternative sacred space to the profane world. The study further argues that these sacred settlements have not undergone functional decline; rather, they have experienced a continuous reconfiguration of sacredness, incorporating the institutional mechanisms of the state, market forces, and digital media, while retaining varying degrees of religious autonomy and sacred identity.

Publisher: Qira’at Afriqiyah Magazine
Issue: 70, October 2026
ISSN: 2634-131X
Year : 22
Pages: 28-45
Author: Prof. Batal Shaban Mohammad Gheriany – Egypt
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Abstract:

Gedi holds exceptional research value as a unique case among the ruined Swahili towns of the East African coast: it is entirely absent from every historical source contemporary with its period of flourishing—Arabic or Portuguese—despite these sources' meticulous documentation of neighboring towns such as Mogadishu, Kilwa, and Mombasa. This resounding historiographical silence renders Gedi a rare and seldom-discussed methodological case: a city whose history can be accessed solely through purely archaeological reading, independent of any supporting or comparative textual record. This lends the study added value in offering a model for how an integrated civilizational history can be reconstructed relying exclusively on material evidence. The study's significance is further enhanced by Gedi's recent inscription (in 2024) on UNESCO's World Heritage List, making its scholarly treatment timely amid renewed international interest in the site.

This study proceeds through six interconnected principal axes. The first addresses the broader civilizational context of the geographical and historical development of Swahili towns, serving as an introductory framework for understanding Gedi’s emergence. The second examines the city’s geographic location and the circumstances of its initial founding, drawing on the findings of James Kirkman’s excavations (1948–1958) and Stéphane Pradines’ excavations (1999–2003). The third traces the phases of construction and architectural development of Gedi, through a study of the succession of the three Great Mosques, the six neighborhood mosques, and the building materials and techniques employed.

The fourth surveys the city’s economic activities—agriculture, local craft production, and international trade with Yemen, Oman, Egypt, Persia, India, and China—relying particularly on the analysis of imported and locally produced ceramics. The fifth explores the structure of Gedi’s Swahili society through archaeological evidence relating to residential and social differentiation. The research concludes with a sixth axis discussing the converging factors that led to the city’s decline and eventual abandonment. Together, these axes rest upon the integration of three successive waves of excavation spanning seven decades, granting the study a methodological depth that goes beyond reliance on a single phase of fieldwork.

Publisher: Qira’at Afriqiyah Magazine
Issue: 70, October 2026
ISSN: 2634-131X
Year : 22
Pages: 46-69
Author: Prof. Hamdi Addul Rahman Hassan – Egypt
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Abstract:

The post-colonial African state occupies a position defined by an evident paradox: on one hand, it is the product of artificial borders and bureaucratic and legal frameworks inherited from colonial rule; on the other, it is expected to embody the sovereignty of peoples whose political traditions predate the colonial era—and who, in fact, endured systematic repression during it. Consequently, this externally imposed state has become a burden on its own societies.

Colonial rule did not merely impose foreign institutions; it also transformed knowledge into a tool for domination and influence. It delegitimized traditional political systems while selectively codifying "indigenous customs" to facilitate administrative control. Decades after formal independence, this structural legacy persists.

The resulting dilemma cannot be resolved through the mere token integration of traditional local concepts into institutions whose classifications, conceptual frameworks, and standards of validity remain externally imposed. True decolonization, from a civilizational perspective, requires a reconstruction of knowledge. This process entails reclaiming Africa’s diverse traditions of political thought—such as the concept of civilizational identity, consensus-oriented deliberation, and restorative justice—subjecting them to democratic scrutiny and human rights standards, and engaging them in a dialogue with contemporary constitutional principles. This study argues that governance approaches in Africa must move beyond superficial reforms of inherited institutions, while simultaneously avoiding a romanticized restoration of pre-colonial political forms. Instead, civilizational systems such as (Gadaa) and constitutional principles derived from (Ubuntu) philosophy should be treated as sources of political theory rather than mere folklore. The goal is not to construct an African system based on the exclusion of the culturally different "Other," but rather to establish an Africa that possesses epistemic sovereignty and can contribute its own civilizational resources to global discourses on democracy and justice.

Publisher: Qira’at Afriqiyah Magazine
Issue: 70, October 2026
ISSN: 2634-131X
Year : 22
Pages: 70-81
Author: Dr. Khaled Ramadn – Eritrea
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Abstract:

This study examines the population census in Eritrea and Ethiopia as a political phenomenon rather than a neutral technical exercise. It is organised around a central question: how does the census shift from a technical instrument of development planning into a political instrument of domination and exclusion, and how does this shift bear on the crisis of state-building in the Horn of Africa? The study seeks to identify the strategic functions of the census in multi-ethnic states, to explain the absence of an official census in Eritrea and its politicisation in Ethiopia, to dissect the causes and consequences of manipulation, and to propose alternatives and foundations for a fair and inclusive census. It adopts a descriptive-analytical method supported by comparative case study, contrasting the Eritrean and Ethiopian models with one another and with the experiences of Sudan, Nigeria, Myanmar, and South Africa. The analysis is framed by James Scott’s concept of "legibility" and by the contrast between conflict theory and state-building theory, and draws on conflicting estimates issued by the United Nations, COMESA, the World Bank, the CIA, and the Ethiopian Statistical Service, alongside official Ethiopian census results, federal budget figures, and alternative data sources.

The study concludes that the absence of any comprehensive official census in Eritrea since its independence in May 1993 is not a technical shortcoming, but a deliberate strategy for preserving "demographic ambiguity", in which instruments of security enumeration—from national service registers and ration cards to transnational surveillance of the diaspora—have replaced statistics, producing external estimates ranging from 3.6 to 6.7 million people. In Ethiopia, under ethnic-based federalism since 1991, the census has become an open arena of conflict over identity and resources, leading to the postponement of the fourth census at least three times since 2017 and to a statistical gap of 18 million people between the estimate of the Ethiopian Statistical Service and that of the United Nations, under which a federal budget of 971.2 billion birr is distributed on the basis of estimation and guesswork. The study finds that manipulation and the absence of a census result in the marginalisation of religious and ethnic groups, the loss of public trust and the erosion of legitimacy, and a "developmental blindness" in planning; and that the remedy requires "disarming" the population figure through independent statistical agencies, community participation, the use of technology and alternative sources, and investment in civil registration and vital statistics systems.

Publisher: Qira’at Afriqiyah Magazine
Issue: 70, October 2026
ISSN: 2634-131X
Year : 22
Pages: 82-93
Author: Dr. Mona Abdel Fatah Othman Abdel Aal – Egypt
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Abstract:

This study examines public expenditure governance in South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal during 2021–2024. It analyzes the relationship between budget transparency, public participation, legislative and audit oversight, and budget credibility. The comparative design combines Open Budget Survey indicators, the PEFA framework, and national budget, execution, and audit reports.

The findings show that transparency improves the visibility and explanation of deviations, but does not automatically prevent them. Credible execution also depends on realistic revenue forecasting, commitment controls, cash management, timely reporting, and systematic follow-up of audit recommendations. High aggregate execution rates may conceal capital under-execution or arrears.

The study recommends completing the fiscal disclosure cycle, publishing timely execution reports, linking budgeting to procurement and payments, strengthening commitment controls, and establishing public registers for audit follow-up.

Publisher: Qira’at Afriqiyah Magazine
Issue: 70, October 2026
ISSN: 2634-131X
Year : 22
Pages: 94-109
Author: Ayaa Mohaseb Abd Elhamied Mustafa – Egypt
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Abstract:

This study aims to analyze rural–urban economic inequality and its relationship with poverty in selected African countries through a multidimensional approach that goes beyond income disparities to encompass wealth, employment opportunities and job quality, productivity, access to basic services, and infrastructure. The study adopts descriptive-analytical and comparative approaches, drawing on data from international institutions and recent academic literature, with a comparative analysis of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda. The findings reveal persistent rural–urban disparities across most of the indicators examined, particularly poverty rates, wealth levels, and access to electricity and basic drinking water, while the magnitude and characteristics of these gaps vary considerably across countries.

The study also shows that lower observed unemployment rates in rural areas do not necessarily indicate better labor-market conditions, given the prevalence of informal, seasonal, and low-productivity employment. By contrast, general food insecurity indicators display relatively limited rural–urban differences, suggesting that the spatial dimension is less pronounced in this indicator than in other dimensions of inequality. The findings further indicate that spatial disparities are associated with the accumulation of multiple forms of deprivation, weaker human capital formation and intergenerational mobility, and limited transmission of the benefits of economic growth to less advantaged groups. The study concludes that rural–urban inequality does not follow a uniform pattern across the selected countries, and that poverty reduction requires spatially sensitive policies targeting areas where high poverty levels overlap with weak service provision and employment vulnerability, without assuming a direct causal relationship between inequality and poverty.

Publisher: Qira’at Afriqiyah Magazine
Issue: 70, October 2026
ISSN: 2634-131X
Year : 22
Pages: 110-119
Author: Dr.Tiarwe Gaye – Senegal
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Abstract:

The theme of alienation in the contemporary Arab-Senegalese novel is one of the most prominent critical issues that calls for a multidimensional approach, combining the philosophical, cultural, and social. The phenomenon of irregular migration through “death boats” is no longer just a passing event in the African scene, but has turned into a narrative discourse that reflects the crisis of identity and belonging in light of post-colonial transformations. Oumar LY’s novel “Death Boats” presents a narrative text rich in symbols and connotations, marrying individual experience with collective memory, and reposing the question of alienation at the levels of space, time, language, and existence.

The study of this novel is not limited to analyzing the suffering of the immigrant, but goes beyond it to dismantle the narrative structure that produces and reproduces alienation, making it an indicative model of the interaction of Senegalese Arabic literature with the major issues of the age.

This study proceeds from a central question: How does the novel “Death Boats” embody the manifestations of alienation on its multiple levels, and what narrative and cultural mechanisms does it employ to reproduce this alienation in the context of forced migration and diaspora?

The first topic deals with the theoretical and conceptual framework, the second examines the cultural context of the novel, the third topic deals with the manifestations of alienation in the narrative structure, the fourth topic focuses on alienation and cultural identity, the fifth topic deals with alienation and the political and ideological dimension, and the latter topic deals with alienation and writing – the aesthetics of fragmentation.