A Discussion with Muhammed Haron, Senior Lecturer, Department of Theology & Religious Studies, University of Botswana

With: Muhammed Haron Berkley Center Profile

June 17, 2008

Background: Muhammed Haron is senior lecturer in the Department of Theology & Religious Studies at the University of Botswana (UB) and has previously taught at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), the University of Cape Town, the National University of Malaysia, Stellenbosch University, and Rhodes University. He held the position of USAID TELP Coordinator at UWC between 1999 and 2000. In this interview, Haron speaks about how he became involved in religion and development in Botswana. He also shares from experience about the impact of HIV/AIDS on development work in South Africa.

Could you begin by speaking a little about your work and how you got to where you are today?

I have worked for a few years in the area of religious studies, and this was particularly the case by the time I joined the Department of Theology & Religious Studies at the University of Botswana. After my undergraduate studies, I pursued postgraduate studies along two tracks. I first concentrated on Semitic studies with the focus on Arabic, and then shifted to religious studies. These studies I pursued whilst teaching in the Department of Arabic Studies at the University of the Western Cape where I had been since 1982 until August 2000. I left UWC because the South African universities were pressurized to downsize programs that were not economically viable. I was among the group of academics who was retrenched, and this forced me to look for opportunities elsewhere. It was at this time that the University of Botswana advertised a post that I was eventually appointed to during October 2000. Here I taught courses such as Islam, Sociology of Religion, Philosophy of Religion, and Religious Pluralism.

From that period onwards my interest in pursuing religious studies research grew more intense; however, this was alongside other areas of interest. One of the courses that I subsequently mounted in the department was a course on religion and development; it has attracted a sizable number of students since it was taught about three years ago. This area has, however, captured my interest since then, and some of my research has also veered off into this area.

I wish to describe myself as an academic whose research interests are wide and varied. My recent work has, for example, focused on the role of media and religion, and on HIV/AIDS. I have worked on a project that looked at how faith-based organizations (FBOs) have been involved in HIV/AIDS prevention, and also at the position of FBOs vis-à-vis human rights. Two reports have recently appeared that reflect my involvement in the research that had been conducted of late. The one, which I shared with you, is a report of an April 2008 conference on "Faith-Based Values and Human Rights: A Complementary Partnership?" And the other is a project that assessed the roles of FBOs in HIV/AIDS prevention in Botswana; the latter analyzed to what extent faith institutions have been active and successful. In this project, I formed part of a team of six individuals who were all members of the University of Botswana. In focusing on prevention, we concluded among other things that much more focus on the work of FBOs in development and international relations is needed.

How did you personally become involved in the area of religion and development?

As indicated before, I did not focus on religion from the outset. My postgraduate work was in Semitic studies, with one degree from the Free University of Amsterdam, and the other the University of Cape Town.

My route to religious studies was somewhat of a longish one, and this was in part influenced by the circumstances during apartheid South Africa. When we look back to the 1980s, the faith communities were very active in the political arena and some was leading members of the anti-apartheid movement. Many Christians, Muslims, and Jews were active, and some of them went on to establish a chapter of the World Conference of Religion and Peace (WCRP) in South Africa to support interfaith (anti-apartheid) work. The WCRP chapter in South Africa was at the forefront of anti-apartheid activities, and I always thought this was an area that would be particularly important to write about. A book I published in Sweden, The Dynamics of Christian-Muslim Relations in South Africa, touches on the work of the WRCP and its work throughout the 1980s. Unfortunately, today it seems to have largely disappeared, and the leadership has not been taken over by others.

Do you consider yourself more an academic or an activist?

I consider myself more of an academic than an activist; this may be partly attributed to my own experience. I was myself a victim of the political system; my father's tragic death whilst he was kept incommunicado and killed in 1969 had a deep impact on me. And as a result of my personal experience and own personal insights into sociopolitical matters, I gradually found the academic arena a good avenue to reflect and research upon issues of importance and relevance.

How did you end up in Botswana?

As stated earlier, there were major educational changes on the cards in South Africa. By the end of the 1990s, the Department of Education adopted new policies with the idea of overhauling the educational system that particularly affected tertiary educational institutions. Some academic programs were considered non-viable programs from an economic perspective and this meant that they had to be off-loaded and shut down. The Arabic studies program which I was teaching, for example, was listed as a financially burdensome program because only a few students registered and pursued it; the department was eventually closed, and the course was shifted into another newly created department with only one person responsible for the program. The same applied to theological and religious studies programs at most of the tertiary institutions in South Africa. This downsizing process affected many departments in the humanities; I was therefore part of that group of people who were affected and retrenched.

In retrospect, my move proved to have been a good one. I found an excellent opportunity at the University of Botswana to teach and research issues that I was unable previously. From the purely academic side, it has been a very enriching experience. The Botswana society is a totally different society; the Tswana-speaking society is indeed quite different from some of the Bantu-speaking communities that I am familiar with in my country of birth. Botswana has a small population with only about 1.8 million individuals, according to the 2001 statistics. The students are generally fortunate in that they are financially supported by the government to pursue undergraduate studies; there are quite a number of highly motivated and bright students who, due to circumstances, have not been able to move beyond their undergraduate studies. Although the University of Botswana is not necessarily on a par with some of South Africa's well-established universities such as the University of Cape Town and Rhodes University, some of its academic programs have become quite competitive, and it has thus begun to make some significant contribution in certain areas.

You clearly are well positioned to see from the southern African perspective what the issues are on faith-based activities. Is there a lot of interest?

The HIV/AIDS pandemic has undoubtedly forced the government to work closely with civil society representatives. Since faith organizations have been pro-active in dealing with the pandemic, they have partnered with the government to deal with it. Sadly, many of Botswana's young people have been infected and affected and therefore need constant attention to prevent its spread. The FBOs have generally been very active and have been working with local communities and the social welfare sector. Even though their contributions to assist in the prevention of the spread of the pandemic may be laudable, much more work is still needed from them as well as other stakeholders. Fortunately, a shared vision exists between the government and FBOs in dealing with the pandemic.

In Botswana, it is the predominantly Christian organizations that have been and are active; this may be understandable since the majority of the Motswanas regard themselves as Christians. On this note, we need to make the point that the Motswanas have experienced—and still are experiencing—a problem of (religious) identity. Even though many see themselves as Christians, there is a sizeable number who regard themselves primarily as members of African traditional religion (ATR) that are still practiced in their villages. The (religious) identity crisis, which the Motswanas have been and still are experiencing, has also impacted upon the way they have dealt with the HIV/AIDS pandemic. ATR and more specifically African cultural practices have played a role in their responses to it. Church representatives have made attempts to deal with the crisis, as far as we informed, but these have only been partially successful. 

However, as mentioned earlier, the church has teamed up with the government to address these issues. And the latter has, in turn, viewed the university as an important vehicle and an appropriate place that could help in driving some of the projects and network between various stakeholders. Towards the end of 2007 a Centre for HIV/AIDS Studies was set up to coordinate and network with all sectors particularly the (secular) NGOs. The government has acknowledged on numerous occasions the sterling role and excellent contributions of the NGOs in the social welfare sectors and particularly their participation in HIV/AIDS related activities. It also realized that many of these NGOs have over the years set up networks that have reached deep into the rural areas—networks that academics do not have and will find difficult to create. Some NGOs can show important results.

What are the main faith-based organizations in Botswana?

There are numerous FBOs that have been active in Botswana. There is, for example, the Pan African Christian Aid Network (PACaNET) that works in several countries in the region to deal with the pandemic, and the African Network of Religious Leaders Living with or Affected with AIDS (ANERELA) that has been quite active over the past few years.

Apart from these broad-based organizations, there are FBOs associated with specific mainline churches such as the Roman Catholic Church; these FBOs have been active in the urban and rural sectors of Botswana. In fact, the mainline church representatives have been most active than the non-mainline churches such the Zion Christian Church (ZCC); the latter church has adherents that spread across many southern African countries and have a large following in Botswana. The active participation of the mainline churches could be ascribed to the theological understandings and perceptions of the disease. Apart from the sociohistorical differences between the mainline churches and the African Independent Churches (AICs), there has generally not been close working relations among them with regard to HIV/AIDS. This has thus resulted in the appearance of ruptures and gaps in the work that has been undertaken up to this point in time by FBOs belonging to, for example, the Roman Catholic Church.

How far has interfaith work been part of the picture in Botswana?

Botswana's churches have given a great deal of stress to ecumenical relations even though there have been calls for interfaith relations. However, since the non-Christian communities are very small, some representatives did not see it as a priority. In fact, the Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and Baha'i communities represent less than 1 percent of the total population; each of these faith groups have less than 10,000 adherents according to the 2001 statistics.

It is, moreover, interesting to observe that the government regards Botswana as a secular state and has had an open attitude towards religious traditions in Botswana. The government's tolerant approach has led to the formulation of a religious education program in its public schools. This religious education program has, to some extent, contributed to important interfaith relations. At a few public events organized by the government, representatives from various faith groups were invited to participate to either give prayers at the opening of an institution. The religious education program has been debated among Christian circles, since some of the evangelicals have not been in favor of teaching the course at public schools. The government remained steadfast in the teaching of religious education at schools.

The mere fact that the government supported the teaching of religious traditions and their value systems has made Botswana a model for other neighboring states in the region that desired to implement a similar model. Malawi is a case in point; in 2001 it sent a delegation to discuss the program with their Botswana counterparts. Mention should also be made of the fact that the approach that Botswana adopted is connected to the “Vision 2016” document that it charted out in the mid-1990s; the document basically articulated the long term development goals and objectives that the Botswana government had in mind so that it may guide its citizens into the future. Over the past few years there are many examples that showed to what degree the "Vision 2016" document has acted as a significant framework for all Motswanas; their openness towards interacting with and the studying of the various religions is but only one example. As a matter of fact, when looking at the students enrolled for religious studies courses such as Hinduism and Islam in the Department of Theology & Religious Studies at the University of Botswana their numbers hover between 80 to 120 students.

Can we come back to the way different churches are responding to the HIV/AIDS pandemic? You underlined the important roles of the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglicans. What about the Pentecostals?

The Pentecostal churches have also been active, particularly in South Africa. Generally speaking, the Pentecostal churches have really made their mark, gaining many converts. In many development areas, reports have explored their work and underscored their participation in tackling and responding to social and health issues such the HIV/AIDS pandemic. By and large, the mainline churches have been more active than the ZCC and the Pentecostals. The Pentecostal churches have mushroomed during the past few years, and they have managed to do so via advertising on TV and radio on their activities. South Africa has a larger Pentecostal population (48 million) compared to 1.8 million in Botswana, and all of them have made ample use of the media. Being the youngest of the churches in southern Africa, it has made a great impact through their methods of preaching and teaching. The Pentecostals have succeeded in gaining members from individuals who were formerly members of the mainline churches as well as other non-mainline groups.

Since the Pentecostal church attracted many adherents, it faced its own internal problems; one of these are how to unify the various groups that claim to operate under the banner of Pentecostalism. This remains a problem and a challenge for this church for the foreseeable future. Externally, the Pentecostals—with a few exceptions—have also not been willing to work closely members of the mainline churches to deal with HIV/AIDS.

Botswana has made massive investments of money in HIV/AIDS. Have the churches been part of this from the beginning?

A few churches have been involved with the HIV/AIDS pandemic from the start, and they have been working closely with National AIDS Coordination Agency (NACA), a government-instituted body. However, since internal and external funding became available more of them have become involved in recent years. Sadly, some of the churches—with a large membership—for some reason did not see the importance of tackling HIV/AIDS head on from the outset. There was a certain reticence on their part because of their perception and understanding of this pandemic; some arguing that it was God's curse, and others attributing it to the spread of immorality. Only of late has a more concerted effort become visible. 

Anyone residing in Botswana, with its small population and high rate of HIV/AIDS among its population, is not at all able to escape the effects of the pandemic. In many workplaces one becomes acutely conscious of the pandemic's presence and impact. Some have seen individuals literally dying in their presence. Others have witnessed how their relatives and friends' health conditions have undergone rapid changes over a short period of time, reflecting the devastating effect the pandemic has had and continues to have Botswana's social and economic life. At the university one frequently comes across cases of students and young graduates who have been infected and die without having had the opportunity of becoming economically active and who never had the chance to enjoy their adult life; all of these developments have had a major socioeconomic impact and effect on their families in particular and the Motswana society in general.

Since the pandemic has affected each and every sector of life, the government has actively engaged stakeholders through its social welfare and health system programs to bring the churches in to tackle the pandemic more holistically. As a consequence, these engagements have given rise to a few exciting and indeed significant partnerships. However, partnerships have not only been struck with local organizations and institutions, but also with major international institutions such as the Gates Foundation that had provided substantial grants for research and other related activities. In fact, very recently the National Institute of Health (NIH) in the United States has injected a substantial amount of U.S. dollars that saw the formation of a partnership between the NIH, Botswana's Ministry of Health, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Botswana; the project got off the ground during the early part of 2008.

What are major issues of policy that are under debate?

In general, debates surrounding the HIV/AIDS pandemic have been ongoing in many social circles. The government realized that it was not able to deal with it on its own and thus had to approach NGOs in general and FBOs more specifically. It has therefore adopted social and health policies with the hope of restricting and limiting the impact of HIV/AIDS. Whilst the government has been promoting the use of condoms as a method, the churches have been preaching abstinence as a viable strategy. Despite the church's emphasis on the latter, some of its representatives have been aware of the fact that this strategy was not enough. These representatives have been in support of the government's policy to condomize the young men and women in the society. Even though the government has been in agreement with the church's teachings of abstinence, there is an acknowledgment that this policy has been extremely difficult to adhere to during the contemporary period. Of course this particular issue resulted in heated debates, because certain voices in the religious sector never approved of this policy and thus stressed abstinence and morality as the only ways to deal with the scourge. 

In any case, the government has concluded that it could enforce abstinence but was in the position to encourage the use of condoms as one means of staving off or limiting the spread of HIV/AIDS. During the past few years, the government freely distributed condoms to the youth at educational institutions and public places with the hope that these efforts will assist in the fight. Although the churches have not been comfortable with these policies, they had to accept the fact that, as long as there is no alternative to try and nip the pandemic in the bud, they would have to tentatively accept them. And, I presume, that the debate regarding personal and public morality will continue into the future.

How is the issue of male circumcision seen, and are there religious dimensions?

Very recently research conducted in South Africa has argued that male circumcision has had a positive impact upon the restriction of the spread of HIV/AIDS, and as a result it has become an issue of debate in Botswana. In the past, it was part of the local cultures, especially among the Zulu, Xhosa, and Setswana speakers. This cultural practices has died out among the Zulus in Setswanas but have persisted among the Xhosa speakers. Some African traditional leaders and churches have blamed the mainline churches for having brought an end to circumcision among some of the ethnic and cultural groups in the region. Now, with new research and trials, especially in South Africa, showing major benefits from male circumcision, the topic has come back onto the agenda. The debate regarding the positive and negative aspects of male circumcision has not subsided, but suggestions have been proposed; instead of circumcising the traditional way, clinics and hospitals should be used to conduct the operations. On the whole, the Christian FBO sector has not really been proactive in taking up the idea. I suppose it is something that will be discussed in future forums on the pandemic.

Beyond the issues of HIV/AIDS, you also mention education, and some other areas. Could you expand some on this?

Some of my colleagues have begun to map out the various issues in the education sector that could address the HIV/AIDS pandemic. For some time, this has been a very much an under-researched area and of late has become a critical area. Since South Africans have been working on these issues at the University of KwaZulu Natal and the University of Cape Town, they have been involved in creating HIV/AIDS awareness programs at public schools. This has given rise to the formation of groups of schools that work in clusters under a coordinator, who is located at a specific school in the region, with the idea of educating the kids of the effects and impact of HIV/AIDS. One of the most important projects that were established at the UCT was the African Religious Health Assets Program (ARHAP); this program has also filtered down to other educational sectors. We at the University of Botswana have also benefited from ARHAP's research. At UB those in the Faculty of Education have been proposing an HIV/AIDS curriculum as a means to educate the kids at school about HIV/AIDS. Questions that should be asked: How effective have these curriculum designs and programs been thus far? What are the key issues that we should be looking at and thinking through that emerge out of these new programs? How should we use the educational material in a religious environment since some of the aspects touch upon ethics and morality? Perhaps the FBOs should team up with educational institutions and others to make the educational material user friendly within religious environments.

In the social arena alcohol consumption has been highlighted in popular and academic articles as well as research reports for having been a major contributor towards the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS in social circles. For many, alcohol consumption among the young and old has had a devastating effect on their social lives, and consequently it has contributed towards the spread of HIV/AIDS. Reports affirmed that when individuals are under the influence of alcohol, they usually disregard the use of condoms when having sexual relations with their partners. Sometime after the one-night stand, when they realize that they have been infected because of their sexual act, then it is far too late to stopping the infection. Regrettably, although churches have been preaching against alcohol consumption, they have not—as far as we could ascertain—done enough in this area to reduce if not eradicate its consumption. Apart from alcohol, unemployment and poverty have also been identified as contributors towards the spread of HIV/AIDS.

To conclude, the government has to bring in more partners to tackle and deal with the HIV/AIDS issue holistically. Civil society represented by a variety of NGOs that serve different social needs should work closely with the government. They should act transparently and be accountable regarding the funds they receive and distribute so that one is able to measure the extent to which they addressing HIV/AIDS and assess to what degree they have been successful in their attempts. This approach will help in creating confidence among the infected and affected in government and non-government institutions. The media, which has been writing about the scourge, can play a more critical and valuable role in reporting on and analyzing the HIV/AIDS pandemic. They can, for example, assist the government in keeping an eye on developments in the urban and rural sectors and are in the position to help in educating the society about the demoralizing effects of the pandemic such as providing, on a daily basis, statistics, stories, and statements about the progress on this front.

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