Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is one of the countries where the reckoning between the West's colonial past and Africans is most vividly felt. Beginning in 1895, during the British occupation, almost all of the fertile agricultural land in the country, which was called Southern Rhodesia, was allocated to white people brought from Europe, as in other parts of Africa. The colonial period, during which the native black people were condemned to work in these lands as sweatshop laborers, raised the policy of racial discrimination a notch higher and completely separated the living spaces of whites and blacks as of 1922. Just like in South Africa, an apartheid system was established in the country and a period of severe oppression began to be experienced.
Although Muslims have a deep-rooted history in this country, due to financial constraints and prohibitions, the first mosque was only built in Harare in 1927. None of the mosques and religious schools built in earlier centuries have survived until today. There is a strong connection between the Muslim minority in Zimbabwe and Muslims in South Africa. As a result, many school and mosque projects in Zimbabwe are sponsored by South Africa. Again, the work of some charismatic Muslim opinion leaders from Zimbabwe has increased interest in the country.
The economic crisis in the country is one of the most important problems of the Muslim minority along with all other segments of the population. There is a significant disparity in economic opportunities between black Muslims and Muslims of Asian origin. Although solidarity initiatives within the community have tried to minimize inequality, a chronic imbalance still remains.
