A Critical Analysis on the Effects of Islamization of Igembe People Through Miraa Trade in Meru County Kenya

Abstract

The study proposition was that Islamization of Igembe people had taken place largely due to miraa trade but no research had so far been undertaken in religious studies perspectives to address the issue. The four objectives of the study were determining the extent of the spread of Islam in Igembe, studying the cultural importance of miraa, establishing the contribution of miraa trade to Islamization, and examining the effects of Islamization. Theoretical framework relied on Islamization, Risk, Uncertainty, and Profit, and Immigration theories. The synthesis produced ‘Islamization through miraa trade theory’. A qualitative design was adopted with triangulation of methods which included interview schedules, and semi-structured open-ended questionnaires. The instruments were pretested to ascertain their validity and reliability. Stratified, simple random, and purposive sampling techniques were employed to pick a sample of 252 respondents out of a population of 126,000 miraa farmers, vendors, and trade association officials. Content, narrative and descriptive data analysis methods were used in the analysis of the findings. The main finding was that Islamization of Igembe people through miraa trade had taken place with mostly negative effects which included exposure of Igembe women to Islamic law on marriage, selling of ancestral miraa land to Muslims, school dropout, truancy for students, and miraa gang violence among others. The results further showed miraa diacritical marker of Igembe people identity linked to their traditions and history. From the findings, the study concludes that miraa trade is pivotal in Islamization of the Igembe people, and Muslims are doing business in a way that it is oppressing the residents pushing them to abject poverty. The study recommended delinking of Islamization from miraa trade, enforcing existing miraa regulations to mitigate adverse effects, future research to find out if there are healing properties in miraa plant as claimed by respondents, if Muslim children too are affected by Islamization through miraa trade, and if any Muslims have been converted to Christianity or to Igembe traditional religion.