Wande Abimbola
Testimonies from a Multifaith Hearing on Conversion, Lariano (Italy), May 12-16, 2006
Conversion is an important aspect of some of the world's religions, especially Christianity and Islam. Christians, for example, are encouraged by the Holy Bible to share the "good tidings" of Jesus Christ with the unbelievers. This may or may not lead to conversion, but if the other party takes to heart the "good news," he or she may eventually become a Christian convert.
On the surface, it would appear that there is nothing wrong with sharing the message of your religion with other people, but as we will soon see, conversion is not often carried out without some kind of subtle brainwashing, and in some cases, even the use of force. As a matter of fact, conversion has become an important stock-in-trade of Christianity and Islam. This is an international business worth trillions of dollars, without which some evangelical missions could hardly survive. But there are some very important implications of the whole idea of conversion. This short paper is an attempt to focus on some of the problems which conversion has brought about. If we really want peace, harmony and respect in the modern world, it is imperative for us to take a hard look at the whole issue of conversion.
Historically, conversion has often been accompanied by large scale conquest and enslavement of indigenous peoples. This has led to the disappearance of many indigenous peoples of North, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Australia, Asia and Africa. There is no gain-saying the fact that so much evil and suffering have been perpetrated by the erroneous idea that conversion is a legitimate right of some of the most powerful religions of the world. Much money and resources of the world have been needlessly wasted by the developed countries in an attempt to convert indigenous peoples. Progressive people the world over need to join hands together to put a stop to this new form of slavery and colonialism. While chattel slavery came to an end in the nineteenth century after about 350 years of suffering, other forms of slavery continue.
Conversion often leads to the obliteration of the value systems of other people, which in turn leads to loss of identity. When conversion is carried out on a massive scale, it is actually a form of genocide. When a people are persuaded, cajoled, or forced to abandon their value system, this leads them to forget their language and to adopt the language of the oppressor. Since language and religion are the two pillars of identity, when a people lose both, they no longer exist as an identifiable ethnic group. Many languages of the world have already been lost as a result of the evil effects of conversion and globalization, and many more are on the verge of extinction even as we speak.
This writer holds the view that the demise of any language, value system, or culture is a tragedy which will impoverish our world, both in terms of ideas, and in terms of cultural productivity and artistic expression. People who value the power of ideas, and the contribution that artistic expression can make in the world, should struggle against any power, principality, church or authority who think that it is fair game to continue to impoverish the world through conversion. Let us collectively curb the arrogance that makes someone think that his own religion is the only legitimate religion. Anybody who still holds such antiquarian ideas in the 21st century, is an ignorant person.
At this juncture, we need to ask the question: Is conversion morally right? Are some leaders of the religious communities of the world committing heinous crimes and sins when they convert other people? Why should a people with superior military, technological or material means have the authority to compel other people, who are not as strong, to their own world view? When a people's world view is eradicated from the deep recesses of their minds, serious economic and psychological problems soon follow.
There is certainly an economic angle to conversion, which on the scale of profit and loss is a plus for the colonial power doing the conversion, and a minus for the subordinate people being converted. As a matter of fact, when a technologically advanced people sell their religion to a subordinate people, they do not stop there. They also sell so many products of their factories, and as time goes on, make the converted people develop a taste for those material products, which then leads to the establishment of economic control and sometimes the disappearance of the products of the converted people. This occurs simply because the converted people, as a result of the mental processes of conversion, may no longer value their own products, even if those products are superior. This is how capitalism has been developed, in some parts of the world, while the indigenous peoples of the third world have become more and more impoverished.
Conversion leads to loss of values, which in turn leads to loss of economic strength, which brings about poverty. On the other hand, if a people have not been converted, their world view and value system remain inviolate, and they, as a result, are prosperous and impregnable. This is probably how the countries of the developed world have become so prosperous, while the countries of Africa have become so poor. Conversion of indigenous people is the key to economic power in a globalized world.
There is also the medical, psychological, and physical health consequence of conversion. When a people have been converted or made to change or abandon their values, they have lost their identity, their language, and beliefs. Many diseases of the body and mind soon begin to rear their ugly heads and afflict the converted. The pity of it is that the converted people no longer see any value in their own indigenous health care systems.
The argument of the missionaries is that when a person is converted to Christianity or Islam, he will go to heaven when he dies. Therefore, when the missionaries convert a person, they are saving his soul from hell fire. But the point is that when a person loses his or her value system, and he becomes confused, neurotic or mentally deranged, he would have suffered his own hell fire here on earth before he dies. Nobody can save him, since he will not accept the validity of the herbs, roots, and concoctions of his own people. Since he may not have the money to attend a western type hospital, he will be condemned to suffering before he dies an ignoble death. It is arguable that he would not be welcomed by his ancestors in heaven when he dies. He may not even go to the same heaven as his ancestors.
In conclusion, conversion is an evil and terrible thing that does no good to anybody, except that it brings more people to the fold of the conquering religion doing the conversion, and, as a result, probably brings more money to their coffers. Millions of people have been wiped off the globe as a result. Conversion is a form of genocide. It is a cruel aspect of colonialism, slavery, arrogance and hegemony of one people over another. Let us all, as religious leaders of the world, struggle against this terrible aspect of religion in the modern world.
The religion that I represent, the Yoruba religion, is a non-proselytising religion of West Africa. We believe that all religions of the world are equally valid. In spite of the fact that we have suffered greatly from conquering and proselytizing missions of Islam and Christianity, we remain committed to the notion that it is an act of disrespect for any religious leader to condemn another religion. As a matter of fact, one of the chapters of our sacred literature, the thirteenth Odu of Ifa, Otura Meji, is a salute to Islam.
We believe that a better world free of religious wars, hated or bigotry is possible. One hundred and sixty years of Christian evangelism and nine centuries of Islamic proselytisation have not succeeded in wiping us out. As a matter of fact, most Yoruba Christians and Muslims still participate openly or clandestinely in our religious ceremonies and rituals. Our religion still remains strong and powerful and is spreading like wild fire in the Americas.
Let me close this short address with a song of Ifa:
Iro ni won pa
Ifa o lee parun
Eke ni won se
Ifa o lee parun
Atelewo la bala
A o meni o ko o
Iro ni won pa
Ifa o lee parun.
It is a lie they are telling
Ifa can never be destroyed
It is deceitful words they are uttering
Ifa can never be destroyed.
We met the marks of our palms there
Nobody knows who put them there
It is a lie they are telling
Ifa can never be destroyed.
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Dr. Wande Abimbola occupies the position of Awise Awo Ni Agbaye, "spokesperson and ambassador for the Yorùbá religion and culture in the world." This is a position he was chosen to fill in 1987 by the assembled elder babaláwos of Nigeria. Formerly President of the University of Ifè and then Leader of the Nigerian Senate, he has devoted his life since the dissolution of the Senate to Ifá, the Yorùbá system of divination, and to his role as Awise, spokesperson and ambassador.
Dr. Abimbola currently teaches in the US, at Boston University. He has also taught at Harvard and Colgate. He gives courses in Ifá and Yorùbá religion & culture at selected locations in the US, principally Boston.
