Africa's Horn: radical Islam bumps into Christian fundamentalism?

Economist story that caught my eye for the simple reason that the Ethiopian mother of our two girls identified herself as a Protestant Christian.

But the larger issue:  Islam is fairly prevalent in the Horn and its radicalization is ongoing even as its remains relatively low level in prevalence.  This piece seems to argue that, if one can identify a religion on the march in the region, it's the Pentecostals. Pentecostals are a particularly virulent Christian religion in the sense that anyone can identify themselves as such by simply going the more charismatic route of embracing the notion that baptism by the Holy Spirit creates a profoundly direct spiritual bond with God (being "born again"), exhibited by speaking in tongues and so on.  Protestant and even Catholic churches can take on the "spirit-filled" nature of Pentecostalism, so the faith brand has the networking strength of an Alcoholics Anonymous in that self-selection/declaration is all that is needed to join. Powerful stuff.

Back in 1970, experts estimated the "born again" numbers in Africa to be below 20m.  Now they estimate them at 400m.  Good evidence of the growth:  fly an international flight from the US to east Africa and--especially in the summer--you will find yourself surrounded by evangelical Christians on temporary missions.

The local impact is significant enough:

Ms Wanjiru’s own church, Jesus Is Alive Ministries, is a good example of the new genre. She can draw 100,000 worshippers to a meeting. Add in a visiting televangelist and the number can rise to as many as 500,000. Ms Wanjiru has lived the Pentecostal dream. She is from a poor family of casual labourers and eked out a life as a housemaid and toilet cleaner before working her way up to a marketing job. She then experienced a vision from God calling on her to save Africa. These days videos, CDs and other accessories can be bought from her website using credit cards or phone credit. She makes good use of Facebook, Twitter and other social media. She is not afraid to court controversy, last year baptising the boss of the Mungiki organised-crime outfit, Maina Njenga. Mr Njenga’s gang had been involved in extortion and had a history of hacking off the heads of its enemies.

But the business of owner-operated churches is competitive. A few dud sermons and the crowd thins. That is one reason why they are so upbeat and aspirational. Indeed, their insistent calls for self-discipline and education, striving and victory prompt some people to say Pentecostalism should be encouraged in Africa as the new version of Max Weber’s Protestant work ethic. The churches are certainly prominent in anti-corruption campaigns.

However, there is also plenty of hucksterism. You will be blessed with health and wealth by God, congregants are told, especially if you give generously. As in other parts of the world, the new churches in Kenya and Uganda provide a place for the ambitious poor to get ahead. Yet the real competitive advantage of the new churches in east Africa seems to be their willingness to tap, at least subliminally, into traditional beliefs. “They give full play to the enchanted mentality, which holds the world to be inhabited with ghosts and spirits,” explains Paul Gifford, a professor of African Christianity at the University of London. It makes economic sense: getting spells lifted and spirits cast out on a Sunday morning saves money on a visit to the witch doctor during the week.

Fascinating stuff that I would expect to grow far more significantly as Africa experiences rapid development and the transformation of so many from poverty to lower middle class status.