Recent Activities

• Dr. Mazrui participated in selecting the next Vice Chancellor of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, subject to confirmation by Kenya’s Head of State. The process resulted in the appointment of this University’s first woman Vice-Chancellor, Professor Mabel Imbuga and only the second female Vice-Chancellor of a public university in Kenya. [There are seven public universities in the country and several private institutions].
  

• Dr. Mazrui presented in absentia a paper entitled “DEMOCRACIDE: Who Killed Democracy in Africa?”, Regional Conference on Democracy, hosted by Ministry of Justice, Nairobi, Kenya, August 20, 2008. Mazrui paper was presented on his behalf by William Mayaka, former Permanent Secretary, Kenya Government, Nairobi.
  

• Plenary Address to annual meeting of The Association of Oromo Studies, entitled “The Exceptionalism of the Greater Horn”, Minneapolis, Minnesota, August 2008.
  

• Dr. Mazrui participated in BBC World Service Radio Panel (intercontinental), three-hour Sunday Forum. Mazrui was in a BBC studio in Nairobi, interviewed from BBC Headquarters in London, jointly with another panelist in London, July 2008.
  

• Dr. Mazrui attended annual meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, Oxford, England, 22-23, July 2008.
  

• Dr. Mazrui gave presentation in Kampala, Uganda, to mark the 15th anniversary of the restoration of the monarchies in Uganda, and 15th anniversary of the Coronation of Kabaka Mutebi II of Buganda. Mazrui was also formally welcomed by the Kabaka. July 2008.
  

• Dr. Mazrui gave lecture to KARA quarterly luncheon, Nairobi, Kenya on the theme “Barack Obama: Brain Drain or Brain Gain?” The lecture was televised live on Kenya television.
  

• Dr. Mazrui officially visited as Chancellor the Taita-Taveta campus, newly affiliated to Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Taita-Taveta, Kenya Coast. The campus also ceremonially marked the 75th birthday of the new Chancellor, July 2008.
  

• Dr. Mazrui officially visited as Chancellor the Mombasa Polytechnic, newly adopted as a constituent university college of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Mombasa. The college also ceremonially marked the 75th birthday of its new Chancellor, July 2008.
  

• Dr. Mazrui presided over graduation and awarded degrees as Chancellor of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Thika, Kenya, annual graduation ceremony, July 2008.
  

• Dr. Mazrui participated in the media to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday. Interviewed by Nelson Mandela Foundation, Pretoria by long-distance telephone; published interview in City Press (Johannesburg newspaper). Special article commissioned by Sunday Nation on “Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama as Post-Racial Icons”, July 2008.
  

• Dr. Mazrui attended luncheon in honour of Kenya Prime Minister Raila Odinga at Ritz Carlton Hotel, Washington DC, June 2008.
  

• Dr. Mazrui attended meeting of Muslim Scholars and Election Activists held in Washington DC, sponsored by the American Muslim Alliance. Agenda “Promoting Muslim Participation in the 2008 United States Elections.” May 2008.
  

• Weekly feature articles by Mazrui for The Standard (Nairobi) and The Monitor (Kampala). Also Mazruiana monthly feature articles in The City Press (Johannesburg).
  

• Dr. Mazrui participated in the media concerning the 2008 Post-Election Kenyan crisis and the search for solutions. Interviewed by Voice of America (Television); National Public Radio (“Talk of the Nation”, USA); British Broadcasting Corporation (radio); The Guardian (London newspaper); The Standard (Nairobi newspaper); The Monitor (Kampala newspaper); City Press (Johannesburg newspaper); Interviews on radio and television, Nairobi, Kenya.
  

• Dr. Mazrui awarded Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters Honoris Causa, by Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio, April 21, 2008. Special acceptance speech on “The United States as a Universal Nation: Between the Crescent and the Star-spangled Banner."
  

• Cornell celebration of Mazrui’s 75th Birthday jointly sponsored by Africana Studies and Research Center, Cornell University, annual meeting of New York African Studies Association, and Association of Muslim Social Scientists of North America, March 29, 2008.
  

• Dr. Mazrui Chaired first Board meetings in his capacity as newly-elected President of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists of North America, March 2008.
  

• Binghamton celebration of Mazrui’s 75th birthday held at Days Inn, Binghamton February 2008. Multiple speakers from Binghamton University, Cornell, Canada and elsewhere. Also special anecdotes from members of the Mazrui family.
  

• Dr. Mazrui presented paper to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade by an act of the British Parliament (1807 to 2007). This part of the celebration was held in Aberdeen, Scotland. February 2008.
  

• Dr. Mazrui presented paper on “Was the Abolitionist Movement the First War on Terror?” at a conference to mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade by the U.S. Congress (January 1808 to January 2008), held in 2008 at the National Archives, Washington DC.
  

• As newly elected President, Dr. Mazrui Chaired for the first time the Board of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists of North America (December 2007).
  

• Dr. Mazrui participates as one of the principal speakers at a “Teach-In Session against Islamophobia and Hate Speech” on Bingahamton University campus. The Teach-In was in protest against Daniel Pipe's speech the next day, also on Binghamton University campus, New York (December 2007).
  

• Dr. Mazrui elected President of the Association of Muslim Social Scientists of North America (November 2007).
  

• Dr. Mazrui gives a keynote address on “The Tensions of Black Liberation : From Post-Enslavement to Post-Coloniality”, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York (November 2007).
  

• Dr. Mazrui gives lecture on “Inter-Faith Dialogue and the Search for Stability : The Religious Factor in the Greater Horn”, UNESCO's Greater Horn Horizon Initiative, Djibouti (November 2007).
  

• Dr. Mazrui presents a paper on “Interpreting the Islamic Tradition on the Contemporary World”, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Islamic Studies Conference, Harvard University (November 2007).
  

• Dr. Mazrui presents on “Black Abolitionists As Warriors against Terror”, 50th Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association, New York, New York (October 2007).
  

• Dr. Mazrui's 1993 M.K.O. Abiola lecture on “Global Africa” named one of the 50 Fabulous Firsts at the 50th Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association, New York (October 2007).
  

• Dr. Mazrui gives lecture at the Du Bois Center on “From the Color-Line to the Culture-Line in Global Politics : Du Bois, Nkrumah and the New Clash of Civilizations”, Accra, Ghana (October 2007).
  

• Dr. Mazrui delivers lecture at the British Council on “Paradoxes of Leadership in Africa's Experience : Between Post-Coloniality and Globalization”, Accra, Ghana (October 2007).
  

• Dr. Mazrui delivers lecture sponsored by Horisont Foundation on “Can African Culture Survive Globalization?” Oslo, Norway (October 2007).
  

• Dr. Mazrui delivers lecture at the Christopher Okigbo International Conference on “Between Heroic Universalism and Parochical Martyrdom : The Life and Death of Christopher Okigbo”, Harvard, Boston University and University of Massachusetts Campuses (September 2007).
  

• Dr. Mazrui attends the academic council meeting of the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, Washington,D.C. (September 2007).
  

• Dr. Mazrui attends board meeting of the Africa Society of the National Summit in Washington,D.C. (September 2007).
  

• Dr. Mazrui delivers lecture on “Islam and the Black Experience: Expansion, Revival and Radicalization”, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio (September 2007). For news release click here
  

• Dr. Mazrui attends “An Evening with Ali Mazrui”, at the W. E. B. Du Bois's Pan-African Center. The event included Mazrui's opening remarks, questions and answers and showing of two episodes from his The Africans: A Triple Heritage (Videos), Accra, Ghana (August 2007).
  

• Dr. Mazrui gives Ghana’s 50th anniversary lecture on “The Brain Drain and the Dual Diaspora: Post-Enslavement and Postcoloniality”, sponsored by Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and NEPAD; and Ghana’s @ 50 Secretariat, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana (August 2007).
  

• Dr. Mazrui honored as a “Liberation Hero” by the Mau Mau Veterans Association, Nairobi, Kenya (July 2007).
  

• Dr. Mazrui gives Abu Mayanja memorial lecture on “Between Secular Activism and Religious Observance: Abu Mayanja and Africa's Triple Heritage”, sponsored by Abu Mayanja Foundation, Kampala, Uganda (July 2007).
  

• Chancellor Mazrui presides over the graduation ceremony of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. The Chancellor’s address was titled, “University Management and the Torch of the African Renaissance: A Graduation Address”, Thika, Kenya (July 2007).
  

• Dr. Mazrui attends Board of Trustees Meeting of Oxford Center for Islamic Studies, Oxford, U.K. (July 2007).
  

• Dr. Mazrui delivers Africa Center’s 5th Annual Lecture on “Cultural Forces in World Politics: Implications for Africa”, Dublin, Ireland (June 2007). Via-Satellite
  

• Dr. Mazrui gives a keynote address at a regional conference of Rotary Clubs of Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Eritrea, held at Munyonyo Speke Hotel on “Counter-ecology: Is the Human Presence its own Global Environment?” near Kampala, Uganda (May 2007).
  

• Dr. Mazrui delivers lecture on “Pax Islamica? Issues of War and Peace between the West and the Muslim World”, Oxford Center for Islamic Studies, Oxford, UK (May 2007).
  

• Dr. Mazrui delivers the Tenth Commonwealth Lecture on “The Power of Language and the Politics of Religion”, London, England (May 2007). For details, click here and here.
  

• Dr. Mazrui receives the Order of the Grand Companion of O. R. Tambo from President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa (April 2007). For news report, click here and here.
  

• Public Lecture. “Paradoxes of Post-Colonial Heroism: The African Experience”. University of the Witwatersrand,(Wits),Johannesburg, South Africa (April 2007).
  

• Video Presentation. “The Macro-History of Language: From Eden to England.” An International Conference on “Going Global, Going Vernacular: Appropriation and Disowning of English in Post-colonial Contexts”, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York (April 2007).
  

• Keynote Address. “Images of Ethiopians in Religion, Politics and Culture: from the Muezzin Bilal to the Opera Aida”. International Symposium on “Imaging Ethiopia: Monarchy and Modernity,” Sponsored by Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia; and Africana Studies and Research Center, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York (April 2007).
  

• Dr. Mazrui gave keynote speech in the Abrahamic Faith Peacemaking Initiative Series, at the Islamic Center of Southern California (April 2007). For related news click here.
  

• Dr. Mazrui speaks at the UN Headquarters on a panel, “The Transatlantic Slave Trade: the Tragedy, the Legacy”, New York City (March 2007).
  

• Institute of Global Cultural Studies co-sponsors dual anniversary panel “Celebrating Black Freedom”, on the occasion of the 200th and 50th anniversaries, respectively, of the end of Atlantic slave trade and independence of Ghana. Professor Locksley Edmondson (Cornell University) and Professor Abena Busia (Rutgers University) spoke on the occasion, Binghamton University (March 2007).
  

• Dr. Mazrui appears in “Free at Last”, a BBC World Service documentary about the end of Atlantic slave trade (March 2007). For audio click here.
  

• Presentation at a roundtable chaired by James Mittleman. "Is the Study of World Politics Lagging behind World Politics?" at the annual Meeting of the International Studies Association, Chicago, Illinois (March 2007).
  

• Dr. Mazrui receives “Living Legend Award” from Organization of West African States (ECOWAS) and African Communication Agency (February 2007). Other awardees include Boxer Muhammad Ali. The plaque was presented to Dr. Ali Mazrui in Accra, Ghana (August 2007). To read Mazrui's acceptance speech, click here. To listen, click here.
  

• Dr. Mazrui delivers lecture on “Islam Between Clash and Concord of Civilizations” at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Catham House, London (January 2007).
  

• Dr. Mazrui gives lecture on “Africa in a World of Disorder” sponsored by the Royal African Society and the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, England (January 2007).
  

• Lecture. “Islam Between Clash and Concord of Civilizations”, at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Catham House, London (January 2007).
  

• Lecture. “Africa in a World of Disorder”, sponsored by the Royal African Society and the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, England (January 2007).
  

• Presentation. “Waning Racism and Waxing Culture-Conflict: A Transition Between Centuries”, on the panel “Africa Between Clash and Concord of Civilizations”, 49th African Studies Association Meeting, San Francisco, CA (November 2006).
  

• Dr. Mazrui gives an interview to Radio New Zealand International (October 2006). To listen, click here.
  

• Dr. Mazrui gives Keynote Presentation at Africast conference, Abuja, Nigeria (October 2006). For details, click here.
  

• Keynote Speech. AFRICAST, National Broadcasting Commission “Messages and Images Between the West and the Rest: Media, Academy and the Internet ”, Abuja, Nigeria (October 2006)(click here for newspaper report).
  

• Dr. Mazrui receives Honorary Doctorate in African Studies from the University of Venda, South Africa (September 2006).
  

• Keynote Speech. Third Steve Biko Coloquium, Johannesburg, South Africa (September 2006).
  

• Keynote Speech. “Nationalism, Power and Africa at War ”, at Symposium on “Power and Nationalism in Modern Africa ”, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York (September 2006).
  

• Keynote Speech. “Uganda Between The Dual Society and the Dual Polity”, Uganda-American Association, New York (September 2006).
  

• Acceptance Address.When receiving Honorary Doctorate in African Studies from the University of Venda, Venda, South Africa (September 2006).
  

• Ugandan President Museveni meets Dr. Ali Mazrui, Kampala, Uganda (August 2006). For details, click here.
  

• Oxford Amnesty Lecture. “Africa and Islam: In Search of Seven Pillars of Wisdom”, Oxford, England (August 2006).
  

• Keynote Lecture. “The Role of the Academy in Politics and Economics”, 40th Anniversary of the Bank of Uganda Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda (August 2006).
  

• Presentation. “Central Banking and the Culture of Money In Globalization”, 40th Anniversary of the Bank of Uganda, Munyonyo Speke Resort, near Kampala (August 2006).
  

• Chancellor's Address. Annual Graduation of the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Thika, Kenya (July 2006).
  

• Keynote Speech. “From Bandung to Baghdad”, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio (April 2006).
  

• Presentation.“Conceptualizing the Diaspora: Towards New Vocabulary”, Symposium on The New African Diaspora Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY (April 2006).
  

• Somaliland President Kahin meets Dr. Mazrui for consultation at Hargesia, Somaliland (March 2006). Click here
  

• Public Lecture.“Africa's Bondage of Boundaries: Can the Shackles Be Loosened?”, Hargesia University, Hargesia, Somaliland (March 2006).
  

• Address to Houses of Parliament. “Cultural Continuities and Constitutional Innovation”. Hargesia, Somaliland (March 2006).
  

• Keynote Presentation.“Political Leadership and Comparative Martydom”, Commemoration of Murtala Muhammad's Assassination, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria (February 2006).
  

• Inaugural Lecture. “Global Africa: Walter Rodney”, Anniversary of Rodney's Assasination. The Symposium was held at the University of Dar es Salaam (January 2006).
  

• Distinguished Lecture.“Afrabia: From Arabo-Hebraic to Afro-Arab Convergence”, Bibliotheca Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt (January 2006).
  
  

• Closing Address. International Conference to mark 50th anniversary of Sudan's Independence, “SUDAN IN THE CONTEXT OF AFRABIA”, sponsored by International University of Africa, Khartoum, Sudan (January 2006).
  
  

• Address. University of Khartoum, broadcast by Al-Jazeera Television, on the topic “AFRICA, ISLAM AND MODERN PILLARS OF WISDOM”, Khartoum, Sudan (January 2006).
  
  

• Address. University of Juba, “SUDAN BETWEEN MODERNIZATION AND WESTERNIZATION”, Khartoum Campus of University of Juba, Sudan (January 2006).