Kenya Under Capitalism Would Not Be Rescued by Xenophobia

News:

Recently the Kenyan government directed authorities to crack down on foreign nationals operating small-scale businesses. The directive has since sparked concerns about xenophobia and raised serious concerns over harassment, mistreatment and forced removal of foreigners especially Burundian nationals in Kenya.

Comment:

Xenophobia crisis is the result of nationalism, the concept in which people of a certain place see themselves better than others. It is the direct product of failure of capitalism ideology in proper serving people of certain land and instead treating foreigners as scapegoat.

Additional capitalism has been built upon selfishness and interests with disregard of suffering either from citizens or foreigners.

Xenophobia and nationalism are both evil colonial concepts being used to incite hatred divide people and nations. East African society despite of her historical interaction with tribalistic and clan linkage can easily be disunited by xenophobia.

The crackdown of foreign nationals in Kenya emphasis the fact the capitalism has failed in Kenya particularly and the world generally. According to Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), approximately 39.8% of Kenya’s population lived below the national poverty line in 2022. The World Bank’s international poverty measure estimated that 43.3% lived below the international threshold of US$3 per person per day in 2025.

Therefore, instead of combating real enemy which is capitalist ideology, Kenya is hiding behind the shallow and empty xenophobic campaign.

Furthermore, Kenyan xenophobic measure reveals myth of regional and international integration organizations such as The East African Community (EAC), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Southern African Development Community (SADC), etc. Xenophobia in Kenya raises questions about what regional integration actually means. It is clear that all these organizations are nothing but talk shops and colonial tools.

Islam under its Khilafah (Caliphate) State would serve her citizens in very careful manner since it has divine responsibility from the Creator. In other word Khilafah would never utilize false pretext such as xenophobic chauvinism to get rid of its responsibilities.

Above all it is far from all sorts of racism whether with regard to xenophobia, race, religion, language, ethnicity and etc.

Allah Taala Says in the Holy Qur’an:

[يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍ وَأُنثَى وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ شُعُوبًا وَقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوا]

“Oh you who believe! Indeed We have created you from a single male and female and We have made you into clans and tribes so that you know each other…” [TMQ 49:13].