Statement of Problem: Family planning is a determining factor in the maternal health care choices for Somali pregnant mothers in Dadaab Refugee camps. Research has revealed that during delivery, the Somali mothers prefer the services of Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) to those of midwives in hospitals. The preference for TBAs is borne of the belief that when women deliver in hospitals, they could be subjected to family planning against their will. The contention is that Islam and socio-cultural practices of the Somali community do not advocate family planning. The purpose of this paper is to discuss Islam’s position on family planning in order to explain the response of the Somalis of Dadaab refugee camps on family planning. Methodology & Theoretical orientation: The paper is derived from a qualitative study that involved snowball sampling, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs). These methods brought out family planning as a determining factor in the mother’s choice of TBAs as opposed to hospital midwives in Dadaab Refugee camps. Findings: Any discourse on Islam and family planning offers two perspectives: proponents of family planning and opponents of family planning. Both perspectives use the texts of the Qur’an and Hadith (traditions) and different interpretations to justify and support their respective positions and opinions. Through primary and secondary sources, the paper interrogates both perspectives of family planning in Islam. Conclusion & Significance: It is concluded that the Somalis’ belief on family planning is informed by the two perspectives of family planning, but the opponents’ perspective holds sway. This determines the preference for TBAs for fear that mothers who deliver in hospitals could be subjected to family planning contraceptives. Recommendation: there is need to educate the community further on Islamic teachings on family planning; and more sensitization conducted on the benefits of child spacing.

The relations between Iran and East Africa are captured well by depicting the impact of the Shirazi (Persian) civilisation on the East African coast. But some influential scholars claim that historians tend to dismiss or trivialise the role played by the Shirazis in East Africa. The demonstrable impact of Shirazi civilisation in East Africa is evident in the expansion of trade between the East African coast and the Persian Gulf region with the expansion of Islam. The Persian language has bequeathed to the Kiswahili language many lexicons that are presently still accessible in the region. Persian poets influenced Kiswahili literature through their classic works. The influence of Persian architecture is seen in Shirazi building styles throughout cities including Zanzibar, Kilwa and Manda. Thus Shirazis brought Persian traditions and customs to East Africa, and some Shirazis intermarried with the Arabs and local communities. As compiled here from other sources, there is enough enduring historical evidence to demonstrate incontrovertibly the impact of the Shirazis in social, economic and political aspects of East African life. This legacy arguably justifies greater contemporary cooperation between East African nation states and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Terrorism is no doubt a global problem of the 21st century and as evidenced by the continued terror attacks, the menace is causing major global security distress. In Kenya terrorism has among other things considerably affected the Muslim-Christian relations in the country. Despite vast literature on terrorism and interreligious relations, there are limited research on the influence of terrorism on Muslim-Christian relations in Garissa County, Kenya hence this study. The general objective of this study was to examine the influence of terrorism on Muslim-Christian relations in Garissa County, Kenya. The study employed both descriptive and explanatory design. The target population of the study was 199,469 from Garissa County from which a sample of 384 respondents were obtained through purposive sampling. Data was collected from primary sources using; questionnaires, interview guide and focus group discussions as well as secondary sources, through literature review. The findings revealed that, terrorist selective attacks of Christians and the use Islamic concept of jihad during attacks have created suspicion and mistrust among the Muslims and Christians in the area. The study concludes that unless the misunderstanding of the concept of Jihad is demystified, the Muslims-Christians relations will significantly be affected as the terrorist will continue propagating their attacks as an Islamic concept of jihad. The study recommends that Muslim leaders needs to demystify the concept of Jihad in order to restore Muslim-Christian relations. Also, the Government security agencies and civil society, Muslim leaders, and Christians should continually organize awareness campaigns in the region to create alertness about the terrorist’s schemes.