Category: News

Featured New AASR Executives

Dear AASR members,

We are writing you as co-chairs of the Nomination Committee for the new Executive of our Association.

Earlier this year, in March, we have written to you with our proposal of nominated candidates for the new Executive, following a process of consultation of the membership. This proposal was as follows:
• Office of President: Dr Damaris Parsitau (Egerton University, Kenya)
• Office of Vice President: Dr Abel Ugba (University of Leeds, UK)
• Office of General Secretary: Dr Nathanael Homewood (De Pauw University, USA)
• Office of Treasurer: Dr Sara Fretheim (University of Münster, Germany)
This proposal was sent in an email to the membership and was published on the AASR website. It was also supposed to be published in the AASR Bulletin, but as a result of the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, publication of the Bulletin has been delayed. Our apologies for that, but we trust you appreciate the circumstances.

In our earlier communication we invited counter-nominations to be submitted by 22 July 2020. This date has now passed, and we have not received any submissions.
In the absence of counter-candidates, our above nomination was supposed to be affirmed at the IAHR quinquennial World Congress in New Zealand in August 2020. However, the IAHR Congress has been cancelled as a result of the pandemic.
For the sake of the smooth, continued functioning of our Association, the election must proceed. This is also the position taken by the IAHR for their own elections.

As Nominations Committee we had already proposed that in the absence of counter-candidates, an (online) vote would not be necessary. This is in line with the IAHR Constitution and the IAHR Rules of Procedure, which the AASR Constitution is based upon, which in Rule 16g states: ‘Those whose candidacy is unopposed shall be declared “elected unopposed”.’ Following these considerations, and in consultation with the current Executive of our Association, we are pleased to declare our nominated candidates for the new Executive to be ‘elected unopposed’. The official handover of duties will be on 23 August 2020, which is when the IAHR Congress was originally set to begin.

We trust that you will join us in warmly congratulating Dr Parsitau, Dr Ugba, Dr Homewood and Dr Fretheim on their election, and will offer your support to the new Executive as they lead our Association in the coming five years.
We further trust that you will join us in expressing our sincere thanks to the members of the outgoing Executive, in particular the departing members, Professor Elias Bongmba and Dr Corey Williams. Together with the members who continue to serve on the new Executive – Dr Parsitau and Dr Ugba – they have provided visionary leadership to our Association, and we owe them our gratitude and respect.

Herewith we have completed the task entrusted to us as Nomination Committee. We thank you for your confidence in us.

Sincerely,

Co-chairs:
Professor Njoki Wane
Professor Adriaan van Klinken

Also on behalf of our committee members:
Dr Rose Mary Amenga-Etego
Dr Chammah Kaunda
Professor Danoye Oguntola-Laguda

AASR Statement on the Death of Mr. George P. Floyd

The members of the African Association for the Study of Religions around the world received
the news of the death of Mr. George P. Floyd with sadness and watched in horror the video of a
police officer kneeling with both legs and his hands in his pocket as the already handcuffed Mr.
Floyd laid on the ground and complained that he could not breathe. The 8 minutes and 46
seconds captured on the video show to many viewers killing in slow, painful motion in a process
that despised and took away the humanity of Mr. Floyd, but ultimately his life.

The killing of Mr. Floyed reminds the world of the killing of Emmett Till, 1955
The brutal beatings of Mr. Rodney King and the acquittal of the officers involved in 1992 and
the riots that was sparked by that injustice,
The murder of James Byrd Jr. in Jasper Texas in 1998,
The killing of Eric Garner in 2014,
The Killing of Michael Brown also in 2014, and the rise of the Black Life Matter Movement
The killing of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia
The killing of Breonna Taylor in how own house in Louisville

And the Shooting of Tony McDade in Tallahassee.
Add to the above the many other brutal killings of black men and women that were not captured
on camera or publicized. These killings and the national and international response to them
underscore the importance and significance of the Black Lives Matter movement. It has called
attention to the brutalities meted on Blacks nowadays which demonstrate the obscenity of life
along the color line. They underscore the urgency of addressing the brutalities Blacks have
experienced since they were forcefully brought to the United States from 1619. Today, the world
stands with Blacks in the United States and call on Congress to pass and enforce legislation that
will ensure that Blacks receive equal treatment before the law as guaranteed by the Constitution
of the United States of America.

The African Association for the Study of Religions will continue to carry research and analysis
that exposes all forms of discrimination and injustice around the world and call on all other
institutions to study and fight discrimination to ensure that all people live their lives with dignity
and freedom. We call on the leaders of the United States of America to open a national dialogue
on race that would create the conditions for national reconciliation.

Elias Kifon Bongmba
President

Nomination of New AASR Executive

Dear AASR members,

At the business meeting during the AASR conference in Lusaka in 2018, we were appointed in the committee with the task of nominating candidates for the new Executive, to be elected in 2020. Following our appointment, we have taken the following steps:
• First, we have consulted with the current members of the Executive – Professor Elias Bongmba, Dr Damaris Parsitau, Dr Abel Ugba, and Dr Corey Williams – who each are eligible to serve for another term. We checked with them whether they are available to be part of the new Executive. The outcome of this process was that Dr Parsitau is available for a second term, in the same or in a different office; Dr Ugba is available for a third term, in a different office; Dr Williams and Prof Bongmba are not available for another term.
• Second, as recommended by the AASR Constitution, we have consulted the AASR membership, in an email dated 17 July 2019. We solicited nominations for each of the four offices in the Executive: President, Vice President, General Secretary, and Treasurer. The deadline for this passed on 31 August 2019.
• Third, we have internally considered the various nominations we received and have consulted those who were nominated, to check whether they are available to serve on the Executive.
Following this process, as a Committee we have unanimously decided to put forward the following nominations:
• Office of President: Dr Damaris Parsitau
• Office of Vice President: Dr Abel Ugba
• Office of General Secretary: Dr Nathanael Homewood
• Office of Treasurer: Dr Sara Fretheim
We believe that this Executive makes a strong team of highly qualified members who have demonstrated a great commitment to our Association. With two continuing members, and two newly incoming members, this Executive also has the right balance between continuity and renewal. It preserves the existing knowledge regarding the Association while bringing in fresh ideas and energy.

Following the advice from some members, as a nomination committee we recommend the newly elected Executive to create the additional office of Membership Officer and to appoint someone in that role.

Elections for the new Executive were initially scheduled to take place at the AASR conference in Senegal, 29 July–1 August 2020. However, with the conference being postponed till 2021, elections are now scheduled to take place at the IAHR quinquennial World Congress in New Zealand (23-29 August, 2020). Prior to the conference, an online vote will be opened and

* We remind you of the constitutional right of AASR members to nominate counter-candidates for particular offices until one month before the elections. The deadline for this is 22 July 2020. Counter-nominations must be send electronically to the AASR General Secretary, Dr Corey Williams. Each counter-nomination must be supported by electronic mail by at least three AASR members. They must also have ascertained that their nominee is willing to serve in the office for which they nominate her or him.

If we do receive counter-nominations by 22 July 2020, members who cannot attend the IAHR congress will be given an opportunity to cast their vote online or postal. Communication about this will be send out shortly after the closing date.

If we do not receive any counter-nominations, no online/postal vote opportunity will be given; the vote at the IAHR congress will serve to affirm the above nomination.

In case the above raises any questions or concerns, please do contact the co-chairs of the nomination committee.

Sincerely,

Co-chairs:
Professor Njoki Wane
Professor Adriaan van Klinken

Members:
Dr Rose Mary Amenga-Etego
Dr Chammah Kaunda
Professor Danoye Oguntola-Laguda