islam in Senegal

Information about islam in Senegal

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Mosquée de la Divinité, Ouakam, Senegal.


Islam is the predominant religion in Senegal. Ninety-four percent of the country's population is estimated to be Muslim.[3] Most muslims in Senegal are members of one of the Sufi brotherhoods. Islam has existed in Senegal for more than a millenium. The first ethnic groups to convert to Islam were the Toucouleur kingdoms during the 11th century CE, and by the beginning of the 20th century CE most of Senegal was Islamic.

The way Islam is practiced in Senegal is significantly different to most other Islamic countries. Islam in Senegal is partially derived from mystical Sufi traditions. In Senegal, Islamic practice takes the form of membership of religious brotherhoods that are dedicated to their marabouts (the founders or current spiritual leaders).

History

Islam may have entered the area of present day Senegal as early as the 11th century CE with the conversion of several of the Toucouleur kingdoms, although it only took hold with the conversion of the leader (Damel) of the kingdom of Cayor, Lat Dyor Diop around 1861 CE. He converted to Islam and established a union with other Wolof and Fulani states to resist the French colonization.

Instrumental in his conversion was the leader (Almamy) of the kingdom of Saloum, Maba Diakhou Bâ. As well as converting traditional states to Islam, Bâ's forces sought to abolish the traditional caste system of the Wolof and Serer aristocratic states. In unifying with other Muslim forces, the West African jihad states aimed to end the reign of small regional kingships, which kept the area in a constant state of war and the lower classes in slave conditions. The Toucouleur Empire of El Hadj Umar Tall in Mali, which rose at about the same time, had much the same goals, and Umar Tall himself was in contact with and recruited among Maba Diakhou Bâ's forces[4].

At the end of the 19th century CE, Senegalese Sufi brotherhoods such as the Tijani and Muridiyyah fought against French and British colonization. Eventually the resistance ended and the French colonists established a secular state, and post-colonial Senegal has remained secular up to this day.
Further information: History of Senegal and History of Islam

Schools of thought

Senegalese Muslims are overwhelmingly members of one of the Sufi brotherhoods. The two largest orders are the Tijaniyyah and the Muridiyyah, although the pan-Islamic Qadiriyyah and the smaller Layene sect are also represented in parts of the country. Individuals become a member of one these groups either through their parentage or by adherence to their preferred marabout.

The Tijani brotherhood originates in North Africa but is now more widespread in West Africa, particularly in Senegal, Mauritania and Mali. The Mouride brotherhood is based in Touba, a state within a state in which there is no governor, no administration, and no police force. The de facto leader of the city is the Grand Marabout of the Mouride brotherhood, Serigne Saliou Mbacke. Veiling is not required, and criminal activity is rare. Alcohol, cigarettes, loud music, and politics are banned .
Further information: Muslim brotherhoods of Senegal

Leadership

The members of the Muslim brotherhoods vow obedience to their marabout, a personal spiritual leader and the inheritor of the barakah (divine grace) of the brotherhood's founder. The founders of each of the brotherhoods are considered mujaddid (renewers) of Islam by their followers, citing a hadith that implies God will send renewers of the faith every hundred years. The marabouts in Senegal are organized in elaborate hierarchies, with the highest marabouts elevated to the status of de facto rulers.

Marabouts are believed to have the power to heal illness and grant spiritual salvation to their followers. Most marabouts have inherited their position from their fathers. Marabouts are expected to teach and counsel their followers, as well as organize their work. The marabout, a scholar of the Qur'an, presides at various ceremonies, makes amulets for good luck, and in some cases actively guides the life of the follower. Marabouts rely on donations to live and often there is an obligation to support the marabout that has accumulated over generations within a family.
Further information: Marabout

Present day

Culture

After the conversion of Lat Dyor Diop many began writing on Islam in both Wolof and Arabic. The tagg, or ode song in Wolof, was reused in an Islamic context—an important integration of pre-Islamic style into the new Muslim paradigm.[1]

Extremism

The Sufi brotherhoods of Senegal have not been historically destabilizing to the secular government of Senegal. Some fear that this trend is changing since Islam has become more politicized in recent time. Indicators, including as small Wahabi population, suggest it may become the first Black African Islamic state but stresses that it does not imply an extremist one.[2]

See also

Notes

3. ^ [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sg.html#People Senegal]. CIA World Factbook. January 10, 2005.
4. ^ Bradford G. Martin. Muslim Brotherhoods in Nineteenth-Century Africa. Cambridge (2003), ISBN 0521534518 p.78

  1. ^  Mbye, 447-448
  2. ^  Ousman, 80-82

References


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Motto
"Un Peuple, Un But, Une Foi"   (French)
"One People, One Goal, One Faith"
Anthem
Pincez Tous vos Koras, Frappez les Balafons
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As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100.

In the history of European culture, this period is considered the early part of the High Middle Ages.
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The Toucouleurs (or Haalpulaaren) are an ethnicity of West Africa. They live primarily in the north of Senegal (where they represent 10% of the population) in the Senegal River valley, Mauritania, Mali and Guinea.
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In general, conversion is the transformation of one thing into another. Articles on particular kinds of conversion are:
  • Conversion (construction)
  • Conversion (law), an intentional tort to personal property

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Damel was the title of the ruler (or king) of the Wolof kingdom of Cayor in what is now northwest Senegal, West Africa.

The most well-known damel is probably Lat Dior Diop (1842-1886) who died in battle during the final French drive to capture his territory,
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The Kingdom of Cayor was the largest and most powerful kingdom that split off from the Empire of Jolof (Diolof), in what is now Senegal. Cayor was located in north and central Senegal, southeast of Waalo, west of the kingdom of Jolof and north of Baol and the Kingdom of Sine.
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Lat Dior Ngoné Latyr Diop (1842 - 1886), son of Sakhéwère Sokhna Mbaye and the Linguère royal Ngoné Latyr Fall, was a 19th century Damel (king) of Cayor, a Wolof state that is today in south central Sénégal.
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Wolof may refer to:
  • the ethnic group of the Wolof people;
  • the Wolof language;
  • things originating from the culture or tradition of the Wolof people.
In older French publications the spelling "Ouolof" is often used instead of "Wolof".
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Fulbhe (singular Pullo) or Fulani is an ethnic group of people spread over many countries in West Africa, Central Africa and as far as East Africa, and are found in Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea, The Gambia, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau,
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For the French colonial postage stamps, see .


France had colonial possessions, in various forms, from the beginning of the 17th century until the 1960s.
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Almami (Also: Almamy, Almani, Almany) is a title of West African Muslim rulers, used especially in the conquest states of the 19th century. It is a contraction of Amir al-Mu'minin
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The Kingdom of Saloum in Senegal is a traditional kingdom which was founded in the late 15th century by the "Gelwaar" or nobles from the Kingdom of Gaabu to the south. The ancient and present capital of the Kingdom of Saloum is the city of Kahone.
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Maba Diakhou Bâ (also Ma Ba Diakhu, Ma Ba Diakho Ba, Ma Ba Jaaxu) (1809 - July 1867), born at Tavacaltou. A marabout from Rip, and a disciple of the Tijaniyya sufi brotherhood, he became leader (Almamy) of Saloum.
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Wolof may refer to:
  • the ethnic group of the Wolof people;
  • the Wolof language;
  • things originating from the culture or tradition of the Wolof people.
In older French publications the spelling "Ouolof" is often used instead of "Wolof".
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Serer (also spelled Sérère, Sereer, etc.) are the second largest ethnic group in Senegal, a major group in The Gambia, and also present in Mauritania. Their traditional kingdoms include the Kingdom of Sine and Kingdom of Saloum.

Their language is called Serer.
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Muslim (Arabic: مسلم) is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form of 'Muslim' is Muslimah (Arabic: مسلمة).
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West African refers to:
  • A person from West Africa
  • An airline: West African Airlines http://www.westafrican-airlines.org/

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List of forms of government
  • Anarchism
  • Aristocracy
  • Authoritarianism
  • Autocracy

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Toucouleur Empire (also known as the Tijaniyya Jihad state) was founded in the nineteenth century by El Hadj Umar Tall of the Toucouleur people, in part of present-day Mali.
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El Hadj Umar Tall, also Umar Tal,Umar Taal "Umar Futi", al-Hajj Umar ibn Sa'id Tal, or el-Hadj Omar ibn Sa'id Tal, (ca. 1797 - 1864) was a West African politician, Islamic scholar, and Toucouleur king who founded a brief empire encompassing much of what
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Motto
"Un peuple, un but, une foi"
"One people, one goal, one faith"
Anthem
Pour l'Afrique et pour toi, Mali
"For Africa and for you, Mali"
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For the periodical, see .
The 19th Century (also written XIX century) lasted from 1801 through 1900 in the Gregorian calendar. It is often referred to as the "1800s.
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Sufism is a mystic tradition within Islam that encompasses a diverse range of beliefs and practices dedicated to Divine love and the cultivation of the elements of the Divine within the individual human being.
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This is a list of Muslim groups in Senegal (and also The Gambia). They are active Muslim organizations that can also be found in many other parts of Africa and the Islamic world.

The three largest are:

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The Tijāniyyah (Arabic: الطريقة التجانية, transliterated: Al-Ṭarīqah al-Tijāniyyah
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The Mouride brotherhood (Muride brotherhood in Wolof, الطريقة المريدية, Aṭ-Ṭarīqat al-Murīdiyya or simply
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Motto
Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité
"Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"
Anthem
"La Marseillaise"


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Motto
"Dieu et mon droit" [2]   (French)
"God and my right"
Anthem
"God Save the Queen" [3]
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Scramble for Africa, also known as the Race for Africa, was the proliferation of conflicting European claims to African territory during the New Imperialism period, between the 1880s and World War I in 1914.
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