Part 4: Case Studies:

Transcription

1 Part 4: Case Studies: Nov : Ahmed Bamba, the Muridiyya and French Colonialism Nov. 19 Ahmed Bamba and the Birth of Muridism

2 Story of Ahmed Bamba and Murid Brotherhood (late 19 th -20 th centuries) familiar in many ways yet ultimately different: - Ahmed Bamba emerged in situation similar to dan Fodio, Mohamed Ahmed (al-mahdi) - Murids (learners, disciples) faced many issues similar to Sudanese Mahdists: first conquest by European power (in this case French), then incorporation in colonial state - unlike Fulani and Mahdist jihads no physical resistance - like Mahdi s son, worked on policy of accommodation without millenarianism - opposite: created order to live, grow, thrive in westernized modern world - unlike Mahdists: was successful -has been argued that Murid sufi order offers answer to contemporary contradictions Islam vs democracy/secularism

3 (Robinson) - situates Senegal physically/historically - bounded to north by Senegal river: gateway to region once controlled by Almoravids and bordering Sahara desert - in fact, Islam present in region since probably 9th century: fabled conversion King of Takrur, attracted to power of religion to bring rain after prolonged drought - dominant in region since 16th c - main groups Fulani ( relatives of those in Nigeria) and Wolof In spite of widespread acceptance Islam: no single Muslim state comparable to Sokoto ever succeeded many smal scale movements, 17 th -19 th century - likens most to Gobir, target of dan Fodio s initial jihad: muslim leader, clerics but many questionable Islamic practices

4 Touba: Murid Capital

5 Immediate context: French area commercial interest Saint Louis and hinterland: - kingdom Kajoor: Muslim ruler (Dammel) studied seriously with local Shaykh - attempted to impose stricter laws: surrounded by learned clerics (one of whom was Ahmed Bamba s Father) - challenged by royal soldiers: exercising power to exploit peasants, benefit from slave trade - kingdom largely dependent on slavery and Atlantic slave trade - late 19th French pressure: end slave trade, shift economic basis of kingdom to cash crops peanuts - French requested permission to build railway to interior - where Mahdists had resisted British doing same in Egypt-Sudan, Dammel agreed

6 Railroad passed through kingdom 1885: - cut across peanut growing basin, opened up kingdom to French merchants, soldiers - effectively removed ability of Dammel to control interior of kingdom, threatened control of economy as well Dammel belatedly resisted: efforts cost him his life in 1886 Robinson dates beginning of colonial rule to his death and that date.

7 Also the date of the foundational myth establishing birth of Murid tariqa: - (as Robinson recounts), popularly accepted story has Ahmed Bamba meeting Dammel of Kajoor on the eve of his death - symbolism important: read as Dammel transferring power to Ahmed Bamba the former being secular, military, the latter religious, pacifist Robinson points out evidence proves meeting never took place what remains important is belief in message

8 Senegal in time of Ahadu Bamba Ahmed Bamba: - from clerical marabout family: French word for cleric, derived from Al-moravids (became accepted terminology throughout French West Africa) - ancestors belonged to Qadiriyya (southern Mauritania), initiated into brotherhood through family - studied with different Qadiri Shaykhs - also with same Marabout as Dammel, and others including Tijani scholars - ultimately received ultimate initiation from Shaikh Sidiyya

9 Photo of Amadu Bamba c only known photo

10 Nevertheless, not satisfied that established brotherhoods adequately addressed challenges 1880s -1890s: - troubled times (Robinson): incursion of French in military and economic sense - also in religious terms: educators seen as putting quest for prestige and wealth over duty to dispense knowledge for the sake of God [ Educating the Murid, Add l Resources] - rejected Tijani position of resistance - believed pursuit of both power and piety not possible: made choice for latter, convinced Father to leave Dammel s court

11 Ahmad Bamba: successor to father - moved outside realm of court - took following back to village of origin in Bawol - can be compared (in part) to hijra - except clear that no military holy war was to follow - taught followers, developed his own spirituality, studied hadiths, wrote poetry, books

12 Amed Bamba especially interested in issue of relations between rulers and ruled : - observed what he saw as corrupt court of Dammel and his father - studied earlier Muslim scholars: 12 th c Ghazali speaks to issue although obedience is owed to the unjust prince, one must not condone his injustice the devout Muslim should avoid the court and company of the unjust ruler, and should rebuke him, by words if he can safely do so, by silence if words might encourage rebellion Influence on Amadu Bamba evident: for example, among his writings 'Those who frequent them [the unjust rulers] because of their wealth, share in the corruption which is the source of their power.

13 Conception of Sufism shaped by desire to reconcile mysticism, sharia and involvement in society: - distanced himself from extreme asceticism - advocated involvement Sufi Shaykh in life of community - system of education: to instill teachings of Islam and create Muslims who served their community - mother Mame Diarra Bousso: also seen as inspirational figure in brotherhood - role not as well known as Nana Asma u but continued reverence even today suggests was considerable Overall: Muridism seen as necessary response to situation of crisis

14 Acquisition of knowledge without practice was a waste of time : - science (in sufi sense) and action ( life involvement) were twin foundations of virtuous life - elements underpinned long-term pedagogy - Amadu Bamba designed system that was lifelong education geared towards transformation of character and behaviour [of murids] -

15 From the other perspective, there were duties of students to be respected in accordance with goals: - to combat ignorance - to be useful to humanity - to enrich religious sciences - to act and live in accordance with the teachings of the sciences Warning: those seeking sciences for the sake of engaging in polemics or for prestige and honour will earn nothing but punishment from God.

16 Challenge: followers of varying backgrounds - some had learning : Islamic understanding, potential marabouts - but few initial followers were from Clerical families - most (like the Hausa peasantry in Sokoto), had little real knowledge of Islam: illiterate or semi-illiterate former slaves, crown soldiers, peasants, women and children - literature talks of displaced people: many migrant labourers, attracted by work in peanut basin - ready to learn, obedient Ahmed Bamba needed to engage all of them

17 Pedagogy he developed from 1884, after he inherited the leadership of his family, emphasized work and religious practices rather than ideology: - organized system around knowledge schools, quranic schools and working schools - personalized instruction for disciples with special needs. Through this system, Bamba provided specialized and customized training to disciples with different intellectual and physicalabilities and potentials. - working schools tarbiyya were more populated than other schools in early days of Murīdiyya: majority of people who first came to Bamba had already passed schooling age - movement became known for emphasis on work

18 Role of ajami, development of Wolofal : - books, letters, poems written in Arabic - but Bamba used Wolof proverbs, popular sayings in discussion to simplify foreign Islamic concepts, make them understandable - then transcribed in Wolofal for wider dissemination Wolofal: arabic script,wolof language - particularly important in Tarbiyya Schools - senior disciples consciously developed Wolofal As seen earlier in Sokoto Caliphate), it was realized that genuine conversion of Wolof masses could be achieved only through writing that could be sung or read out loud to illiterate village audiences.

19 Wolofal continued to evolve, becoming medium of written communication in all Murīd communities: - served a number of purposes: -dissemination Bamba s teachings - writing of praise, satirical, and polemical poetry, eulogies - also record keeping, communication other secular information. In creating Tarbiyya Schools, encouraging use of Wolofal as educational tool, Amadu Bamba understood pedagogical and cultural benefits of using Wolof to reach common people. His classical Arabic poems and the Wolofal literature constituted bedrock of educational materials used by Murīd to educate, transmit Murīd ethos to future generations.

20 Example of Wolofal Text [see next slide For translation]

21 The Leader (Bamba) used to look for quiet places, far from big towns, and build schools there. If you came to submit to him, if you were a learned person, he would send you to the knowledge schools, where you would teach. If you possessed quranic knowledge, he would send you to quranic schools where you would learn and teach. If you were at a schooling age, he would send you to knowledge schools or quranic schools where you would study at your level. (Bamba said): I instruct all disciples: (1) to cultivate knowledge, courtesy, and discipline. I order every disciple who relies on me (2) to keep studying al-qur ān, the best of the books. If your brain could not hold these two things, he would send you to the working school where you would be educated and taught all types of work. If you were beyond the working age or could not do it, he would find something useful that brought divine reward and ask you to do it. But no one ever stayed with Boroom Tuubaa without doing anything. He said in Masāliku l Jinān that what those who passed away want the most is to have the opportunity to come back to this world for any short duration so that they may perform some additional work that would benefit them when they return.

22 Education occupies a central place in Amadu Bamba's thought and practices. The importance that Amadu Bamba ascribed to education reflected his belief in the crucial role of Islamic knowledge for the achievement of social change and the preservation of positive social values. The system of education that he developed was a response to both the contemporary socio-political situation in the increasingly dysfunctional Wolof states that he judged detestable, and the deterioration of the classical system of education that was no longer fulfilling its societal function.

23 [Murid ethos] allowed the cohesion and continuity of the brotherhood. This ethos that is shaped by values such as solidarity, self reliance, rootedness in the local Islamic culture, submission to the shaikh and distrust of temporal power-holders contributed to the development of a counterculture. That is a set of values, practices, a cultural code and a worldview that provide structure and meaning to the disciples' lives. This counterculture appeared as a viable alternative to traditional court culture and French cultural imperialism and provided a basis of passive resistance to colonial rule. [from Educating the Murid, Cheikh Anta Babou, Add l Resources]