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May 2023
20m 30s

Islamic Pacifism in West Africa

FILIP HOLM
About this episode

The concept of "jihad" in Islam is often oversimplified, and in this episode we explore one example of a "pacifist" tradition within Islam assoicated with Salim Suwari and the Suwarian tradition.


Sources/Suggested Reading:

  • Babou, Cheikh Anta (2007). "Fighting the Greater Jihad: Amadu Bamba and the founding of the Mouridiyya of Senegal, 1853-1913". Ohio University Press.
  • Clark, Andrew Francis (1999). "Imperialism, Independence, and Islam in Senegal and Mali". Africa Today, Volume 46, Number 3/4, Summer/Autumn. Indiana University Press.
  • Creevey, Lucy E. (1985). "Muslim Brotherhoods and Politics in Senegal in 1985". The Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol. 23, No. 4. Cambridge University Press.
  • Kimball, Michelle R. (2018). "Shaykh Ahmadou Bamba: A Peacemaker for Our Time". The Other Press Sdn. Bhd.
  • Mbacké, Khadim (2005). "Sufism and Religious Brotherhoods in Senegal". Markus Weiner Publishers.
  • Sanneh, Lamin O. (2018). "The Jakhanke: The History of an Islamic Clerical People of the Senegambia". Routledge.
  • Wilks, Ivor (1968). "The Transmission of Islamic Learning in the Western Sudan". In Literacy in Traditional Societies, ed. J. Goody. London.
  • Wilks, Ivor (2011). "al-Hajj Salim Suwari and the Suwarians: A search for sources". Transactions of the Historical Society of GhanaNew Series, No. 13 (2011), pp. 1-79 (79 pages). Published By: Historical Society of Ghana.
  • Willis, John Ralph (1970). The Jihād of al-Hajj cUmar al-Fūtī: Its Doctrinal Basis. . . Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of London.
  • Willis, John Ralph (2013). "In the Path of Allah: The Passion of al-Hajj 'Umar". Routledge.


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