ABOUT THIS BOOK

Highlights the role of transnational space making in the construction of diasporic Muridiyya identity. The construction of collective identity among the Muridiyya abroad is a communal but contested endeavor. Differing conceptions of what should be the mission of Muridiyya institutions in the diaspora reveal disciples’ conflicting politics and challenge the notion of the order’s homogeneity. While some insist on the universal dimension of Ahmadu Bamba Mbakke’s calling and emphasize dawa (proselytizing), others prioritize preserving Muridiyya identity abroad by consolidating the linkages with the leadership in Senegal. Diasporic reimaginings of the Muridiyya abroad, in turn, inspire cultural reconfigurations at home. Drawing from a wide array of oral and archival sources in multiple languages collected in five countries, The Muridiyya on the Move reconstructs over half a century of the order’s history, focusing on mobility and cultural transformations in urban settings. In this groundbreaking work, Babou highlights the importance of the dahira (urban prayer circle) as he charts the continuities and ruptures between Muridiyya migrations. Throughout, he delineates the economic, socio-political, and other forces that powered these population movements, including colonial rule, the economic crises of the postcolonial era, and natural disasters.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Cheikh Anta Babou is an associate professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania, where he has taught African history and the history of Islam in Africa since 2002. He is the foremost historian of the Muridiyya of Senegal and has published extensively on the genesis of the Murid order, the expansion of the Senegalese and Murid diaspora, and the politics of Sufi Islam in Senegal.

REVIEWS

“Babou shows a true cultural and social anthropological intuition in describing the present making of the Muridiyya brotherhood throughout parts of Black Africa and of the Western world.”—Jean Copans, emeritus professor of sociology and anthropology, Université Paris Descartes

“Based on years of intense ethnographic and historiographic research on three continents, Cheikh Anta Babou chronicles the ways in which individual migrants built local communities closely tied to transnational networks radiating from the holy city of Tuuba. The Muridiyya on the Move explores the relationships between religious associations known as dahiras, entrepreneurial migrant disciples, and key personalities from the order in inscribing physical and social Murid spaces in each setting. Recounted in rich detail and often through the voices of the actors themselves, this fascinating work will be of great interest both to those familiar with the Muridiyya, and to those who are just discovering this dynamic Sufi community.”—Leonardo A. Villalón, author of Islamic Society and State Power in Senegal: Disciples and Citizens in Fatick

“Combining several historical, ethnographic, sociological, and theoretical perspectives, this book offers an exemplary social, economic, cultural, and intellectual history of a community that has been creatively adjusting to a constantly changing world. Babou engages with the question of how the Murid became subjects of globalization in their own terms and languages. Bold and innovative in his conception and execution of this book, Babou persuasively argues for the crucial role played by migration in reshaping the identity and global performance of the Murid community, culturally, politically, and religiously, at home and abroad. Diligent in uncovering sources and scrupulous in the use of primary materials, interlacing historical detail, personal interviews, and observations, Cheikh Babou brings together (un)familiar elements to account for the creative and vernacular-inspired self-inclusion to the temps du monde.”—Mamadou Diouf, editor of Tolerance, Democracy, and Sufis in Senegal

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Illustrations Acknowledgments Abbreviations Note on Orthography Introduction Chapter 1. The Muridiyya in the Cities of Senegal Chapter 2. Birth of a Diaspora: Murid Migrants in Côte d’Ivoire Chapter 3. Gabon: “Backyard of Tuubaa” Chapter 4. The Muridiyya in France Chapter 5. Making Murid Space in Paris Chapter 6. Unlikely Migration: Murids in New York City Chapter 7. Making Room for the Muridiyya in New York City Conclusion Appendix 1. Excerpts from Journal Officiel de l’Afrique Occidentale Française authorizing the first licensed Murid dahira in Senegal, May 17, 1958 Appendix 2. List of officers of the federation of Murid dahiras of Dakar in 1963 Appendix 3. Caliph Faliilu Mbakke’s letter acknowledging reception of donations from the Murid dahira of Dakar, November 23, 1966 Appendix 4. Caliph Abdul Ahad Mbakke’s letter acknowledging receipt of donations from the Murid dahira of Dakar, September 13, 1987 Appendix 5. Caliph Faliilu Mbakke’s letter to the governor of Côte d’Ivoire regarding the appointment of Sëriñ Ñas as his representative, April 14, 1968 Appendix 6. Proclamation by religious community leaders in Taverny, including the Murid Imam Mamadou N’Sangou, regarding the Algerian civil war and violence in the Middle East, October 16, 2000 Appendix 7. Shaykh Murtada Mbakke’s letter of recommendation to the Murid community in the United States Appendix 8. Shaykh Murtada Mbakke’s letter appointing Balozi Muhammad leader of the Murid Islamic Community in America Appendix 9. Proclamation of Ahmadu Bamba Day in New York City by David Dinkins, President of the Borough of Manhattan Appendix 10. Proclamation of Ahmadu Bamba Day in Chicago by Mayor Richard M. Daley Appendix 11. Proclamation of Ahmadu Bamba Day in Washington, DC, by Mayor Adrian Fenty 233 Notes Bibliography Index