Clashing Symbols in Timbuktu

Abstract

In 2007, the Ahmed Baba Institute opened its doors in the storied Malian city of Timbuktu. Named for one of Timbuktu’s favored sons—the Islamic scholar Ahmed Baba (1556–1627)—its shelves were fittingly laden with centuries-old Islamic manuscripts, assembled from across the Maghreb, testaments to Timbuktu’s historical status as a center of religious and cultural thought. With a glimpse to the past, many activists sought to resurrect Timbuktu to its former glory. “We want to build an Alexandria for black Africa,” declared the institute’s director, Mohamed Dicko, in a 2007 interview with the New York Times.As activists worked to showcase the lengthy history of African Islam—highlighting the faith’s incorporation of African intellectual thought, culture, and elements of traditional worship—the Baba Institute would soon come under assault from Islamic extremists who sought to reassert “pure” Islamic values. In a series of tragic events spanning from mid-2012 through January 2013, notions of religious “purity” led to the destruction of many of Timbuktu’s historic shrines and placed the city’s storied manuscripts under dire threat. This essay argues that Timbuktu’s historical and symbolic status as a fountainhead of African Islamic heritage made the city a prime target for jihadists who sought to promote a universal “pure” Islam, untainted by outside influences. Beyond identifying and contrasting ideologies, I will offer some reflections about the relationship of religion and culture, arguing for an understanding of religion that is not opposed to the cultures of those who worship it.