Contemporary Islamic Discourses in Senegal: Between the Local and the Global

Abstract

On May 15, 2010, a Sufi gathering was held by a group of Senegalese immigrant Muslims in Raleigh, North Carolina. The purpose of the meeting was to celebrate the Gammu, the Wolof name given to the celebration of the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad (Mawlid al-Nabi in Arabic), an important event both in Senegal and among its citizens living in the Diaspora. The leader of that congregation was Shaykh Ahmet Sy, president of the Islamic Tijaniyya Foundation of America (ITFA) and grandson of El-Hajj Malick Sy (1855–1922), an important historical Sufi figure of the Tijaniyya in Senegal. Seated next to Shaykh Ahmet Sy were three other doomi soxna (children of saintly women) as they are called in Wolof Sufi discourse: Shaykh Mamoune Mbacke and Mamidou Mbacke, both grandsons of Amadu Bamba Mbacke (1853–1927), another important historical Sufi figure of Senegal and founder of the Muridiyya order, and Shaykh Ibra Laye Thiaw, grandson of Seydina Limoulaye (1883–1909), founder of the Layenne order of Senegal. In short, the three major Sufi orders of Senegal’s Islamic landscape were represented at the event.