'We Are All the Same, Because We All Worship God.' The Controversial Case of a Female Saint in The Gambia

Abstract

ABSTRACT Based on ethnographic field research, this article explores religious discourses about proper ritual observance in The Gambia, a country where our understanding of processes of Islamization is largely lacking. These discourses centre upon the case of Berekuntu, a shrine guarded by a female saint in the village of Kartong. On the basis of three 'texts', the female saint's biographical narrative, a series of sermons delivered by reformist scholars, and a newspaper article based on an interview with the Supreme Islamic Council, the article shows that shrine and saint veneration are not relics of the past, but are part of a lively contemporary dispute about 'authentic' Islam and who represents it. While reformist Muslims seem to have conquered the public sphere during the last decade under the influence of President Jammeh's rule, the Sufi understanding of Islam, as embodied by the saint, still enjoys great support among the Gambian population. Although 'reformists' and 'Sufis' seem at first sight to be diametrically opposed, they sometimes borrow from each other. An analysis of the (re)negotiation of Muslim identities indicates that Islamization is not a single monolithic movement but, rather, a diffuse process happening at different levels. RESUME partir de travaux ethnographiques menes sur le terrain, cet article examine les discours religieux sur la bonne observance rituelle en Gamble, un pays dont on connait trhs real les processus d'islamisation. Ces discours se concentrent sur le cas de Berekuntu, un tombeau gardh par une sainte dans le village de Kartong. Se basant sur trois textes, a savoir le recit biographique de la sainte, une serie de sermons delivres par des savants reformistes et un article de journal bash sur un entretien avec le Conseil islamique supreme, cet article montre que le tombeau et la veneration de la sainte ne sont pas des vestiges du passe, mais font partie d'une controverse contemporaine animee concernant l'islam > et son (ou ses) representants. Alors que les musulmans rhformistes semblent avoir conquis la sphere publique au cours de la derniere decennie sous l'influence du regime du President Jammeh, l'interpretation soufie de Fislam, telle qu'incarnee par la sainte, continue de jouir du soutien important de la population gambienne. Bien que les reformistes et les soufis semblent a premiere vue diameralement opposhs, il leur arrive de s'emprunter mutuellement. Une analyse de la (re)negociation des identites musulmanes indique que l'islamisation n'est pas un simple movement monolirhique, mais plutht un processus diffus survenant a differents niveaux. ********** 'We are all the same, because we all worship God' (1) was an often-heard expression during my field research in The Gambia. In practice, however, worship is a controversial act in Muslim West Africa, an act that may lead to the construction of different mosques and religious schools in the same town, different styles of prayer, differences in the ways Muslim festivals are celebrated, and even bloodshed. As the more recent social science studies of Islam have stressed, advancing levels of education, the introduction of new media technologies and greater ease of travel have caused religion to play a crucial role in the transformation of the public arena (Eickelman and Piscatori 1990; Eisenstadt 2002; Salvatore and Eickelman 2004; Eickelman and Salvatore 2004; Soares 2005). As Eickelman and Anderson (2003: 1) argue: 'A new sense of public is emerging throughout Muslim-majority states and Muslim communities elsewhere. It is shaped by increasingly open contests over the authoritative use of the symbolic language of Islam.' The emergence of a public sphere or rather spheres (see Calhoun 1997: 37-8) allows for different ways of being Muslim. (2) Muslims are increasingly distinguishing themselves as particular kinds of believers on the basis of doctrinal distinctions and religious practices. …