Mouride


The Mouride brotherhood is a large tariqa most prominent in Senegal and The Gambia with headquarters in the city of Touba, which is a holy city for the order. Adherents are called Mourides, from the Arabic word murīd, a term used generally in Sufism to designate a disciple of a spiritual guide. The beliefs and practices of the Mourides constitute Mouridism. Mouride disciples call themselves taalibé in Wolof and must undergo a ritual of allegiance called njebbel, as it is considered highly important to have a sheikh "spiritual guide" in order to become a Mouride. The Mouride brotherhood was founded in 1883 in Senegal by Amadou Bamba. The Mouride order is particularly popular among the Wolof community and a significant amount of the population of Senegal follow the order, and their influence over everyday life can be seen throughout Senegal.

History

Founding

The Mouride brotherhood was founded in 1883 in Senegal by Shaykh Aḥmadu Bàmba Mbàkke, commonly known as Amadou Bamba. In Arabic, he is known as Aḥmad ibn Muhammad ibn Habīb Allāh or by the nickname "Khadīmu r-Rasūl". In Wolof he is called "Sëriñ Tuubaa". He was born in the village of Mbacké in Baol, the son of a Cheikh from the Qadiriyya, the oldest of the Muslim brotherhoods in Senegal.
Amadou Bamba was a Muslim mystic and ascetic marabout, a spiritual leader who wrote tracts on meditation, rituals, work, and tafsir. He is perhaps best known for his emphasis on work, and his disciples are known for their industriousness. Although he did not support the French conquest of West Africa, he did not wage outright war on them, as several prominent Tijani cheikh had done. He taught, instead, what he called the jihād al-akbar or "greater struggle," which fought not through weapons but through learning and fear of God.
Bamba's followers call him a mujaddid. Bamba's fame spread through his followers, and people joined him to receive the salvation that he promised. Salvation, he said, comes through submission to the cheikh and hard work.
There is only one surviving photograph of Amadou Bamba, in which he wears a flowing white kaftan and his face is mostly covered by a scarf. This picture is venerated and reproduced in paintings on walls, buses, taxis, and other private and public spaces all over modern-day Senegal.

French colonial rule

At the time of the foundation of the Mouride brotherhood in 1883, the French were in control of Senegal as well as most of West and North Africa. Although it had shared in the horrors of the pre-colonial slave trade, French West Africa was managed relatively better than other African regions during the Scramble for Africa and ensuing colonial era. Senegal enjoyed small measures of self-rule in many areas. However, French rule still discouraged the development of local industry, preferring to force the exchange of raw materials for European finished goods, and a large number of taxation measures were instituted.
At the end of the 19th century, French colonial authorities began to worry about the growing power of the Mouride brotherhood and its potential to resist French colonialism. Bamba, who had converted various kings and their followers, could probably have raised an army against the French had he wanted. Fearful of his power, the French sentenced Bamba to exile in Gabon and later Mauritania and confining him in house arrest in Senegal until 1912.
However, Bamba's exile fueled legends about his miraculous ability to survive torture, deprivation, and attempted executions, and thousands more flocked to his organization. For example, on the ship to Gabon, forbidden from praying, Bamba is said to have broken his leg-irons, leapt overboard into the ocean, and prayed on a prayer rug that miraculously appeared on the surface of the water. In addition, when the French put him in a furnace, he is said to have simply sat down and had tea with Muhammad. In a den of hungry lions, it is said the lions slept beside him.
Image:Touba moschee.jpg|thumb|right|260px|The Great Mosque of Touba, Senegal
By 1912, policy shifted towards using the Senegalese Sufi orders – among them the Mourides – as assets in the colonial administration. This way, it was thought, the authority and power of the orders could instead be used to support colonial rule. In order to facilitate rapprochement and in an attempt to limit the appearance of Bamba as a freedom fighter, he was released from house arrest and moved back to Diourbel, close to the future site of Touba. The Mouride doctrine of hard work served French economic interests, as addressed below. After World War I, the Mouride brotherhood was allowed to grow and in 1926 Bamba began work on the Great Mosque in Touba, where he would be buried one year later.
Bamba’s successors were increasingly cordial with the French administration, collaborating and receiving support against rivals and material benefits such as land and machinery in return. This led to the brotherhood’s authority becoming part of a form of indirect rule by the French. In 1928 the French colonial administration issued a deed recognizing the land of Bamba’s tomb and the Great Mosque as private property of the Mouride community. This marked the first step towards Touba’s autonomy from the wider Senegalese state which continued post-independence.
The Mourides played a central role in the 1958 Senegalese constitutional referendum which determined whether Senegal would become part of the new French Community. The leaders of the main Senegalese Sufi orders jointly announced their loyalty to Charles de Gaulle and their support of the proposed French Community. Their campaigning, supported by the French Administration, led to the overwhelming yes of nearly 98% being coined “the marabouts’ Yes.”

Structure

Leadership

Shaikh Amadou Bamba was buried in 1927 at the Great Mosque in Touba, the holy city of Mouridism and the heart of the Mouride movement. After his death Bamba has been succeeded by his descendants as hereditary leaders of the brotherhood. The caliph of the Mouride brotherhood is known as the Grand Marabout and has his seat in Touba. The first five caliphs were all sons of Amadou Bamba, starting with his eldest son:
  1. Serigne Mouhamadou Moustapha Mbacké, caliph from 1927 to 1945
  2. Serigne Mouhamadou Fallilou Mbacké, caliph from 1945 to 1968
  3. Serigne Abdou Ahad Mbacké, caliph from 1968 to 1989
  4. Serigne Abdou Khadr Mbacké, caliph from 1989 to 1990
  5. Serigne Saliou Mbacké, caliph from 1990 until his death on December 28, 2007
  6. Serigne Mouhamadou Lamine Bara Mbacké,, caliph from 2007 to 2010. He was the first grandson of Ahmadou Bamba to become caliph.
  7. Serigne Sidi Moukhtar Mbacké, caliph from July 1, 2010 until his death on January 9, 2018.
  8. Serigne Mountakha Mbacké, incumbent caliph since January 10, 2018.
The Grand Marabout is a direct descendant of Amadou Bamba himself and is considered the spiritual leader of all Mourides. There are other marabouts, each with a regional following.

Dahiras

Dahiras are a unique institution of the Senegalese Sufi model which connect followers of a particular marabout or order in an association. They are often based on shared allegiances to a particular marabout or common geographical location, for example, a neighborhood or city-specific dahira. Other dahiras bring together followers belonging to the same age, gender, occupation, or school, linking them across Senegal and even abroad. A key example of this is the Hizbut-Tarqiyyah, which brought together Mouride students and alumni of the University of Dakar. Notably many Mouride dahiras name the Grand Marabout as their patron and thereby avoid allegiance to a specific marabout inside the order.
Dahiras first appeared in urban areas as religious solidarity and mutual aid groups to tackle the issues of urban migrants but have since spread across the country to rural areas as well. Next to providing a community of like-minded Mourides, they help facilitate the participation of members at important festivals and help raise funds for sudden expenses which individuals may be unable to cover themselves, such as funeral costs.

Daaras

Daaras are madrassas or Quranic schools. They were originally founded by the shaykh, his descendants, or disciples to teach the Quran and the khassida as well as cultivating the land. Hence they have grown to be associations of Mourides, generally based on shared allegiance to a particular marabout.

Sects

Baye Fall

One famous disciple of Bamba, Ibrahima Fall, was known for his dedication to God and considered work as a form of adoration. Fall was the one to introduce the conduct with which a disciple should interact with his Shaykh, based on the example of the Sahabas and concepts presented in the 49th chapter of the Quran Al-Hujurat. Ibrahima Fall was responsible for guiding many of Bamba's more eccentric followers and new converts to Islam. His followers were the precursor to a subgroup of the Mouride brotherhood today referred to as the Baye Fall, many of whom substitute hard labor and dedication to their marabout for the usual Muslim pieties.
Sheikh Ibrahima Fall was one of the first of Amadou Bamba's disciples and one of the most illustrious. He catalysed the Mouride movement and led all the labour work in the Mouride brotherhood. Fall reshaped the relation between Mouride talibes and their guide, Amadou Bamba. Fall instituted the culture of work among Mourides with his concept of Dieuf Dieul,. Ibra Fall helped Amadou Bamba to expand Mouridism, in particular with Fall's establishment of the Baye Fall movement. For this contribution, Serigne Fallou, the second Caliph after Amadou Bamba, named him "Lamp Fall". In addition, Ibrahima Fall earned the title باب المريدين Bab al-Murīdīna, "Gate of the Mourides."
The members of the Baye Fall dress in colorful ragged clothes, wear their hair in dreadlocks which are called ndiange, which they decorate usually with homemade beads, wire or string. They also carry clubs, and act as security guards in the annual Grand Magal pilgrimages to Touba. Women usually are covered in draping coverings including their heads and occasionally are known to wear highly decorative handmade jewelry made from household or natural items. In modern times the hard labor is often replaced by members roaming the streets asking for financial donations for their marabout. Several Baye Fall are talented musicians. A prominent member of the Baye Fall is the Senegalese musician Cheikh Lô.