Islamic Society and State Power in Senegal: Disciples and Citizens in Fatick: 80 (African Studies, Series Number 80)
Cambridge University Press, 2/16/1995
EAN 9780521460071, ISBN10: 0521460077
Hardcover, 360 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 2.4 cm
Language: English
The Sufi Muslim orders to which the vast majority of Senegalese belong are the most significant institutions of social organization in the country. While studies of Islam and politics have tended to focus on the destabilizing force of religiously based groups, the author argues that in Senegal the orders have been a central component of a political system that has been among the most stable in Africa. Focusing on a regional administrative centre, he combines a detailed account of grassroots politics with an analysis of national and international forces to examine the ways in which the internal dynamics of the orders shape the exercise of power by the Senegalese. This is a major study that should be read by every student of Islam and politics as well as of Africa.
List of tables
Acknowledgments
A note on spelling
Glossary
Map of Senegal
Introduction
good Africans, good citizens, good Muslims
1. Islam in the politics of state-society relations
2. The structure of society
Fatick in the Senegalese context
3. The state-citizen relationship
struggle over bridges
4. The marabout-disciple relationship I
foundations of recruiting and following
5. The marabout-disciple relationship II
the structures of allegiance
6. The state-marabout relationship
collaboration, conflict and alternatives
7. Bureaucrats, marabouts and citizen-disciples
how precarious a balance?
Notes
Select bibliography
Index.