The Mouride

February 20, 2005

I must start this with a disclaimer. I do not claim to be an expert on Islam, the Islam Brotherhoods, or anything else. The facts and observations here are based on various cursory readings, conversations, and my own take on things.

The population of Senegal is approximately 95% Muslim. The rest are Catholic, with a smattering of various traditional religions. The Catholics are primarily in the southern region of Casemance, below the Gambia, although they have a visible presence in Dakar as well.

The Muslims of Senegal belong to four brotherhoods, each of which has its own religious leaders, known as marabout. From what I understand, the religious practices of the four brotherhoods are virtually the same, the differences stem from which marabouts (religious leaders) each group follows. Head marabout of each sect are often referred to as Cheiks or Caliphs. These brotherhoods are the Tidiane, the Lebu, the Leyen, and the Mouride.

Most Leyen and Lebu followers reside in the town of Yoff, outside of Dakar, although they also have a presence in a fishing village within the colonial city of St. Louis on the Mauritanian border. They are known for being fishermen and for their religious ceremonies, which are quite secretive and similar to those of the Sufi. The Tidiane trace their roots to North Africa, as the main leaders of Tidianism are in Morocco. In Senegal, their spiritual centers are in Tivouane (near Thies) and Kaolack. The architecture of the central mosque of the Tidiane in Tivouane is Moroccan, as is the financing. When I visited there last year, it was full of Moroccan craftsmen, working on the marble décor.

Tidiane Mosque of Tivouane	Lebu Mosque of Ouakam

By far the most unique and fascinating brotherhood is the Mouride. Approximately twenty five percent of the population of Senegal belongs to this brotherhood, although its presence and influence are much larger. It is based on the teachings of its founder, Amadou Bamba, who lived from the mid-1800’s until early 1900’s. Apparently his religious powers and large following were threatening to the colonizing French, who placed him under house arrest (and exile) for a lot of his life. During his imprisonment he was responsible for a huge body of writing, including philosophy, mathematics, science, and poems. In fact, he should not have been any threat to the French, since his popularity and interests had nothing to do with politics, but to his spiritual leadership. He was assisted in disseminating his views by Lamp Fall, who is also revered by the Mouride. Throughout Senegal, on buses, taxis, posters, pictures in people’s living rooms, and on amulets worn around necks, one finds pictures of both Amadou Bamba and Lamp Fall, as well as local Mouride marabout. The current hierarchy of Chieks and marabout of the Mouride trace their lineage to Bamba.

The spiritual center of the Mouride is the mosque city of Touba. A visit to Touba is a must for any visitor to Senegal. Touba has no official government presence – no police, tax authorities, public schools, or municipality. The city is governed exclusively by the religious leadership. The focal point of Touba is its grand mosque, one of the most exquisite examples of religious architecture I have ever seen. It is built of gorgeous imported varieties of marble. It is huge, ornate, awesome. In order to tour this mosque, a visitor must be accompanied by an “official” guide, who will explain the history, architecture, and tradition, mostly addressing male visitors and ignoring female visitors, who can only enter certain areas.

Part of the strength of the Mouride is their not insignificant political influence in Senegal. No national figure can get elected without the endorsement of the Mouride leadership and marabout, who basically instruct their followers who to vote for. The current President, Abdoulaye Wade, owes his presidency to the Mouride vote. This is something that doesn’t come without its price. The Mouride use their political clout frequently, influencing every aspect of Senegalese life.

Among the sectors that the Mouride control is public transportation. All of the car rapides (small, ancient, unsafe minibuses) and taxi owners and drivers are followers of Mouridism. Thus, most of the vehicles are decorated with religious slogans, references to Touba, and pictures of Bamba. Many of these vehicles are unregistered, uninsured, and the drivers unlicensed. Somehow a combination of political clout and daily bribes to the police make this possible. Last month the government proposed some sort of safety requirements on car rapides. The result was a two day strike, which left most laborers unable to travel the long distances from the outskirts of Dakar to their jobs. At Suffolk, we were forced to send one of our drivers to pick up most of our employees at central meeting points.

Once a year, the Mouride celebrate the Magal. This commemorates the anniversary of the death of Amadou Bamba, and takes place sometime in the Spring. Touba is overwhelmed by at least two million worshipers, who somehow get themselves there for this one-day event. I can’t image the scene, since there are no hotels in Touba, no public restrooms, no restaurants, or other trivial conveniences. Somehow I imagine throngs of people just sleeping on the streets. Dakar seems deserted during the Magal, and there are almost no car rapides or taxis. One year, I had decided to travel to Bandia game reserve with some visitors on the day of the Magal. It was amazing to see the mass of humanity along the road trying to get to Touba, spilling out of car rapides, semi-trailers, anything that moved.

The Mouride believe strongly in religious study, charity, and hard work. Members of the Mouride sect supposedly return a good percentage of their earnings to the religious leadership, whether that is their local marabout or the religious leadership in Touba. It is reported that the Mouride send its membership all over the world to work and send back money to support the religion. In New York, for example, a large number of the African street merchants one encounters are Senegalese Mouride (estimates are as high as 100,000 in New York alone). They sell fake watches, African fabrics, other African souvenirs, bootlegged tapes and CDs, and other things to earn a living. Many live there illegally, obviously their earnings are unrecorded. I find all of this amazingly fascinating. How does the cash tithed make its way back to Touba? How do the religious leadership in Touba keep track of the brethren in the field and the amounts the should or do send back? It appears like the study of any underground financial activity, whether drug trafficking or organized crime. I originally thought that they used the many wire transfer operations in New York and Senegal, similar to Western Union. However, I have been told that some marabouts actually make the journey to New York to collect and bring back. At the departure area for South African Airways at JFK airport, I have often seen elderly Senegalese men in traditional garb waiting to return to Senegal. I can tell by the way they are treated by the Senegalese that they are revered. Perhaps their undergarments are bulging with wads of $100 bills.

Throughout Senegal, especially Dakar, one sees little boys begging. These boys are filthy, dressed in rags, and carry tomato paste cans to collect coins or other donations. They stand at every intersection and approach cars for contributions. It was recently reporting in a New York Times article that these boys, known as Talibe, are sent out to beg by the marabout. They are giving an amount that they are required to collect each day. Failure to collect results in a beating. With the number of Talibe and other beggars one encounters, it is difficult to give money, difficult not to. It is quite a dilemma. Further, the knowledge that the money one would give to a pathetic Talibe doesn’t really help the boy, but goes to the hands of some religious leader, is even more discouraging. What I have chosen to do is to give some of the boys food rather than money. At least they can eat it. So we give them lumps of sugar, pieces of bread, things like that. I have been told that begging is a noble profession in Islam, which takes seriously the idea of charity. Beggars frequent mosques, especially during Friday prayer time, when it is considered an essential part of religious practice to give to the poor.

I read in the local newspaper a few weeks ago that President Wade made a visit to the religious leadership in Touba, dressed in his best boubou rather than a Western-style suit. He announced his plans to build a second presidential palace in Touba. I take that as a sign that he is posturing to run for office again in the next election in 2006. The first step is to garner the support of the Mouride, otherwise running for office would be futile.

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