What is it about?
This article examines how Sufi Islam in Africa has influenced religion, politics, and everyday life, particularly through the contributions of notable leaders such as Amadu Bamba in Senegal and Usman Dan Fodio in Nigeria. It shows that Sufism in Africa is not just about private spirituality or quiet worship; it has also led social reform movements, challenged colonial rule, built powerful communities, and, in some cases, helped to justify armed struggle and ideas of an Islamic state. By tracing how Sufi discourse changed over time, the paper explains how today’s radical Salafi and jihadist groups sometimes borrow from older Sufi reform traditions, even while attacking Sufism itself.
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Why is it important?
This study is important because it challenges the simple story that Sufism is always peaceful and apolitical, while “political Islam” and extremism come from somewhere else. By revealing the profound intellectual and political history of African Sufi movements, this work helps readers understand both the strengths of Sufi traditions as forces for education, social justice, and community building, as well as the ways in which their legacy can be reinterpreted in more radical directions today. This matters for anyone trying to design policies on counter‑extremism, religious reform, or Muslim–African relations, because it warns against romanticizing Sufism while also recognizing its huge positive role in African history.
Perspectives
Writing this article was especially rewarding for me because it brought together my long-standing interests in African politics, Islamic thought, and the roots of contemporary extremism. Engaging closely with the writings of figures like Amadu Bamba and Usman Dan Fodio allowed me to see African Sufi leaders not just as local saints, but as serious thinkers grappling with questions of justice, power, and reform that remain relevant today. I hope that this work helps students and policymakers approach African Islam with greater nuance and respect, and encourages further research that takes African religious ideas seriously in debates about security, identity, and the continent's future.
Professor Hamdy A. Hassan
Zayed University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Sufi Islamic Discourse in Africa: From the Greatest Jihad to the Establishment of the African Caliphate, Religions, November 2020, MDPI AG,
DOI: 10.3390/rel11120639.
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