Educating the Murid: Theory and Practices of Education in Amadu Bamba's Thought

Abstract

The scholarship on the Muridiyya focuses mainly on the examination of the political and economic aspects of the brotherhood. Dominant scholarly interpretations see the organisation as an effective instrument of adaptation to a turbulent period in history. Disgruntled Wolof farmers joined the Muridiyya as a way of adjusting to the new order brought about by the demise of the pre-colonial kingdoms and the establishment of French domination in Senegal, in the second half of the nineteenth century. Since the role of religious innovations and beliefs was considered peripheral in this process of adjustment, not much attention has been devoted to doctrinal and spiritual issues within the brotherhood. Emphasis had been put on the analysis of the socio-political context of the founding of the Murid brotherhood, and the economic and psychological incentives that might have motivated people to join the organisation. In contrast to this interpretation, I conceive of the Muridiyya as the result of a conscious decision by a Sufi shaikh who saw it primarily as a vehicle for religious change, but also for social and political transformation. Education was the principal tool for the realisation of this social change. This article describes and analyses Amadu Bamba's views on educational theory and practices and explores how his Sufi orientation shaped Murid pedagogy. It reveals the centrality of the theme of education in his writings, sermons and correspondence and documents the continuing influence of this education on the Murid ethos.

Addressing drought through rural religious communities in Senegal

“…The daaras offered both different authorities and distinct communities. Bamba's disciples looked to their shaykh for religious education and a model of correct behaviour, and they practised service to their shaykh and their community through agricultural labour (Babou 2003: 313; Ware 2014: 186). Combining Baye Fall beliefs about work with Bamba's teachings about service and religious education was historically a strong draw to daara communities.…”

Religious networks and small businesses in Senegal

“…Sufi Muslim leaders emerged during this time as an alternative to both colonial and monarchical authorities, with a democratizing approach to religious education and life. By the eighteenth century, West African Sufism, especially within the Qadiri Sufi order, had transitioned from a practice of the educated elite to a source of religious education open to anyone who sought it (Babou 2003, 313; Ware 2014, 154–58, 182–83). Building on this tradition in the late nineteenth century, charismatic leaders within the Tijaani and Murid Sufi orders created a movement of Islamic education that extended throughout West Africa, based on the religious guidance and instruction a disciple received from a chosen shaykh.…”

“…While creating communities of Islamic learning in a colonial territory, they financed their work through the colonial peanut cash crop. Disciples could practice devotion and support to their shaykh through agricultural work, while receiving spiritual direction through the shaykh's example (for nonliterate disciples) or through the shaykh's instruction in the Qur'an and Islamic sciences (for literate disciples) (Babou 2003, 316; 2016, 176; Leichtman 2015, 46–47; Ware 2014, 182–84). That is, shaykhs founded daaras on religious principles (specifically collective work, spiritual goals, and a shaykh's religious guidance), yet they used the colonial economy to fund their alternative space.…”

Addressing global economic inequalities in local ways in Senegal's artisanal workshops

“…The two most populous Sufi orders in Senegal, the Muridiyya and the Tijaaniyya, grew in number and influence at the turn of the 20th century, in part financed by peanut farming. Spiritual teachings of these two orders emphasized a balance between religious studies to grow spiritually and physical labor to support their growing communities (Babou :312). The founder of the Muridiyya, Cheikh Amadu Bamba (1853–1927), emphasized egalitarian ideals that ran counter to the caste‐based hierarchies of the Wolof kingdoms.…”