Exploring the history and religious community of a group of Muslim Sufi mystics in colonial French West Africa, this study shows the relationship between religious, social and economic change in the region. It highlights the role that intellectuals played in shaping social and cultural change and illuminates the specific religious ideas and political contexts that gave their efforts meaning. In contrast to depictions that emphasize the importance of international networks and anti-modern reaction in twentieth-century Islamic reform, this book claims that, in West Africa, such movements were driven by local forces and constituted only the most recent round in a set of centuries-old debates about the best way for pious people to confront social injustice. It argues that traditional historical methods prevent an appreciation of Muslim intellectual history in Africa by misunderstanding the nature of information gathering during colonial rule and misconstruing the relationship between documents and oral history.
| ISBN: | 9780521156295 |
| Publication date: | 19th July 2010 |
| Author: | Sean Stanford University, California Hanretta |
| Publisher: | Cambridge University Press |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 328 pages |
| Series: | African Studies |
| Genres: |
African history Islam |
Exploring the history and religious community of a group of Muslim Sufi mystics in colonial French West Africa, this study shows the relationship between religious, social and economic change in the region. It highlights the role that intellectuals played in shaping social and cultural change and illuminates the specific religious ideas and political contexts that gave their efforts meaning. In contrast to depictions that emphasize the importance of international networks and anti-modern reaction in twentieth-century Islamic reform, this book claims that, in West Africa, such movements were driven by local forces and constituted only the most recent round in a set of centuries-old debates about the best way for pious people to confront social injustice. It argues that traditional historical methods prevent an appreciation of Muslim intellectual history in Africa by misunderstanding the nature of information gathering during colonial rule and misconstruing the relationship between documents and oral history.
Islam and Social Change in French West Africa features in the following genres: African history, Islam
Islam and Social Change in French West Africa is available in Paperback, Hardback
Islam and Social Change in French West Africa was written by Sean Stanford University, California Hanretta and published by Cambridge University Press
Islam and Social Change in French West Africa has 328 pages
Yes it is part of African Studies series
£30.60