This paper discusses the conflict between the political establishment of Sokoto and the Tijanis o... more This paper discusses the conflict between the political establishment of Sokoto and the Tijanis of the province in the late 1940s, focusing on its literary ramifications in the form of Hausa and Arabic invective poetry (hijā’). After locating these poems in their political context, the paper attempts to look at these documents from the point of view of the history of hijā’ as a literary genre. Hijā’ has an old history, rooted in the pre-Islamic Arabic literary tradition. Following islamization, however, the genre acquired an ambivalent status and was often shunned by the religious scholars, who considered it as too profane. The two northern Nigerian cases of invective poetry studied in this paper, on the contrary, were composed by religious scholars and were fundamental as instruments of mobilization of their religious group. One of the two poems here analyzed, in particular, has the form of a ritual meant to cause harm to an opponent. This aspect could be read in the light of an original hypothesis of Ignaz Goldziher, who had suggested that literary invective in the Arab tradition should be traced back to an original prototype which mainly had a ritual/religious function.
The CCI Occasional Papers, No. 2 (March 2019): Debating Boko Haram
The present issue of the CCI O... more The CCI Occasional Papers, No. 2 (March 2019): Debating Boko Haram The present issue of the CCI Occasional Papers includes three pieces debating the origins of Boko Haram. The issue opens with a review of Alexander Thurston's monograph Boko Haram: The History of an African Jihadist Movement, by Abdullahi Lamido. In his review, Lamido criticises Thurston for highlighting the relationship between Boko Haram's founder Muhammad Yusuf (d. 2009) and the Salafi scholar Ja'far Mahmud Adam (d. 2007), and for failing to highlight the previous links between Yusuf and the Shia scholar Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, which in his opinion, were responsible for inspiring the radicalism of Boko Haram. In a response to Lamido's review, Andrea Brigaglia discusses some documents from the mid-2000s that show how the mainstream Nigerian Salafi scholars who were engaged in public debates against Yusuf were also, at the same time, lecturing to their public in favour of Al-Qaeda's global Jihad, and argues that this ambiguity had a fundamental role in the history of the intra-Salafi conflict that ensued in the country. Brigaglia also argues that the recent attempt to shift the blame on the Shia shows the co-optation of the Nigerian Salafi constituencies in the political game of the War on Terror in its Saudi version. In the third piece, Musa Ibrahim discusses a recent international conference held in Kano, in which the above debate was featured prominently. After summarising the various viewpoints expressed by the speakers at the conference, Ibrahim suggests that in order to get out of the current impasse, Muslims of all orientation in Nigeria need to embrace a more inclusive theology towards Muslims of different orientations, as well as towards fellow non-Muslim citizens.
This paper contains the transliteration in Latin script, the English translation and the analysis... more This paper contains the transliteration in Latin script, the English translation and the analysis of Al-Ṣābūn al-Muṭahhir ("The Cleansing Soap"), a poem on tarbiya (spiritual training) and ma‘rifa (gnosis) originally written in Arabic script Hausa by Muḥammad Balarabe (d. 1967) of Shellen (Adamawa, Nigeria). The author was a Sufi of the Tijāniyya order affiliated to the Jamā‘at al-fayḍa of the Senegalese Ibrāhīm Niasse (d. 1975). In terms of its features of style and content, this poem serves as a corrective to some of the observations on Hausa Sufi poetry made by Mervyn Hiskett in his classical 1975 monograph. Drawing attention to the philosophical background of the poem (a dense web of doctrines which integrates Akbarian Sufism and Aš‘arī theology), the paper also suggests that some of the generalizations made by Hiskett in a 1980 article on the Hausa literature produced by the Jamā‘at al-fayḍa, are in need of revision.
“Some Religious Advice and Guidelines to the Jihadists of Nigeria” (Nasa’ih wa-tawjihat shar‘iyya... more “Some Religious Advice and Guidelines to the Jihadists of Nigeria” (Nasa’ih wa-tawjihat shar‘iyya li-mujahidi Nijiriya) is a short treatise of about 47 pages in length, originally written in late 2011 by Abu al-Hasan Rashid al-Bulaydi. Al-Bulaydi, who was one of the leading officials of AQIM (Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb), was later killed in 2015 during an operation of the Algerian military in Tizi-Ouzou (Kabylie). The book had been written in response to a series of concerns raised by a network of Nigerian Jihadists with links to the Saharan branch of AQIM.
This paper provides a detailed summary and analysis of “Slicing Off the Tumour,” a text written b... more This paper provides a detailed summary and analysis of “Slicing Off the Tumour,” a text written by two sons of Muhammad Yusuf (d. 2009), founder of the Nigerian Jihadi movement known as “Boko Haram,” and recently (2018) published by the Islamic State. The paper argues that although obviously biased, this book provides important insights into the history of Jihad in Nigeria as seen through the lenses of Global Jihadi actors, which the analysts should not dismiss. In the conclusion, the author questions the heuristic usefulness of the term “Boko Haram” in the literature on local and global manifestations of Jihad in contemporary Nigeria. Finally, the author locates his position in the recent debate around the nature of the global links entertained by Nigerian Jihadi actors and around the role of these links in the development of the “Boko Haram phenomenon.”
To place orders or subscribe, please contact Ms Cathlene Dollar (DLLCAT004@myuct.ac.za).
Electron... more To place orders or subscribe, please contact Ms Cathlene Dollar (DLLCAT004@myuct.ac.za). Electronic copies of articles are available through the portal of Sabinet (https://journals.co.za/content/journal/islam).
Lectures, conversations and reading sessions on the theme of the Muhammadan Light (al-Nūr al-Muḥa... more Lectures, conversations and reading sessions on the theme of the Muhammadan Light (al-Nūr al-Muḥammadī) and the Muhammadan Reality (al-Ḥaqīqa al-Muḥammadiyya) in the history of Sufi thought and practices.
The activities of the school will explore the foundations of core ideas and fundamental principle... more The activities of the school will explore the foundations of core ideas and fundamental principles in Islamic Spirituality, as originally conceived within the schools of Baghdad and Khorasan, and their relevance for the understanding of subsequent conceptual developments throughout the history of Sufism.
A collection of documents on the ongoing engagement between the ISIS phenomenon and the South Afr... more A collection of documents on the ongoing engagement between the ISIS phenomenon and the South African Muslim community. It includes the following: 1) Open letter sent by Rashied Moosagie to the South African Muslim community, inviting them to join the Caliphate of al-Baghdadi 2) A statement on ISIS by the Sunni Ulama Council 3) An interview with Fakhruddin Owaysi, secretary of the Sunni Ulama Council 4) The re-print of a response to Moosagie's open letter by Ebrahim Moosa, originally published as an opinion piece by the Washington Post 5) A paper on ISIS, originally delivered as a khutba (Friday sermon) by Rashied Omar, imam of the Claremont Main Road mosque, Cape Town.
Features a variety of articles, as well as three rich special sections: one on Somalia; one on IS... more Features a variety of articles, as well as three rich special sections: one on Somalia; one on ISIS and South African Muslims; one on Boko Haram.
This article discusses the genesis of Boko Haram as an offshoot of the Nigerian Salafi movement. ... more This article discusses the genesis of Boko Haram as an offshoot of the Nigerian Salafi movement. In particular, it looks at the ambivalent relationship between Boko Haram's first leader Muhammad Yusuf and the leaders of the mainstream Salafi group Ahlus Sunna. Using as a starting point Quintan Wiktorowicz's threefold model of purist (or quietist), politico and jihadi Salafis, the article challenges the conclusion of two recent publications, which tend to see Boko Haram and Ahlus Sunna in terms of, respectively, jihadi and quietist Salafis. While agreeing that the rift between the two Nigerian groups reflects global Salafi debates, the article advances two critical arguments and one hypothesis. The first argument is that in terms of their political theology, the positions of quietist and jihadi Salafis are virtually identical, the differences between the two being contextual and volatile. Of the three categories identified by Wiktorowicz, only the politicos contain the germs of an alternative Salafi political theology. The second argument is that the War on Terror, encouraging the Saudi policy of promoting the exclusivist political theology of quietist Salafis in order to counter the jihadis, has created a context in which the politicos have been isolated and paradoxically a new, more extreme generation of jihadis like Yusuf (and, in the Middle east, ISIS) has been empowered. Finally the hypothesis, is that the rift between the Ahlus Sunna leaders and Yusuf was a consequence of the initial collaboration of the former in establishing a jihadi camp in Nigeria, followed by their decision to collaborate with the authorities in dismantling it.
Discusses the role of oral public Tafsir in Hausa in the spread of the "Fayda Tijaniyya" (the Suf... more Discusses the role of oral public Tafsir in Hausa in the spread of the "Fayda Tijaniyya" (the Sufi revivalist network led by the Senegalese Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse) in Nigeria.
It provides an account of the popularization of Shaykh Abu Bakr Gumi's radio tafsir with its crit... more It provides an account of the popularization of Shaykh Abu Bakr Gumi's radio tafsir with its criticism of Sufism and traditional Islamic learning in Nigeria, as well as of the response of the Nigerian Tijaniyya which led to the beginning of an "anti-Gumi" radio tafsir, first conducted by Shaykh Umaru Sanda, then by Shaykh Dahiru Bauchi
Argues that the Arabic scripts of the "Central Sudan" (roughly corresponding to today's Nigeria, ... more Argues that the Arabic scripts of the "Central Sudan" (roughly corresponding to today's Nigeria, Chad, Niger, northern Cameroon) constitute a typology of their own, with little in common with other West African scripts. Focuses on the script popularized by the calligraphers of Kano (Nigeria), arguing that this is probably a recent development of the older calligraphic tradition of Borno.
Develops the reflections started with Part 1. Through an analysis of the Barnawi, argues that the... more Develops the reflections started with Part 1. Through an analysis of the Barnawi, argues that the Central Sudanic Script is the most archaic form of Arabic script that has been continuously transmitted in a given region of the Muslim world until today, and criticizes the chronology of the history of West African scripts proposed by Sheila Blair.
This paper discusses the conflict between the political establishment of Sokoto and the Tijanis o... more This paper discusses the conflict between the political establishment of Sokoto and the Tijanis of the province in the late 1940s, focusing on its literary ramifications in the form of Hausa and Arabic invective poetry (hijā’). After locating these poems in their political context, the paper attempts to look at these documents from the point of view of the history of hijā’ as a literary genre. Hijā’ has an old history, rooted in the pre-Islamic Arabic literary tradition. Following islamization, however, the genre acquired an ambivalent status and was often shunned by the religious scholars, who considered it as too profane. The two northern Nigerian cases of invective poetry studied in this paper, on the contrary, were composed by religious scholars and were fundamental as instruments of mobilization of their religious group. One of the two poems here analyzed, in particular, has the form of a ritual meant to cause harm to an opponent. This aspect could be read in the light of an original hypothesis of Ignaz Goldziher, who had suggested that literary invective in the Arab tradition should be traced back to an original prototype which mainly had a ritual/religious function.
The CCI Occasional Papers, No. 2 (March 2019): Debating Boko Haram
The present issue of the CCI O... more The CCI Occasional Papers, No. 2 (March 2019): Debating Boko Haram The present issue of the CCI Occasional Papers includes three pieces debating the origins of Boko Haram. The issue opens with a review of Alexander Thurston's monograph Boko Haram: The History of an African Jihadist Movement, by Abdullahi Lamido. In his review, Lamido criticises Thurston for highlighting the relationship between Boko Haram's founder Muhammad Yusuf (d. 2009) and the Salafi scholar Ja'far Mahmud Adam (d. 2007), and for failing to highlight the previous links between Yusuf and the Shia scholar Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, which in his opinion, were responsible for inspiring the radicalism of Boko Haram. In a response to Lamido's review, Andrea Brigaglia discusses some documents from the mid-2000s that show how the mainstream Nigerian Salafi scholars who were engaged in public debates against Yusuf were also, at the same time, lecturing to their public in favour of Al-Qaeda's global Jihad, and argues that this ambiguity had a fundamental role in the history of the intra-Salafi conflict that ensued in the country. Brigaglia also argues that the recent attempt to shift the blame on the Shia shows the co-optation of the Nigerian Salafi constituencies in the political game of the War on Terror in its Saudi version. In the third piece, Musa Ibrahim discusses a recent international conference held in Kano, in which the above debate was featured prominently. After summarising the various viewpoints expressed by the speakers at the conference, Ibrahim suggests that in order to get out of the current impasse, Muslims of all orientation in Nigeria need to embrace a more inclusive theology towards Muslims of different orientations, as well as towards fellow non-Muslim citizens.
This paper contains the transliteration in Latin script, the English translation and the analysis... more This paper contains the transliteration in Latin script, the English translation and the analysis of Al-Ṣābūn al-Muṭahhir ("The Cleansing Soap"), a poem on tarbiya (spiritual training) and ma‘rifa (gnosis) originally written in Arabic script Hausa by Muḥammad Balarabe (d. 1967) of Shellen (Adamawa, Nigeria). The author was a Sufi of the Tijāniyya order affiliated to the Jamā‘at al-fayḍa of the Senegalese Ibrāhīm Niasse (d. 1975). In terms of its features of style and content, this poem serves as a corrective to some of the observations on Hausa Sufi poetry made by Mervyn Hiskett in his classical 1975 monograph. Drawing attention to the philosophical background of the poem (a dense web of doctrines which integrates Akbarian Sufism and Aš‘arī theology), the paper also suggests that some of the generalizations made by Hiskett in a 1980 article on the Hausa literature produced by the Jamā‘at al-fayḍa, are in need of revision.
“Some Religious Advice and Guidelines to the Jihadists of Nigeria” (Nasa’ih wa-tawjihat shar‘iyya... more “Some Religious Advice and Guidelines to the Jihadists of Nigeria” (Nasa’ih wa-tawjihat shar‘iyya li-mujahidi Nijiriya) is a short treatise of about 47 pages in length, originally written in late 2011 by Abu al-Hasan Rashid al-Bulaydi. Al-Bulaydi, who was one of the leading officials of AQIM (Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb), was later killed in 2015 during an operation of the Algerian military in Tizi-Ouzou (Kabylie). The book had been written in response to a series of concerns raised by a network of Nigerian Jihadists with links to the Saharan branch of AQIM.
This paper provides a detailed summary and analysis of “Slicing Off the Tumour,” a text written b... more This paper provides a detailed summary and analysis of “Slicing Off the Tumour,” a text written by two sons of Muhammad Yusuf (d. 2009), founder of the Nigerian Jihadi movement known as “Boko Haram,” and recently (2018) published by the Islamic State. The paper argues that although obviously biased, this book provides important insights into the history of Jihad in Nigeria as seen through the lenses of Global Jihadi actors, which the analysts should not dismiss. In the conclusion, the author questions the heuristic usefulness of the term “Boko Haram” in the literature on local and global manifestations of Jihad in contemporary Nigeria. Finally, the author locates his position in the recent debate around the nature of the global links entertained by Nigerian Jihadi actors and around the role of these links in the development of the “Boko Haram phenomenon.”
To place orders or subscribe, please contact Ms Cathlene Dollar (DLLCAT004@myuct.ac.za).
Electron... more To place orders or subscribe, please contact Ms Cathlene Dollar (DLLCAT004@myuct.ac.za). Electronic copies of articles are available through the portal of Sabinet (https://journals.co.za/content/journal/islam).
Lectures, conversations and reading sessions on the theme of the Muhammadan Light (al-Nūr al-Muḥa... more Lectures, conversations and reading sessions on the theme of the Muhammadan Light (al-Nūr al-Muḥammadī) and the Muhammadan Reality (al-Ḥaqīqa al-Muḥammadiyya) in the history of Sufi thought and practices.
The activities of the school will explore the foundations of core ideas and fundamental principle... more The activities of the school will explore the foundations of core ideas and fundamental principles in Islamic Spirituality, as originally conceived within the schools of Baghdad and Khorasan, and their relevance for the understanding of subsequent conceptual developments throughout the history of Sufism.
A collection of documents on the ongoing engagement between the ISIS phenomenon and the South Afr... more A collection of documents on the ongoing engagement between the ISIS phenomenon and the South African Muslim community. It includes the following: 1) Open letter sent by Rashied Moosagie to the South African Muslim community, inviting them to join the Caliphate of al-Baghdadi 2) A statement on ISIS by the Sunni Ulama Council 3) An interview with Fakhruddin Owaysi, secretary of the Sunni Ulama Council 4) The re-print of a response to Moosagie's open letter by Ebrahim Moosa, originally published as an opinion piece by the Washington Post 5) A paper on ISIS, originally delivered as a khutba (Friday sermon) by Rashied Omar, imam of the Claremont Main Road mosque, Cape Town.
Features a variety of articles, as well as three rich special sections: one on Somalia; one on IS... more Features a variety of articles, as well as three rich special sections: one on Somalia; one on ISIS and South African Muslims; one on Boko Haram.
This article discusses the genesis of Boko Haram as an offshoot of the Nigerian Salafi movement. ... more This article discusses the genesis of Boko Haram as an offshoot of the Nigerian Salafi movement. In particular, it looks at the ambivalent relationship between Boko Haram's first leader Muhammad Yusuf and the leaders of the mainstream Salafi group Ahlus Sunna. Using as a starting point Quintan Wiktorowicz's threefold model of purist (or quietist), politico and jihadi Salafis, the article challenges the conclusion of two recent publications, which tend to see Boko Haram and Ahlus Sunna in terms of, respectively, jihadi and quietist Salafis. While agreeing that the rift between the two Nigerian groups reflects global Salafi debates, the article advances two critical arguments and one hypothesis. The first argument is that in terms of their political theology, the positions of quietist and jihadi Salafis are virtually identical, the differences between the two being contextual and volatile. Of the three categories identified by Wiktorowicz, only the politicos contain the germs of an alternative Salafi political theology. The second argument is that the War on Terror, encouraging the Saudi policy of promoting the exclusivist political theology of quietist Salafis in order to counter the jihadis, has created a context in which the politicos have been isolated and paradoxically a new, more extreme generation of jihadis like Yusuf (and, in the Middle east, ISIS) has been empowered. Finally the hypothesis, is that the rift between the Ahlus Sunna leaders and Yusuf was a consequence of the initial collaboration of the former in establishing a jihadi camp in Nigeria, followed by their decision to collaborate with the authorities in dismantling it.
Discusses the role of oral public Tafsir in Hausa in the spread of the "Fayda Tijaniyya" (the Suf... more Discusses the role of oral public Tafsir in Hausa in the spread of the "Fayda Tijaniyya" (the Sufi revivalist network led by the Senegalese Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse) in Nigeria.
It provides an account of the popularization of Shaykh Abu Bakr Gumi's radio tafsir with its crit... more It provides an account of the popularization of Shaykh Abu Bakr Gumi's radio tafsir with its criticism of Sufism and traditional Islamic learning in Nigeria, as well as of the response of the Nigerian Tijaniyya which led to the beginning of an "anti-Gumi" radio tafsir, first conducted by Shaykh Umaru Sanda, then by Shaykh Dahiru Bauchi
Argues that the Arabic scripts of the "Central Sudan" (roughly corresponding to today's Nigeria, ... more Argues that the Arabic scripts of the "Central Sudan" (roughly corresponding to today's Nigeria, Chad, Niger, northern Cameroon) constitute a typology of their own, with little in common with other West African scripts. Focuses on the script popularized by the calligraphers of Kano (Nigeria), arguing that this is probably a recent development of the older calligraphic tradition of Borno.
Develops the reflections started with Part 1. Through an analysis of the Barnawi, argues that the... more Develops the reflections started with Part 1. Through an analysis of the Barnawi, argues that the Central Sudanic Script is the most archaic form of Arabic script that has been continuously transmitted in a given region of the Muslim world until today, and criticizes the chronology of the history of West African scripts proposed by Sheila Blair.
We are pleased to announce the second edition of the Summer School “Studies in Sufism”, organized... more We are pleased to announce the second edition of the Summer School “Studies in Sufism”, organized by the association Perennia Verba (Parma, IT) in collaboration with the Scuola di Lingua italiana per Stranieri/ Dipartimento di Scienze Umanistiche/University of Palermo (IT), the Officina di Studi Medievali (Palermo, IT), the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (IT), the Istituto per l’Oriente Carlo Alfonso Nallino (Rome, IT), and the Istituto di Scienze dell’Uomo (Rimini, IT), that this year will take place in Palermo on the Italian island of Sicily. The aim of this second edition of the Summer School “Studies in Sufism” is to bring together a group of senior scholars, emerging researchers and postgraduate students working on Islamic thought, for a set of lectures, conversations and reading sessions on the theme of the Muhammadan Light (al-Nūr al-Muḥammadī) and the Muhammadan Reality (al-Ḥaqīqa al-Muḥammadiyya) in the history of Sufi thought and practices. Lessons will be in English, but as some of the sessions will consist in analyses of original texts, the ability to read classical Arabic is also desirable (it is not a prerequisite for admission to the Summer School though).
The first edition of the Summer School “Foundations of Islamic Spirituality”, organized by the as... more The first edition of the Summer School “Foundations of Islamic Spirituality”, organized by the association Perennia Verba (Parma, IT) in collaboration with the Istituto per l’Oriente Carlo Alfonso Nallino (Rome, IT) and the Officina di Studi Medievali (Palermo, IT), will be hosted by the Tijani Zawiya in Tamacine, in the heart of the Algerian desert. The aim of the school is to bring together senior scholars and young researchers in order to analyze the basic tenets of taṣawwuf and contextualize new issues coming from later developments in Islamic spirituality. The choice of a traditional Islamic milieu as a location for the school has been made with this very perspective in mind. The topic chosen for the present year will be Early Sufism between Baghdad and Khorasan and Later Developments in taṣawwuf. The activities of the school will explore the foundations of core ideas and fundamental principles in Islamic Spirituality, as originally conceived within the schools of Baghdad and Khorasan, and their relevance for the understanding of subsequent conceptual developments throughout the history of Sufism.
The topic chosen for the present year will be Early Sufism between Baghdad and Khorasan and Later... more The topic chosen for the present year will be Early Sufism between Baghdad and Khorasan and Later Developments in taṣawwuf. The activities of the school will explore the foundations of core ideas and fundamental principles in Islamic Spirituality, as originally conceived within the schools of Baghdad and Khorasan, and their relevance for the understanding of subsequent conceptual developments throughout the history of Sufism.
This paper discusses the politics of religious affiliation and inter-tariqa conflict in northern ... more This paper discusses the politics of religious affiliation and inter-tariqa conflict in northern Nigeria from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s, in the light of the competing agendas of the Sultan of Sokoto Abubakar III (d. 1988); of the Sardauna and Premier of Northern Nigeria Ahmadu Bello (d. 1966); and of the Senegalese Sufi leader Ibrahim Niasse (d. 1975). While the political agendas of the first two had immediate ramifications on the religious sphere, the agenda of religious revival of the third, conversely, also had political undertones. The combined effects of the three, played out in the volatile arena of late colonial and early postcolonial Nigeria, created shifting configurations of religious and political alliances. Studies on the history of religious networks, the paper argues, need to take both religion and politics seriously.
E-publication can be downloaded at the following link: https://www.degruyter.com/view/product/488... more E-publication can be downloaded at the following link: https://www.degruyter.com/view/product/488161
During the last two decades, the (re-)discovery of thousands of manuscripts in different regions of sub-Saharan Africa has questioned the long-standing approach of Africa as a continent only characterized by orality and legitimately assigned to the continent the status of a civilization of written literacy.
However, most of the existing studies mainly aim at serving literary and historical purposes, and focus only on the textual dimension of the manuscripts. This book advances on the contrary a holistic approach to the study of these manuscripts and gather contributions on the different dimensions of the manuscript, i.e. the materials, the technologies, the practices and the communities involved in the production, commercialization, circulation, preservation and consumption.
The originality of this book is found in its methodological approach as well as its comparative geographic focus, presenting studies on a continental scale, including regions formerly neglected by existing scholarship, provides a unique opportunity to expand our still scanty knowledge of the different manuscript cultures that the African continent has developed and that often can still be considered as living traditions.
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Papers by Andrea Brigaglia
The present issue of the CCI Occasional Papers includes three pieces debating the origins of Boko Haram. The issue opens with a review of Alexander Thurston's monograph Boko Haram: The History of an African Jihadist Movement, by Abdullahi Lamido. In his review, Lamido criticises Thurston for highlighting the relationship between Boko Haram's founder Muhammad Yusuf (d. 2009) and the Salafi scholar Ja'far Mahmud Adam (d. 2007), and for failing to highlight the previous links between Yusuf and the Shia scholar Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, which in his opinion, were responsible for inspiring the radicalism of Boko Haram. In a response to Lamido's review, Andrea Brigaglia discusses some documents from the mid-2000s that show how the mainstream Nigerian Salafi scholars who were engaged in public debates against Yusuf were also, at the same time, lecturing to their public in favour of Al-Qaeda's global Jihad, and argues that this ambiguity had a fundamental role in the history of the intra-Salafi conflict that ensued in the country. Brigaglia also argues that the recent attempt to shift the blame on the Shia shows the co-optation of the Nigerian Salafi constituencies in the political game of the War on Terror in its Saudi version. In the third piece, Musa Ibrahim discusses a recent international conference held in Kano, in which the above debate was featured prominently. After summarising the various viewpoints expressed by the speakers at the conference, Ibrahim suggests that in order to get out of the current impasse, Muslims of all orientation in Nigeria need to embrace a more inclusive theology towards Muslims of different orientations, as well as towards fellow non-Muslim citizens.
Electronic copies of articles are available through the portal of Sabinet (https://journals.co.za/content/journal/islam).
1) Open letter sent by Rashied Moosagie to the South African Muslim community, inviting them to join the Caliphate of al-Baghdadi
2) A statement on ISIS by the Sunni Ulama Council
3) An interview with Fakhruddin Owaysi, secretary of the Sunni Ulama Council
4) The re-print of a response to Moosagie's open letter by Ebrahim Moosa, originally published as an opinion piece by the Washington Post
5) A paper on ISIS, originally delivered as a khutba (Friday sermon) by Rashied Omar, imam of the Claremont Main Road mosque, Cape Town.
The present issue of the CCI Occasional Papers includes three pieces debating the origins of Boko Haram. The issue opens with a review of Alexander Thurston's monograph Boko Haram: The History of an African Jihadist Movement, by Abdullahi Lamido. In his review, Lamido criticises Thurston for highlighting the relationship between Boko Haram's founder Muhammad Yusuf (d. 2009) and the Salafi scholar Ja'far Mahmud Adam (d. 2007), and for failing to highlight the previous links between Yusuf and the Shia scholar Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, which in his opinion, were responsible for inspiring the radicalism of Boko Haram. In a response to Lamido's review, Andrea Brigaglia discusses some documents from the mid-2000s that show how the mainstream Nigerian Salafi scholars who were engaged in public debates against Yusuf were also, at the same time, lecturing to their public in favour of Al-Qaeda's global Jihad, and argues that this ambiguity had a fundamental role in the history of the intra-Salafi conflict that ensued in the country. Brigaglia also argues that the recent attempt to shift the blame on the Shia shows the co-optation of the Nigerian Salafi constituencies in the political game of the War on Terror in its Saudi version. In the third piece, Musa Ibrahim discusses a recent international conference held in Kano, in which the above debate was featured prominently. After summarising the various viewpoints expressed by the speakers at the conference, Ibrahim suggests that in order to get out of the current impasse, Muslims of all orientation in Nigeria need to embrace a more inclusive theology towards Muslims of different orientations, as well as towards fellow non-Muslim citizens.
Electronic copies of articles are available through the portal of Sabinet (https://journals.co.za/content/journal/islam).
1) Open letter sent by Rashied Moosagie to the South African Muslim community, inviting them to join the Caliphate of al-Baghdadi
2) A statement on ISIS by the Sunni Ulama Council
3) An interview with Fakhruddin Owaysi, secretary of the Sunni Ulama Council
4) The re-print of a response to Moosagie's open letter by Ebrahim Moosa, originally published as an opinion piece by the Washington Post
5) A paper on ISIS, originally delivered as a khutba (Friday sermon) by Rashied Omar, imam of the Claremont Main Road mosque, Cape Town.
The aim of this second edition of the Summer School “Studies in Sufism” is to bring together a group of senior scholars, emerging researchers and postgraduate students working on Islamic thought, for a set of lectures, conversations and reading sessions on the theme of the Muhammadan Light (al-Nūr al-Muḥammadī) and the Muhammadan Reality (al-Ḥaqīqa al-Muḥammadiyya) in the history of Sufi thought and practices. Lessons will be in English, but as some of the sessions will consist in analyses of original texts, the ability to read classical Arabic is also desirable (it is not a prerequisite for admission to the Summer School though).
The aim of the school is to bring together senior scholars and young researchers in order to analyze the basic tenets of taṣawwuf and contextualize new issues coming from later developments in Islamic spirituality. The choice of a traditional Islamic milieu as a location for the school has been made with this very perspective in mind.
The topic chosen for the present year will be Early Sufism between Baghdad and Khorasan and Later Developments in taṣawwuf. The activities of the school will explore the foundations of core ideas and fundamental principles in Islamic Spirituality, as originally conceived within the schools of Baghdad and Khorasan, and their relevance for the understanding of subsequent conceptual developments throughout the history of Sufism.
During the last two decades, the (re-)discovery of thousands of manuscripts in different regions of sub-Saharan Africa has questioned the long-standing approach of Africa as a continent only characterized by orality and legitimately assigned to the continent the status of a civilization of written literacy.
However, most of the existing studies mainly aim at serving literary and historical purposes, and focus only on the textual dimension of the manuscripts. This book advances on the contrary a holistic approach to the study of these manuscripts and gather contributions on the different dimensions of the manuscript, i.e. the materials, the technologies, the practices and the communities involved in the production, commercialization, circulation, preservation and consumption.
The originality of this book is found in its methodological approach as well as its comparative geographic focus, presenting studies on a continental scale, including regions formerly neglected by existing scholarship, provides a unique opportunity to expand our still scanty knowledge of the different manuscript cultures that the African continent has developed and that often can still be considered as living traditions.