The role of Shaikh Sidiyya and the Qadiriyya in southern Mauritania

Thesis

The first half of the 19th century in West Africa was a period of rapid islamization, marked by the establishment of four Islamic states which were created immediately before or during this period by mujāhidūn, and numerous religious settlements or sawayya which were established in areas not touched by the jihāds. These several movements appear to have had two common denominators: the objective of legal reform and strict application of the sharī'a, and the practice of the Qadiriyya Islamic brotherhood. This study sets out to examine the role of the Qadiriyya in the islamization of West Africa, but in a relatively 'controlled' context so as to isolate as much as possible the ideas and practices with which it was associated. The case study which is the subject of this study is the career of a Mauritanian shaikh, Sidiyya al-Kabir (d. 1868). This particular case study has been selected because of the wealth of Arabic manuscript documentation which is available in the family papers of the Shaikh's descendants and the similarities between his career and the careers of his teachers from the Kunta confederation, who were the principal Qadiri shaikhs in West Africa from the mid-18th century until the end of the first quarter of the 19th century. Other reasons for selecting this case study are that Mauritanian history and the Moorish social structure of the study which terminates in 1868 pre—dates the competition which developed between the Qadiriyya and other ṭuruq in Mauritania. The main source of documentation for this study is the correspondence and literary works written by Shaikh Sidiyya al-Kabir, although French archival material, oral tradition and other Arabic texts have been used to supplement this manuscript source.

Continued in thesis ...

Authors: Stewart, C

• Alternative title: an historical interpretation
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: Mauritania; Qadiriyya; Shaikh; Sidiyy; Islam
• Subjects: Sidiyya al-Kabir, Shaikh, 1775-1868; Islam -- Mauritania