E. S. LVOVA, Doctor of Historical Sciences

An international colloquium on social inequality and slavery in Islamic societies in North and West Africa was held in Dakar, the capital of Senegal, at the University named after the outstanding Senegalese philosopher and historian Sheikh Ant Diop (1923 - 1986).

For many years, Dakar was the administrative center of French West Ci, where the first educational institution ("William Ponty School") was opened for Africans - the forge of the "new elite" for the whole of West Africa. French has retained its official status many years after independence, and even now, unlike many other African countries, there is no discussion in Senegal about the need to replace it with any local language.

BRIGHT COLORS OF THE CAPITAL

Dakar welcomes us, the conference participants, with its lush greenery. The wind from the ocean sways the blooming oleanders, bougainvilleas, papayas and coconuts ripen in the streets.

The city, which was called the "Paris of French Africa", is bright. The flowering bushes are bright, the clothes of both women and men are bright, and the shoes and jewelry are tastefully matched to match them. The fences are bright, and even the cleaners ' buckets and teapots with water for ablution before prayer are painted in bright (blue, red, green, yellow) colors. Municipal minibuses are also bright. They are painted with flowers, geometric ornaments, and dedications to God or Allah. In many ways, among this diversity, the inscription "Tuba"stands out.

If you look around, you will see that this inscription is found everywhere. The bookshelf next to the Tuba brochures sells the Koran and other religious literature (only in Arabic, although some African countries, such as Ethiopia, have long had translations into local languages). But the "Islamic pharmacy-Tuba" with halal (without the use of alcohol solutions) medicines. The same inscription can be seen on the pediment of a two-story shopping arcade. There are a lot of customers, but they also have time to come in - for example, I noticed one of them in a luxurious "bubu" (a spacious shirt made of bright fabric up to the knees and below - traditional men's clothing) getting a manicure and at the same time cleaning his shoes. It is decorated with Touba advertising and an expensive antiques and luxury interior items store on one of the main streets of the capital - Sheikh Anta Diop Avenue. There are large markets in every area of Dakar. Wandering among the endless rows of vegetables and fruits, and behind them - with clothes, fabrics, shoes, dishes, I saw the same signs everywhere - "Tuba".

What is it?

Touba is a city in the interior of the country, where it is the center of one of the most important tariqas (Muslim orders) in the history and modern life of Senegal, whose significance is indisputable. On postcards with a map of Senegal, the image of this city occupies almost the entire surface - even the capital is not honored with this. The role of Tuba is recognized by all Muslims of the world, but first of all by Africans. They revere it on a par with Mecca. Senegalese call Touba "the heart of black Islam", where the pilgrimage is almost as revered as the Hajj to Mecca. It is no coincidence that some Muslim participants of the international colloquium from Africa and the Old World specifically postponed their departure to visit Tuba.

ISLAM IN SENEGAL

Senegal is one of the most" Muslim " countries in Tropical Africa. According to the latest data, this religion is practiced by more than 92% of the country's population1. In the life of the state, a huge role is played by "Marabuts" - recognized experts in the Koran and Sharia. No case is initiated without consulting one's Marabout, and it is often impossible to appoint officials to state institutions on the ground without their consent.

The first acquaintance of local peoples with Islam is connected with Deya-

It is the work of Abdallah ibn Yasin, a native of North Africa. He and his followers, from about 1048, began to preach Islam among the Berbers (in the territory of modern Mauritania) and founded a state on the banks of the Senegal River, which went down in history as the Almoravids. After a series of campaigns against the neighboring state of Ghana (on the borders of modern Mali and Mauritania), the interests of the ruling elite turned to the north. The Almoravids conquered the lands of present-day Mauritania, Morocco, and then southern Spain.

A new surge of Islamization is associated with the XVII century. At this time, Nasir ad-Din of the Mauritanian Dinam tribe declared himself an imam and began actively preaching Islam in the states of Kayor, Jolof and others that then existed in the territory of modern Senegal. In the country's history, this period is known as the "Marabout Wars"². As a result, after almost twenty years of turmoil, most of the tribes of present-day Senegal were Islamized.

Islam became not only a faith, but also a way of life, perceived as "its own" religion. No wonder the resistance to the French colonialists in the XIX century was held under its banners and slogans. It was from Senegal that Islam penetrated into neighboring countries.

As elsewhere on the fringes of the "Islamic world," in Senegal, this belief system has absorbed local beliefs, and is not as orthodox as in its "heart" - in the Arabian Peninsula.

In Senegal, you will not see dark clothes and closed women's faces (and even in "Christian" Ethiopia, this is not uncommon now). Men do not wear monochrome galabei (or kanzu, as in Tanzania), but bright "bubu", over which a kind of long cape over the head is made of plain fabric. On the streets (unlike, for example, in Cairo), only a few Muslims spread out mats and perform prayer. Most Senegalese believe that a one-time prayer performed at home is enough, and the mosque is visited only on Fridays and major Muslim holidays.

In some ethnic groups, despite the ban on images of living creatures, Muslim carvers make "Muslim" fetishes and masks (shatans).

The feast of sacrifice at the end of Ramadan, here called Tabaski, has merged with the traditional calendar holiday of kola nuts, a kind of harvest and first-fruits festival that marks the beginning of a new agricultural year. The days of the holiday were non-working, but our conference was held at the University. And the famous "Grand Mosque" in Touba was built on the site of an old sacred tree, which was worshipped by the ancestors of the modern Wolof (who make up the majority of the population of Senegal).

Even during the "Marabout wars" among the preachers were representatives of various Muslim orders-tariqas (Qadiriyya, Tijaniyya, etc.). From Qadiriyya at the end of the XIX century, a new movement - Muridiyya-stood out. Its founder was the Marabout (Wolof by ethnicity) Sheikh Amadou Bamba Mbakke (1853-1927). He was highly respected and popular not only as a great scholar of the Koran, but also as a descendant of Lata Dior, a national hero who fought against the French colonialists, the ruler of Cayor, a representative of one of the most distinguished aristocratic families.³

Amadou Bamba based his teaching on the glorification of agricultural labor as especially pleasing to Allah and leading to paradise, in addition to appealing to "primordial, pure" Islam. By 1912, he had completely broken with Qadiriyya. Members of his order are Murids (usually young men aged 14-24). they were exempted from performing regular prayers and hajj. In return, they were obliged to support the sheikh and his entourage with their labor. His covenant- "Work for me, and I will pray for you" - is still in effect. Teaching involves complete submission to the elders.

Young members of the tariqa were united in a kind of village cooperatives ("dara"), and in cities - similar associations ("dahira"). The Murids studied the Koran, the basics of the Arabic language, and Islamic theology. They worked several days a week in the fields of the sheikhs and Marabouts. The rest of the time they worked for themselves, but paid tithes. "Dara " and" dahira " were larger associations that were run by muqaddim-personal representatives or even relatives of the sheikh.

Most of the Murid communities cultivated peanuts. Soon its production became commodity, and over time, a significant part of the country's foreign trade was based on the supply of peanuts. Thus, the age of-

tala and the role of Muridiya. The Order became not only a religious association, but also an economic structure and part of the political sphere in the life of society.

The center of the order, the residence of the sheikh and the main religious shrine was the city of Tuba, founded in 1887. According to legend, the place was chosen by Amadou Bamba himself. Here, as he rested in the shade of a large tree, a "cosmic light"descended upon him. The name of the city was derived from the Arabic term "tuba" - "paradise bliss", and the tree was perceived as "The Tree of Paradise". According to Islamic legend, Muhammad himself spoke of such a tree in Paradise, sitting in the shade of which the righteous can travel for many years without getting tired. In Sufism, this symbolic tree is an emanation of spiritual perfection and closeness to Allah.

The city has the largest mosque in Africa with five minarets. The highest - 87 m - is named in memory of Sheikh Ibrahim Fall. Opposite the mosque is the residence of the current head of the order, Sheikh Bara Mbake, the sixth Caliph of Muridiyya. There is an Islamic library, a separate Audience Hall, and a sacred " Well of Forgiveness (mercy)". Amadou Bamba himself is buried in the mosque, his sons and all the caliphs are buried in the mausoleum. There is also a cemetery, where burial is regarded as a great honor for the faithful.

Tuba is a place of pilgrimage. Small "hajj" is quite frequent and is not associated with special dates. But every year there is a big pilgrimage - "Grand Magal", which gathers more than 2 million people. pilgrims from all over the world (and as you know, diasporas of African Muslims now exist in many countries of Europe and the New World). It is also considered a holy place for the Muslims of neighboring countries - especially Guinea and Ivory Coast.

The city, which has a special administrative status, is growing rapidly - if in 1964 only 5 thousand people lived there, now it is more than half a million. For Senegalese, this is a sacred place. They believe that here, with the help of prayers, it is possible to return the entire society of Senegal and all believers to the "straight path of Islam".

In a conversation with me, a leading researcher at the West African Center for Islamic Studies at the University of Dakar, Ibrahim Seke, spoke about the great role of this center, adding that it is an example for the entire "profane" world. According to him, in Tuba there is no corruption, theft and other vices and troubles of our time, bans on frivolous entertainment, tobacco and alcohol use, gambling, music, dancing have been introduced. The city has its own system of education and health care, public works are carried out, special land ownership standards and development programs for the city and districts are created. There is also its own vice police - "bai fal", which primarily monitors compliance with the rules of the" five pillars of Islam", for public order - and not only in the city, but also in the country.

MURIDIYA TODAY

Tariqat Muridiya has its own cooperatives, women's and youth organizations all over the country (in particular, at the University of Dakar). The financial power of the order began with the cultivation of peanuts. Now its value has fallen. The activity of the order was reoriented to other areas of the economy, primarily in trade. The extensive involvement of Muridiya members in urban trade is clearly visible in Dakar. Tithes are still paid on all income from trading operations. This tariqa has successfully withstood competition with other Muslim orders.

Due to the widespread emigration to Europe and the New World, members of the order were also involved in foreign trade. There are Muridiya communities in many countries - France, Italy, Portugal, even Japan. The biggest and most influential ones in the United States are in New York, Washington, and Detroit. They create their own corporations, trading houses and send part of the profits to the Tube. They have their own schools, television programs, the weekly Voice of Tuba is published in New York, and websites are regularly updated on the Internet, the largest of which is the Murid Islamic Community in America, the Murid Islamic Society in America.⁴

Since March 2003, the Order has been broadcasting to the whole of Senegal from Touba. Everywhere in the country, Muridiya has its own schools, banks, restaurants, hairdressers, hotels, etc. Members of the society are also engaged in intermediary trade - there are a lot of ads on the Internet about the fur trade from Argentina, jewelry from the United Arab Emirates, about Tuba trading houses in Dubai, Italy, Burma, Bangladesh, etc. Understanding how profitable the tourist business is, we offer tours from Europe to Tuba ⁵.

Among the members of the order there are many people who have received a good modern education. They try to understand the place and role of the Order in today's world. Thus, an article by Sofia Bava and Daniel Bleitrasch appeared on the American Muridiya website under the significant title "Murids between utopia and capitalism". The main conclusion of the authors is that the order was of great importance under the colonial regime and has preserved it even today. "This faith - based and very effective Muslim brotherhood in Senegal," they write, " mobilized the people to establish an economic compact during colonization (without allowing excessive exploitation - E. L.), while at the same time playing an important ideological role in preserving identity. ... Muridism survived and became an essential factor of stability, preserving and modernizing society is under threat of disintegration and disunion. And the holy city of Tuba represents the threshold of Paradise. " ⁶

Sheikh Tuba personally and the order as a whole play a significant role in the political life of the country. Muridiya's influence is so great that there are even loyal people in government offices.

¹ Senegal. Guide. Moscow, Institute of Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences (in press).

² Ibid.

^Si. 3 for example: Subbotin V. A. Colonies of France in 1870-1918, Moscow, 1978.

^{[email protected]} http://cc.msnscfche.com/cfche.aspx?q=4=7546048768...

^{http://realtravel.com/touba-senegal-re} 5viens-hotels-dl819257.html

⁶ See footnote 4.

Permanent link to this publication: