World History: West African Jihadist Movements

A sketch of one of Sokoto's cities, Kano

Around the beginning of the nineteenth century in West Africa a series of movements, inspired by jihad, establishing several Jihadi states. These states were integral in forming a strong sense of Islamic, and ethnic, identity in the region which exists to this day. Just before the formal takeover of Africa by European states these jihadi movements created new forms of governments and society, and would serve as a way to resist European domination. Today we will look at some of these movements.

Background

A map of the region

Thanks to a mixture of conquest and trade Islam has had a long established presence in West Africa. A while ago we looked at the empires of Mali and Songhai, two Islamic empires whose legacy lives on today. However, we saw the blending of local and Islamic belief - this is common worldwide. Well into the nineteenth century it was common in rural Ireland for pre-Christian beliefs to exist alongside Christian belief, and many modern Peruvian churches contain Incan imagery. When on pilgrimage the ruler of Mali, Mansa Musa, slept with the daughters of his followers in Egypt, something which an Egyptian told him was 'un-Islamic'. West Africa regularly saw the rise and fall of various Islamic states, and populations were in flux. The notable example is the slave trade - over a period of four centuries 11 million people were shipped from the centre of Africa and off to the Atlantic. This does not include those who remained in West Africa, or those killed during wars to obtain slaves. A century before the movements we will be looking at today there were other jihadist movements - primarily against animist or polytheists. Also, the leadership of the movements came from rural areas, not the cities, especially from the ranks of Fulbe cattle herders. In the 1690s, a Tukolor cleric called Malik Sy managed to lead a movement with pastoralists around the Gambia River forming a new state. The most important ones - which would inspire the most important movement a century later - were in the Futa Jalon highlands in 1725. Fulani challenged the right that Mande-speakers had to tax and dominate them, so clerics encouraged them to rise up and oust them from power. From the 1770s a jihadi movement rose up in Futa Toro against pagan rulers. These jihadi movements would inspire the later, and more influential, movements to the east - these earlier ones were close to Senegal and Gambia, the later one originated in northern Nigeria.

Uthman dan Fodio and the Sokoto Caliphate

A sketch of Uthman dan Fodio

The next big jihadi movement - which would inspire the later movements - rose in the Hausa-Fulani region in what is now northern Nigeria. Fulbe pastoralists in the Hausaland were given the name of Fulani, and we largely see a urban Hausa ruling population over a rural Fulani population. Of course, there were many rural Hausa and urban Fulani. Several Hausaland cities were particularly wealthy thanks to trade with coastal states and booming kola nuts. The rulers were Muslim, but in continuation with West African Islam there was blending of polytheistic and Islamic belief. In 1754 a Fulani family had a son, Uthman dan Fodio, and thanks to his family being torodbe, urban intellectuals, in the city of Gobir. Thanks to this, he became well educated, especially in Islamic law, and he could speak three languages (Arabic, Fulani, and Hausa). Dan Fodio became increasingly critical of the ruling elites of Hausaland, and his reasoning have led to debates about the nature of his movement. Was it a religious movement, a reformist one, or an ethnic one? Dan Fodio focused on the exploitation and taxation that were levied on Fulani communities, while also criticising rulers for their lapses in Islam. Slavery, and access to the slave trade, was a component Hausaland society and economy, so Hausa rulers would enslave captured soldiers, including Muslims - something explicitly denounced in the Qu'ran. Quoting Uthman dan Fodio's poems 'And one who enslaves a Freeman/ The Fire shall enslave him'. He also disliked how pre-Islamic belief continued, and how rulers would openly ignore Islamic law - such as by gambling and drinking. Finally, Uthman dan Fodio criticised the corruption in government and arbitrary rule. His book, Kitab al-Farq (Book of Differences), stated that:

One of the ways their government is succession to the emirate by hereditary right and by force to the exclusion of consultation. And one of the ways of government is the building of their sovereignty upon three things: the people's person's, their honour, and their possessions; and whomsoever they wish to kill or exile or violate his honour or devour his wealth they do so in pursuit of their lusts.

The jihadi movements have been placed within a larger trend in the Islamic world of this time. Movements emerged attempting to reform Islam, and for a long time this was seen as one homogeneous movement. Uthman was inspired more by neo-Sufism than anything close to Wahhabism - an 'ultraconservative' branch of Islam which is the official policy of contemporary Saudi Arabia. He became the head of his local branch of the Qadiriyya brotherhood - a Sufi order wanting to purify Islamic practices - and in later life he stated that, in a dream, the founder of the Qadiriyya 'girded me with the Sword of Truth, to unshackle it against the enemies of God.'  He developed a following mainly among the Fulani, but also among Hausa peasants and Taureg nomads who resented the harsh city rule. As his following grew Gobir's rulers tried to crack down on the movement causing him to the city of Gudu in 1804. Seeing how his peaceful methods of trying to reform Gobir from within had failed he, and his followers, opted to directly fight. Using guerrilla tactics which drew support from rural area, and by exploiting divisions between the Hausa cities the jihadi movement managed to topple city after city. In 1808 the Hausaland kingdoms had came under Uthamn's rule and the following year a new capital of Sokoto was created. Uthman was recognised as both sultan and caliph in the new Sokoto Caliphate. His son, Mohammed Bello, and brother, Abdullahi dan Fodio, continued conquering lands, and by the time of Bello's death in 1832 it had a population of over 10 million.

Forging the Caliphate

Residents of Sokoto in 1900

Creating a state over a wide area was not Uthman dan Fodio's intention - after 1808 he retired from conquering and focused on administration instead. Power was shifted from the traditional Hausa elites to Fulani aristocrats who were placed in control of conquered cities as emirates. In an attempt to make land more egalitarian - one of the main reasons why people supported the jihad - all land was declared waqf, this made land communally owned. However, the sultan, or some emirs, were allowed to grant land to families who could keep it indefinitely - slave plantations grew rapidly and become a cornerstone of Sokoto's economy. Throughout the nineteenth century around half of the population was enslaved, and many land owners would form a new elite. Now ruling a united state covering what is now northern Nigeria it needed a new administration. To ensure that sharia, Islamic law, was implemented the Qadiriyya served as a way to unite the various cities together. This system forged such a strong bureaucracy that it took Britain inferring in it during the conquest for it to come apart - even then it evolved into the Sokoto Sultante Council which today remains very influential in today's Nigeria. German traveller, Heinrich Barth, visited Kano in 1851 praised the city stating that 'commerce and manufactures go hand in hand, and that almost every family has its share in them'. In the giant market he found slaves and vegetables from across Africa as well as calicoes from Manchester, French silks, red cloth from Saxony, Italian beads and paper, and sword blades from Solingen. Sokoto markets were a wonder to see.

Sharia was also a key component in Sokoto. Uthman in particular rooted the founding of the state in Islam - his flight from Gobir was purposefully linked to the Prophet Mohammad's flight from Mecca to Medina. The conquests were often against other Muslim states which caused controversy - jihad had been imagined to be against 'pagans' and other 'unbelievers'. In 1808 at Bornu a jihad happened which Mohammad Bello argued was 'emulating the Shaikh [Uthman]' led by Mohammad al-Amin ibn Mohammad Ninga, better known as Sheikh al-Kanami. Like Uthman, he was well educated and had studied in both Cairo and Medina. Sokoto and Bornu went to war, and there were a series of letters between Mohammad Bello and al-Kanami debating the ethics of Sokoto's jihad. Al-Kanami believed the Mohammad Bello, and Borno's Fulbe, were instead wanting political power - not Islamic renewal. Dan Fodio had justified jihad by arguing that jihad against lapsed Muslims was not against sharia. Al-Kanami strongly disagreed stating that: The taking of bribes, embezzlement of the property of orphans and injustice in the courts are all major sins which God has forbidden. But sin does not make anyone a pagan when he has confessed his faith. In contrast, Uthman and Mohammad Bello replied that their jihad was defensive - Bello wrote, 'we did not war against the people for the reasons you have been told. Rather we warred against them in order to protect ourselves, our religion and our people'. Education was key for Sokoto and this what we will get to.

Education and Nana Asma'u

An example of Nana Asma'u's writing

The most important person in the first years of Sokoto was Uthman's daughter, Nana Asma'u. She was very intelligent, fluent in four languages, independent, and an established scholar. She was a prolific writer - we have over 60 preserved poems by her. Asma'u had a deep understanding of Sufism and was a key role in the Qadiriyya - her knowledge is effectively shown in her book Kitab ulum al-mu'amala (The Sciences of Behaviour). The book focused on her understanding of Sufism, jurisprudence, and the Oneness of God. Literacy and education was seen as being vital in forging a new Islamic identity. It was a form of jihad - a jihad of the mind rather than a jihad of the soul. Dan Fodio and Asma'u translated the Qu'ran into Hausa and Fulani - having a direct link to the words of the Qu'ran was seen as enabling piety. Asma'u particularly wanted to educate women - she believed that through women old practices and customs would continue as they would teach it to their children. Education was seen as being the way to break this link to the past. As Asma'u held major roles in the courts of dan Fodio and Mohammad Bello she used this to push for education. In 1820 she translated dan Fodio's writings into vernacular languages, added her own, and issued them in The Way of the Pious. A decade later, in 1831, she compiled even more of his untranslated work and her writings in Be Sure of God's Truth. The various wars and jihads created a large refugee population so, to ensure that they became devout Muslims, women were sent to live with Muslim families. Due to their continued suffering Asma'u wrote Medicine of the Prophet using excerpts from the Qu'ran to give advice on child birth, protecting pregnant women, protection of children, and anxieties over poverty, illness, safety, and tyranny to those with authority. From 1830 she created a cadre of women teachers who would educate women in their homes regardless of wealth and location. Asma'u's commitment to educating women, and her influence in the state, has made her be remembered fondly in northern Nigeria and among Nigerian women - she has been viewed as the precursor to Nigerian feminism.

Other Jihads
Sokoto began a wave of jihadi movements across West Africa borrowing the same style of rules and tactics. Masina along the Middle Niger delta was ruled by pagan rulers with Fulbe clans paying tribute to the Bambara rulers of Segu. Another Fulbe member of the Qadiriyya called Ahmadu Lobbo. Like Uthman dan Fodio he criticised the ruling elite on grounds of faith, corruption, and ethnic issues - Lobbo specifically appealed to Fulbe identity so much that Islam and Fulbe became synonymous in Segu. With a growth in support Lobbo specifically appealed to Uthman in 1817 for permission to lead a jihad - Sokoto had evolved into the moral power in the region. Lobbo managed to break Segu hegemony and expanded into the local area, including Timbuktu, one of the major cities of the Malian Empire. Like Uthman, Lobbo constructed a new city to serve as a capital called Hamdullahi - 'Praise God'. He aimed to build a state like Sokoto by enforcing Islamic theocracy and breaking Bambara hegemony. In cities like Jenne and Timbuktu dancing, alcohol, tobacco, and extravagant clothing were outright banned as pagan sites were destroyed. To weaken Bambara domination in the cities and to protect Fulbe from bandits he had entire communities forced into the cities. Lobbo's Islamisation of Masina was not successful. For one, it was far more of a top-down implementation compared to Sokoto and the linking of Islam to Fulbe identity excluded the Bambara who largely continued their original belief, or a mixture of the two faiths. When Lobbo died in 1845 attempts to enforce Islamisation were reduced, especially due to rebellions by Bambara, so much so, that Masina after 1845 could be described as an Islamic state, not a jihadi state.

The last major jihadi movement was that of the Tukolor Empire. The Tukolor jihad is the most independent of the three movements which we've discussed. Al-Hajj Umar Tal was a Tukolor torodbe, the Tukolor are close culturally to the Fulbe, born into a clerical family in Futa Toro in 1796. Umar Tal was already deeply invested in Islam, and unlike dan Fodio or Lobbo, he made a pilgrimage to Mecca in the 1820s. There he joined a Sufi order called the Tijaniyya - this order placed emphasis on mysticism and grassroots education compared to the Qadiriyya. Becoming head of the Tijaniyya he introduced West Africa to the order when he returned. He lived for eight years in Sokoto where he became close friends with Mohammad Bello, he even married one of Bello's daughters, and in 1839 visited Masina. Through the 1840s and 1850s Umar Tal began developing an armed following among the Fulbe and Tukolor back at Futa Toro, however, his intention was not to purify Muslim governments. Instead he intended to expand dar al-Islam into pagan territories. In 1852 the Mande state of Tamba was conquered and for the next decade he continued his conquests. Umar Tal never made an attempt to actually integrate the conquered lands into dar al-Islam - efforts to convert the conquered were lacklustre and often were retracted in the face of organised opposition. Conquests brought the Tukolor Empire in contact with Mesina in the east and, by conquering Senegambia, with France in the west. In a twist of fate in 1860 the jihad against France was called off as it disrupted trade and Masina was even conquered in 1862! Umar Tal was killed in a battle in 1862 but the empire managed to limp on for another thirty years.

Jihad and Europe

The only known photo of Amadu Bamba

In the second half of the nineteenth century Europe started expanding from the coast and into the heart of Africa. The Berlin Conference in 1884 and 1885 divided Africa between the European powers. In 1890 France created an alliance with Bambara to conquer the Tukolor Empire, and the remnants of Masina, and after 1900 Britain sent Frederick Lugard to conquer the Sokoto Caliphate. By setting emirs against one another Lugard managed to weaken the Caliphate and in 1903 Britain placed it under their rule, as well as abolishing the title of 'caliph'. Conflict and conquest by Christian powers offered a crisis of identity for the jihadi states. Lugard advocated for 'indirect rule' in Sokoto; British forces were too few on the ground to properly occupy the land so local rulers were tasked with enforcing British policy. Sokoto lived on as a sultanate under British rule which reduced resistance. Other regions of West Africa saw jihad used as a rallying cry against colonial domination. One who called for jihad was Sheikh Amadu Bamba from what is now Senegal. Unlike the previous jihadi movements Amadu Bamba's Muridiyya order advocated for peaceful jihad - through adherence to Islam and hard work it would be possible to shake of French rule. Symbolic prayer was done to resist colonial evangelists and attempts to enforce French culture onto Senegal. Amadu Bamba also opposed local rulers from cooperating with French authorities; in 1896 he and the Muridiyya publicly broke with tradition of sheikhs remaining neutral when chiefs were being chosen, and starting endorsing chiefs. This angered local leaders, who saw him as threatening their position, and a misunderstanding of Islam placed a target on Amadu Bamba. For thirty-two years he was placed under house arrest or exiled before France viewed his pacifism as non-threatening.

Conclusion
The jihadi movements of West Africa offer an interesting case study in the changes in Islam out of the main focus of the Middle East. These movements greatly shaped West Africa and their legacies live on today. From Sokoto, Islam became integral to local identity - it is no coincidence that one of the largest Islamic organisations, Boko Haram, exists in the former lands of the Caliphate. However, Boko Haram has based its identity from Wahhabism than the neo-Sufism that influenced the ideas of Sokoto, Masina, and Tukolor. At the same time we have the image of Nana Asma'u who promoted education and independence for women. With these movements emerging just before the advent of colonialism they offered a way for anti-colonial movements to look to the past for inspiration.

The sources I have used are as follows:
-Martin Meredith, The Fortunes of Africa: A 5,000 Year History of Wealth, Greed, and Endeavour, (London: 2014)
-Marie Miran-Guyon and Jean-Louis Triaud, 'Islam', in Richard Reid and John Parker, The Oxford Handbook of Modern African History, (Oxford: 2013), 243-262
-Nikki Keddie, 'The Revolt of Islam, 1700-1993: Comparative Considerations and Relations to Imperialism', Comparative Studies in Society and History, 36, (1994), 363-387
-Louis Brenner, 'The Jihad Debate between Sokoto and Borno: A Historical Analysis of Islamic Political Discourse in Nigeria', in J.A. Ajayi and J.D.Y. Peel, (eds.), People and Empires in African History: Essays in Memory of Michael Crowder, (Harlow: 1992), 21-44
-Murray Last, 'Reform in West Africa: The Jihad Movements of the Nineteenth Century', in J.A. Ajayi and Michael Crowder, (eds.), History of Africa, Vol. 2, (London: 1973), 1-29
-Eugene Mendonsa, West Africa: An Introduction to its History, Civilization and its Contemporary Situation, (Durham: 2002)
-Robert O'Collins, (ed.), African History in Documents: Western African History, Vol. 1, (Santa Barbara: 1990)
-Beverly Mack and Jean Boyd, (eds.), One Woman's Jihad: Nana Asma'u, Scholar and Scribe, (Bloomington, 2000)
-Sheikh Anta Babou, Fighting the Greater Jihad: Amadu Bamba and the Founding of the Muridiyya of Senegal, 1853-1913, (Athens: 2007)

Thank you for reading. For other World History posts please see our list. Next time we will be looking at Russia's attempt to reform itself during the 1800s and the beginnings of revolution. For future blog updates please see our Facebook or find me on Twitter @LewisTwiby.