Symbolic Confrontations : Muslims Imagining the State in Africa

by Cruise O'Brien, Donal

• ISBN13: 9781403963697
• ISBN10: 140396369X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-03-18
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Donal Cruise O'Brien is a leading authority on Islam in Africa. This is a collection of his writing over the last 30 years, some significantly rewritten to render this a coherent book to use for teaching about the interplay between politics and Islam in Africa. The author's main argument is that much of politics in Africa is negotiated through use of symbols, and can not be separated from the religious origins and the systems of belief from which they originate. The book focuses on Senegal, a fascinating example of the spread of Muslim brotherhoods and their overarching influence on the construction and decision-making processes of the state.

Author Biography

Donal Cruise O'Brien is Professor of Politics, University of London.

Table of Contents

Foreword	vii
Derivations	ix
Maps	x
Introduction: Muslims Imagining the State in Africa	1	(30)
Part I. MUSLIMS CONFRONTING THE STATE
Introduction	31	(1)
1. Supping with the Devil: the Mouride Brotherhood and the Senegalese State, 1967-88	32	(17)
2. Sufi Symbolism and the State in Senegal, 1975-81	49	(15)
3. Taking on the Town: Mouride Urbanisation, 1945-2001	64	(28)
4. Coping with the Christians? Muslim Politics in Kenya	92	(27)
Part II. AROUND THE STATE: COMMUNITY CULTURE, EVASION
Introduction	119	(1)
5. The Shadow-politics of Wolofisation: Shuffling Along to Nationhood?	120	(21)
6. The Showman and the State in Francophone Africa: the Legacy of Charles de Gaulle	141	(14)
7. Where has the Lost Generation Gone? Youth and State in West Africa	155	(22)
Part III. ENGAGING WITH THE STATE: DEMOCRATIC DIMENSIONS
Introduction	177	(1)
8. Wails and Whispers: the People's Voice in African Muslim Politics	178	(15)
9. Renegotiating the Senegalese Social Contract	193	(21)
10. Does Democracy Require an Opposition Party? Consensual Symbolism and Elections in Africa	214	(21)
Index	235