Sheikh Sherif Ibrahim Mballo is Secretary General of the League of AhlulBayt in the Senegalese capital Dakar.
In an exclusive interview with Shafaqna he discussed topics related to Islam and the Shia Islam in the West African country. Imam Sherif Mballo stresses on the importance of unity among Muslims and says followers of the Shiism and Sufism are living in coexistence with each other.
Shafaqna- Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?
Imam Sherif Mballo : My name is Sherif Ibrahim Mballo and a national of Senegal. Currently, I have the honor of leading the League of AhlulBayt, which is officially recognized by the State of Senegal and was received by the President of the Republic of Senegal, His Excellency Macky Sall.
Shafaqna- When and where did you become familiar with Shia Islam?
Imam Sherif Mballo: Religions and traditions occupy an important place in the culture and daily life of the Senegalese people. Islam spread in Africa via trans-Sahara trade. Camel caravans passed through the Sahara Desert. Merchants bought gold in West Africa and sold in the north of the continent. They traded gemstones, jeweler, ceramics, glass, books, and salt. In another way, Islam came from North towards West Africa through the descendants of the Fatimid Caliphate in 1052.
At first, the Tekrur, a state in West Africa founded before the 9th century converted to Islam. At the end of the 10th century, King War Jabi took power and started a campaign of Islamization. Tekrur then turned to Islamic region of today’s Senegal thanks to the Senegal River, which was located on the trans-Saharan roads. The first organized Muslim state in West and Central African Africa with a written constitution was created in Tekrur under the direction of Thierno Souleyman Ball in 1776.
In Senegal, Islam established centuries-old strong cultural and traditional roots. A majority of Senegalese follow Sufism (Tariqa) as a religious order. According to a famous Sufi tradition “One who has no teacher, will be guided by Satan.”
In this regard, you should know that Shiism is not a new phenomenon in Senegal because Islam practiced and inspired by Sufism. Sufism (mysticism) itself inspired by Shiism as the Idrissids, the founders of the Kingdom of Morocco, were descendants of Imam Hassan (A.S) and the Prophet Mohammad (A.S). Shia Muslims who fled from Mecca in fear of persecution of Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates in the second Hegira century settled in today’s Morocco and established a kingdom and spread their Shia beliefs. In Senegal, people do not know enough about the history of Islam and are content with the stories they heard in their family or from preachers. You hear many people saying: “I was born like that, I saw my father did that … I heard my grandfather say that.”
When Shia Islam came to Senegal although it brought its doctrine, Fiqh, (jurisprudence), Tawhid, (monotheism), general theology, there is not a big difference between those above-mentioned Shia traditions and the Sunni traditions already practiced here. Senegalese people believe in the Prophet Mohammad (S) and Imam Ali (A.S).
There is also the idea that Shiism did not originate from Morocco but stem from the Middle East-notably Lebanese-Syrian settlers who came to Senegal. The French brought them to create a buffer zone between the indigenous Senegalese people and themselves. Since the majority of the population was Muslim, the French brought another Islamic doctrine to prevent local Muslims interacting with them. The Lebanese settlers obeyed the rules; for example, they did not operate beyond the administrative and municipal limit of Dakar city. The French also prevented other settlers from mingling with local people in other French colonies.
This colonial measure was applicable, in other regional capitals; settlers were banned from mixing with the native Muslims. They should not attend their mosques, participate in religious ceremonies or marry them so as not to risk any problem. The Lebanese stayed here in Senegal, until the Islamic Revolution of Iran in 1979. They never proselytized the local population or preached in favor of Shiism. They confined themselves to their own commercial affairs in their closed community. For that reason, it was very rare to find a mixed Senegalese-Lebanese or Senegalese -Syrian couple.
Therefore, the Islam that came to Senegal was a religion tinged with mysticism, Sufism and we tasted Islam through Sufism. All founders of the West African states from Senegal until Nigeria were sheikhs and those states all are ruled by Islamic laws. This is the reason why 90 percent of the Senegalese are affiliated with Sufi brotherhoods such as Khadriya, Tijaniya, Mouridya and Mahdaviya- Layenne.
Back to your question, coming from a Sunni Tijan family I started with the Sunni Senegalese Islamic Movement at a very young age. In 1979, with the news of the Islamic Revolution of Iran under the leadership of Imam Rouhollah Khomeini, we as young students got interested in the Islamic Revolution. We saw it as a breath of fresh air for the Muslim masses and the world’s poor. A young person is always very receptive to revolutionary ideas, political social changes and the fight against injustice. What interested us the most was Imam Khomeini’s attitude and distrust towards the West and East: Communism represented by then Soviet Union and the West represented by the United States of America. Back then, there was no Muslim country or a Third World state capable of or dare to face the US or the USSR, but Imam Khomeini who was a very courageous person, did so.
We were born, raised and educated according to Sunni Islam. So, from that point of view, we had sympathetic feeling with the Islamic Revolution and began reading about that revolution, its nature, objectives, leaders and perspectives. We asked: What do they want? Based on those answers we began asking from ourselves: “What is the ideological base of this revolution”? We knew that it was Islam but also Shia Islam. What is Shiism? The Shia-born Lebanese-Syrians living in Senegal since 1802 had never told us anything about Shiism. But now there were radios, television channels, newspapers, etc. that would inform us about Shiism.
From that point, we started making study circles and took an interest in the history, literature and philosophy of Shiism as well as its vision and conception in the Holy Qur’an because the holy Qur’an is for understanding the personality of the Prophet, Islamic laws, theology, monotheism, etc. And the Shia conception in many doctrinal domains convinced us to a great deal and prompted us to convince ourselves, of the veracity of the Shia message by research.
I founded the first Shia association of Senegal in 1989, it is called “Al-e Yasin”. A number of intellectual brothers and students helped me in this path. We used to hold debates at the University of Dakar, Lycées and Colleges of Dakar and surrounding areas.
Shafaqna- One of your activities has been tracking the Sayyeds or the descendants of the Prophet Mohammad in Africa. How did you find them?
Imam Sherif Mballo: I already mentioned that Islam spread in West Africa from Morocco. The descendants of the Prophet Mohammed (A.S) are known as Sherif in Africa or Seyyed in the Middle East from the marriage between Seyyida Fatima al-Zahra and Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib. The descendants of the Prophet are also called Haidara, in reference to the pseudonym of Imam Ali Ibn Abi TALIB (A.S), Haidar. African Muslim communities like and respect the Sayyeds. However, I have to add, there are many -like Berber Arabs- who claim to be descendants of the Prophet Mohammad in Senegal, it is very common to see some to claim that they are part of the noble and prestigious prophetic family.
Please tell us about the Senegalese Shias and their living condition?
Sheikh Shrif Mballo: As I earlier mentioned, Shiism entered Senegal through Al-Morabitun who were Idrissid Shias. The Shia-Senegalese Community is a very dynamic component of the Senegalese socio-cultural fabric, whose members are scattered throughout the country. Their focal points are Dakar, Thies, Kaolack, Kolda and Ziguinchor.
However, it is difficult to say the exact number of the Shias, given the absence of official statistics. Senegalese Shias have adopted a form of organization that commands respect and cohabiting harmoniously with other parts of the society. Most of them are highly-educated, from middle-class families, some have high positions in the Senegalese administration. There are also members who favor political activities rather than social and cultural ones and they act through legal political parties and civil society movements. The Shias enjoy freedoms of worship, opinion, assembly like other socio-religious communities in Senegal. Since its creation in 1989, the Al-e Yasin Movement has organized ceremonies like the Eid al-Mowlid (the Prophet Mohammad’s birth anniversary), Eid al- Ghadir, Muharram mourning ceremonies specially Ashura. All members of the Shia community as well as representatives of the political, civil and religious authorities of Senegal have helped us.
It must be noted that in Senegal, several local practices and beliefs derived from Shiism for example, the symbol of the Senegalese woman is Fatima Zahra (A.S) locally called Fatimata, Fatimatou, Fatima, Fatim, Fati, Fatou, Fanta, Titi or Bintou, binta, bator etc. Names of AhlulBayt (A.S) can be found in most Senegalese Muslim families: Mohammad if a baby is born on a Friday. Ali (Alioune Badara), Hassan (Alassane or Assane), Hossein (Ousseynou or Alfousseynou), Zeynab (Seynabou, Sey, Say or Nabou). Whenever a family has male twins, their names automatically will be Hassan and Hossein.
This shows how Shia traditions are deeply rooted in the Senegalese collective memory. Now thanks to the efforts of Shia preachers that have a lot of influence on people, the day of Ashura was promoted from a holiday to a day of mourning. (Ashura is an official holiday in Senegal since two decades ago). Therefore, radios, newspapers and national television talk about it to make people aware of this important day.
Our association organizes free medical consultations, distributes rice and food packages in the fasting month of Ramadan and holds Iftar for the poor. We currently have a school with over 1,000 students where 30 percent of children are from poor families. We have the same curriculum as the Senegalese state schools have but we also teach children Islamic teachings. Our school is for now only in Dakar, but we are in discussions with authorities to allocate us some land to establish more schools nationwide.
Source: en.shafaqna.com
