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International
Journal of Political Science and Development |
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International Journal of Political Science and Development Vol. 2(6), pp. 105 –116, June, 2014 DOI: 10.14662/IJPSD2014.022 ISSN: 2360-784X Full Length Research Political Islam and the Negotiation of Political Roles among Peripheral Sufi Leaders in Senegal
Samba Camara
Ohio University. E-mail: sc350511@ohio.edu.
Accepted 28 May 2014
Islam in Senegal
is dominated by Sufism, a mystical form of religiosity governed by
different Muslim brotherhoods (tarixas). A number of researches on
the political influence of the Senegalese tarixas have approached
Sufi-Muslim authorities from a globalized perspective, thus paying
less attention to internal segments within each tarixa. In this
article, the author emphasizes the political roles of Sufi segment
leaders (‘peripheral shaykhs’) as they build clientelistic
relationships with secular politicians. Peripheral Sufi leaders are
charismatic Muslim guides (shaykhs) who earned political legitimacy
either through blood lineage with a Sufi founder or through a
privileged relationship with a Sufi central leader (Khalif-Général).
Speaking of a fragmented Senegalese Muslim authority, the article
proposes that the negotiation of political roles among peripheral
Sufi leaders has had a double impact on Senegal’s democratization.
On one hand, it stifles the constructive role of the Khalif-Général
as a transethnic religious mediator. On the other hand, by allowing
client shaykhs to proliferate voting commands (electoral ndigëls),
it fuels clientelism and prebendalism in political regimes. Based on
field observation and analysis of diverse secondary sources, the
article concludes that electoral ndigëls, although in decline, have
consequences that continue to challenge fuller democratization in
Senegal.
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