Qahwa & Kalam: Muslim Scholars in West Africa on the Eve of Colonialism

Join us for an interesting talk, tackling how the West African Islamic clerisy was caught in the midst of a revolution against a perceivedly corrupt indigenous political establishment in the nineteenth century. And learn about what started as an esoteric jihad against political corruption towards the end of the Songhay empire, which morphed into open warfare in the wake of the transatlantic slave trade. But even in putting down their weapons, the discourse on jihad – the struggle against injustice and oppression – remained central to the emerging clerical communities that reached an uneasy accommodation with colonial rule.

Public and Community Events | View More Events

Contact the organizers