The production of islamic identities through knowledge claims in Bouake, Cote d'Ivoire

African Affairs

Volumn 98, Issue 393, 1999, Pages 485-508

  LeBlanc, Marie Nathalie ^a  

^a Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science   (Canada)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

CULTURAL IDENTITY; IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION; ISLAMISM; KNOWLEDGE;

COTE D'IVOIRE;

EID: 0033371267     PISSN: 00019909     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a008064     Document Type: Article

References (67)

1. See Louis Brenner, 'La culture arabo-islamique au Mali', in René Otayek (ed.), Le radicalisme islamique au sud du Sahara. Da'wa, arabisation et critique de l'Occident, (Karthala and M.S.H.A., Paris, 1993), pp. 161-95.
2. See Louis Brenner, 'Introduction: Muslim representations of unity and difference in the African discourse', in Louise Brenner (ed.), Muslim Identity and Social Change in Sub-Saharan Africa (Hurst, London, 1993), pp. 1-20; Jean-Pierre Chrétien et al. (eds), L'invention religieuse en Afrique. Histoire et religion en Afrique noire (ACCT et Editions Karthala, Paris, 1993); Otayek, Le radicalisme islamique.
3. See Louis Brenner, 'Introduction: Muslim representations of unity and difference in the African discourse', in Louise Brenner (ed.), Muslim Identity and Social Change in Sub-Saharan Africa (Hurst, London, 1993), pp. 1-20; Jean-Pierre Chrétien et al. (eds), L'invention religieuse en Afrique. Histoire et religion en Afrique noire (ACCT et Editions Karthala, Paris, 1993); Otayek, Le radicalisme islamique.
4. See Louis Brenner, 'Introduction: Muslim representations of unity and difference in the African discourse', in Louise Brenner (ed.), Muslim Identity and Social Change in Sub-Saharan Africa (Hurst, London, 1993), pp. 1-20; Jean-Pierre Chrétien et al. (eds), L'invention religieuse en Afrique. Histoire et religion en Afrique noire (ACCT et Editions Karthala, Paris, 1993); Otayek, Le radicalisme islamique.
5. See René Otayek, 'L'affirmation élitaire des arabisants du Burkina Faso', in Otayek, ed., Le radicalisme, pp. 229-52.
6. See Christian Coulon, 'Les itinéraires politiques de l'islam au Nord-Nigéria', in Jean-François Bayart (ed.), Religion et modernité politique en Afrique noire. Dieu pour tous et chacun pour soi (Karthala, Paris, 1993), pp. 19-62.
7. See Louise Brenner, 'Constructing Muslim identities in Mali', in Brenner, Muslim Identity and Social Change, pp. 59-78.
8. See Otayek, 'L'affirmation élitaire des arabisants'.
9. I deliberately use the term 'versioning' rather than 'version' to emphasize the procedural dimension of the phenomena tied to processes of identification and differentiation; 'versioning' implies that it is in process, whereas 'version' refers to a final product.
10. For a similar perspective see Robert Launay, Beyond the Stream. Islam and society in a West African town (University of California Press, Berkeley, CA, 1992), and Robert Launay, 'The ritual arena: symbolic expression of Islamic identities among the Dyula', paper presented at the conference on Islamic Identities in Africa, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 18-20 April 1991.
11. For a similar perspective see Robert Launay, Beyond the Stream. Islam and society in a West African town (University of California Press, Berkeley, CA, 1992), and Robert Launay, 'The ritual arena: symbolic expression of Islamic identities among the Dyula', paper presented at the conference on Islamic Identities in Africa, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 18-20 April 1991.
12. See Jean-Loup Amselle, 'Le Wahabisme à Bamako (1945-1985)', Canadian Journal of African Studies, 19, 2 (1985), pp. 345-57; Brenner, 'Introduction'; Emmanuel Grégoire, 'Islam and identity of merchants in Maradi (Niger)', in Brenner, Muslim Identity and Social Change, pp. 106-15; Murray Last, 'The power of youth, youth of power', in H. d'Almeida-Topor et al. (eds), Les jeunes en Afrique. La politique et al ville, Vol. 2 (Harmattan, Paris, 1992), pp. 375-99; R. S. O'Fahey, 'Islamic hegemonies in the Sudan. Sufism, Mahdism and Islamism', in Brenner, Muslim Identity and Social Change, pp. 21-35; Muhammad Sani Umar, 'Changing Islamic identity in Nigeria from the 1960s to the 1980s: from Sufism to anti-Sufism', in Brenner, Muslim Identity and Social Change, pp. 154-78; Launay, Traders without Trade: Responses to change in two Dyula communities (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1982).
13. See Jean-Loup Amselle, 'Le Wahabisme à Bamako (1945-1985)', Canadian Journal of African Studies, 19, 2 (1985), pp. 345-57; Brenner, 'Introduction'; Emmanuel Grégoire, 'Islam and identity of merchants in Maradi (Niger)', in Brenner, Muslim Identity and Social Change, pp. 106-15; Murray Last, 'The power of youth, youth of power', in H. d'Almeida-Topor et al. (eds), Les jeunes en Afrique. La politique et al ville, Vol. 2 (Harmattan, Paris, 1992), pp. 375-99; R. S. O'Fahey, 'Islamic hegemonies in the Sudan. Sufism, Mahdism and Islamism', in Brenner, Muslim Identity and Social Change, pp. 21-35; Muhammad Sani Umar, 'Changing Islamic identity in Nigeria from the 1960s to the 1980s: from Sufism to anti-Sufism', in Brenner, Muslim Identity and Social Change, pp. 154-78; Launay, Traders without Trade: Responses to change in two Dyula communities (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1982).
14. See Jean-Loup Amselle, 'Le Wahabisme à Bamako (1945-1985)', Canadian Journal of African Studies, 19, 2 (1985), pp. 345-57; Brenner, 'Introduction'; Emmanuel Grégoire, 'Islam and identity of merchants in Maradi (Niger)', in Brenner, Muslim Identity and Social Change, pp. 106-15; Murray Last, 'The power of youth, youth of power', in H. d'Almeida-Topor et al. (eds), Les jeunes en Afrique. La politique et al ville, Vol. 2 (Harmattan, Paris, 1992), pp. 375-99; R. S. O'Fahey, 'Islamic hegemonies in the Sudan. Sufism, Mahdism and Islamism', in Brenner, Muslim Identity and Social Change, pp. 21-35; Muhammad Sani Umar, 'Changing Islamic identity in Nigeria from the 1960s to the 1980s: from Sufism to anti-Sufism', in Brenner, Muslim Identity and Social Change, pp. 154-78; Launay, Traders without Trade: Responses to change in two Dyula communities (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1982).
15. See Jean-Loup Amselle, 'Le Wahabisme à Bamako (1945-1985)', Canadian Journal of African Studies, 19, 2 (1985), pp. 345-57; Brenner, 'Introduction'; Emmanuel Grégoire, 'Islam and identity of merchants in Maradi (Niger)', in Brenner, Muslim Identity and Social Change, pp. 106-15; Murray Last, 'The power of youth, youth of power', in H. d'Almeida-Topor et al. (eds), Les jeunes en Afrique. La politique et al ville, Vol. 2 (Harmattan, Paris, 1992), pp. 375-99; R. S. O'Fahey, 'Islamic hegemonies in the Sudan. Sufism, Mahdism and Islamism', in Brenner, Muslim Identity and Social Change, pp. 21-35; Muhammad Sani Umar, 'Changing Islamic identity in Nigeria from the 1960s to the 1980s: from Sufism to anti-Sufism', in Brenner, Muslim Identity and Social Change, pp. 154-78; Launay, Traders without Trade: Responses to change in two Dyula communities (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1982).
16. See Jean-Loup Amselle, 'Le Wahabisme à Bamako (1945-1985)', Canadian Journal of African Studies, 19, 2 (1985), pp. 345-57; Brenner, 'Introduction'; Emmanuel Grégoire, 'Islam and identity of merchants in Maradi (Niger)', in Brenner, Muslim Identity and Social Change, pp. 106-15; Murray Last, 'The power of youth, youth of power', in H. d'Almeida-Topor et al. (eds), Les jeunes en Afrique. La politique et al ville, Vol. 2 (Harmattan, Paris, 1992), pp. 375-99; R. S. O'Fahey, 'Islamic hegemonies in the Sudan. Sufism, Mahdism and Islamism', in Brenner, Muslim Identity and Social Change, pp. 21-35; Muhammad Sani Umar, 'Changing Islamic identity in Nigeria from the 1960s to the 1980s: from Sufism to anti-Sufism', in Brenner, Muslim Identity and Social Change, pp. 154-78; Launay, Traders without Trade: Responses to change in two Dyula communities (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1982).
17. See Jean-Loup Amselle, 'Le Wahabisme à Bamako (1945-1985)', Canadian Journal of African Studies, 19, 2 (1985), pp. 345-57; Brenner, 'Introduction'; Emmanuel Grégoire, 'Islam and identity of merchants in Maradi (Niger)', in Brenner, Muslim Identity and Social Change, pp. 106-15; Murray Last, 'The power of youth, youth of power', in H. d'Almeida-Topor et al. (eds), Les jeunes en Afrique. La politique et al ville, Vol. 2 (Harmattan, Paris, 1992), pp. 375-99; R. S. O'Fahey, 'Islamic hegemonies in the Sudan. Sufism, Mahdism and Islamism', in Brenner, Muslim Identity and Social Change, pp. 21-35; Muhammad Sani Umar, 'Changing Islamic identity in Nigeria from the 1960s to the 1980s: from Sufism to anti-Sufism', in Brenner, Muslim Identity and Social Change, pp. 154-78; Launay, Traders without Trade: Responses to change in two Dyula communities (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1982).
18. See Jean-Loup Amselle, 'Le Wahabisme à Bamako (1945-1985)', Canadian Journal of African Studies, 19, 2 (1985), pp. 345-57; Brenner, 'Introduction'; Emmanuel Grégoire, 'Islam and identity of merchants in Maradi (Niger)', in Brenner, Muslim Identity and Social Change, pp. 106-15; Murray Last, 'The power of youth, youth of power', in H. d'Almeida-Topor et al. (eds), Les jeunes en Afrique. La politique et al ville, Vol. 2 (Harmattan, Paris, 1992), pp. 375-99; R. S. O'Fahey, 'Islamic hegemonies in the Sudan. Sufism, Mahdism and Islamism', in Brenner, Muslim Identity and Social Change, pp. 21-35; Muhammad Sani Umar, 'Changing Islamic identity in Nigeria from the 1960s to the 1980s: from Sufism to anti-Sufism', in Brenner, Muslim Identity and Social Change, pp. 154-78; Launay, Traders without Trade: Responses to change in two Dyula communities (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1982).
19. Launay, 'The ritual arena'.
20. In Bouaké, the historical distinction between mory (scholar) and tun tigi (warrior) found in the Mande world is not present, contrary to the case of Khorogo; see Launay, 'The ritual arena'.
21. For a more in-depth discussion of such elements of material culture, see Marie Nathalie LeBlanc, 'Youth, Islam and Changing Identities in Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire', unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of London, 1998.
22. See Louis Brenner, 'Representations of power and powerlessness among West African Muslims', in Chrétien, L'invention religieuse en Afrique pp. 213-34.
23. For the description of a similar shift in Burkina Faso, see Otayek, 'L'affirmation élitaire des arabisants'.
24. See Louis Brenner, 'Medersa au Mali: transformation d'une institution islamique', in Bintou Sanankoua and Louis Brenner (eds), L'enseignement islamique au Mali (Editions Jamana, Bamako, 1991), pp. 63-85; Brenner, 'Representations of power and powerlessness'.
25. See Louis Brenner, 'Medersa au Mali: transformation d'une institution islamique', in Bintou Sanankoua and Louis Brenner (eds), L'enseignement islamique au Mali (Editions Jamana, Bamako, 1991), pp. 63-85; Brenner, 'Representations of power and powerlessness'.
26. See Stefan Reichmuth, 'Islamic learning and its interaction with "Western" education in Ilorin, Nigeria', in Brenner, Muslim Identity and Social Change, pp. 179-97.
27. See Otayek, 'L'affirmation élitaire des arabisants'.
28. While I was in the field, there were approximately 30 morykalan schools in Bouaké.
29. See Brenner, 'Medersa au Mali'.
30. See Brenner, 'Medersa au Mali'; Brenner, 'La culture arabo-islamique au Mali'; Louis Brenner and Murray Last, 'The role of language in West African Islam', Africa, 55, 4 (1985), pp. 432-46.
31. See Brenner, 'Medersa au Mali'; Brenner, 'La culture arabo-islamique au Mali'; Louis Brenner and Murray Last, 'The role of language in West African Islam', Africa, 55, 4 (1985), pp. 432-46.
32. See Brenner, 'Medersa au Mali'; Brenner, 'La culture arabo-islamique au Mali'; Louis Brenner and Murray Last, 'The role of language in West African Islam', Africa, 55, 4 (1985), pp. 432-46.
33. See Amselle, 'Le Wahabisme à Bamako'; Lansiné Kaba, The Wahhabiyya (Northwestern University Press, Evanston, IL, 1974); Marie Miran, 'The Wahhabiyya in Côte d'Ivoire 1960-1996', paper presented at the annual meeting of the African Studies Association, Columbus, Ohio, November, 1997; Jean-Louis Triaud, 'Abd Al-Rahman l'africain (1908-1957), pionnier et précurseur du Wahhabisme au Mali', in O. Carré and P. Dumont (eds), Radicalismes islamiques, Vol. 2, Maroc, Pakistan, Inde, Yougoslavie, Mali, (L'Harrnattan, Paris, 1986), pp. 162-81.
34. See Amselle, 'Le Wahabisme à Bamako'; Lansiné Kaba, The Wahhabiyya (Northwestern University Press, Evanston, IL, 1974); Marie Miran, 'The Wahhabiyya in Côte d'Ivoire 1960-1996', paper presented at the annual meeting of the African Studies Association, Columbus, Ohio, November, 1997; Jean-Louis Triaud, 'Abd Al-Rahman l'africain (1908-1957), pionnier et précurseur du Wahhabisme au Mali', in O. Carré and P. Dumont (eds), Radicalismes islamiques, Vol. 2, Maroc, Pakistan, Inde, Yougoslavie, Mali, (L'Harrnattan, Paris, 1986), pp. 162-81.
35. See Amselle, 'Le Wahabisme à Bamako'; Lansiné Kaba, The Wahhabiyya (Northwestern University Press, Evanston, IL, 1974); Marie Miran, 'The Wahhabiyya in Côte d'Ivoire 1960-1996', paper presented at the annual meeting of the African Studies Association, Columbus, Ohio, November, 1997; Jean-Louis Triaud, 'Abd Al-Rahman l'africain (1908-1957), pionnier et précurseur du Wahhabisme au Mali', in O. Carré and P. Dumont (eds), Radicalismes islamiques, Vol. 2, Maroc, Pakistan, Inde, Yougoslavie, Mali, (L'Harrnattan, Paris, 1986), pp. 162-81.
36. See Amselle, 'Le Wahabisme à Bamako'; Lansiné Kaba, The Wahhabiyya (Northwestern University Press, Evanston, IL, 1974); Marie Miran, 'The Wahhabiyya in Côte d'Ivoire 1960-1996', paper presented at the annual meeting of the African Studies Association, Columbus, Ohio, November, 1997; Jean-Louis Triaud, 'Abd Al-Rahman l'africain (1908-1957), pionnier et précurseur du Wahhabisme au Mali', in O. Carré and P. Dumont (eds), Radicalismes islamiques, Vol. 2, Maroc, Pakistan, Inde, Yougoslavie, Mali, (L'Harrnattan, Paris, 1986), pp. 162-81.
37. See LeBlanc, 'Youth, Islam and Changing Identities',
38. See Brenner, 'Medersa au Mali'; Brenner, 'Representations of power and powerlessness'.
39. See Brenner, 'Medersa au Mali'; Brenner, 'Representations of power and powerlessness'.
40. Islamic baccalaureates are not recognized by the Ivorian government, so that students with the Islamic baccalaureate cannot attend university in Côte d'Ivoire.
41. See Brenner, 'Medersa au Mali'; Brenner, 'Constructing Muslim Identities in Mali'.
42. See Brenner, 'Medersa au Mali'; Brenner, 'Constructing Muslim Identities in Mali'.
43. See LeBlanc, 'Youth, Islam and Changing Identities'.
44. This is very different from the French-language national schools where young women attend upper-level classes in high numbers. A large number of young women also attend university in Côte d'Ivoire.
45. This is not the student's real name. Due to this controversial episode in her life, I wish to respect her anonymity.
46. For a discussion of changes in sermon styles, see Launay, 'The ritual arena'; Marie Nathalie LeBlanc, 'Between modernity and tradition: Rituals of Islam as negotiation and renewal through knowledge', paper presented at the Canadian Association of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Toronto, May 1998.
47. For a discussion of changes in sermon styles, see Launay, 'The ritual arena'; Marie Nathalie LeBlanc, 'Between modernity and tradition: Rituals of Islam as negotiation and renewal through knowledge', paper presented at the Canadian Association of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Toronto, May 1998.
48. See LeBlanc, 'Between modernity and tradition'.
49. See LeBlanc, 'Youth, Islam and Changing Identities'.
50. It should be noted here that these associations were, for the most part, recently created, and they may be short-lived. Some associations I was able to study closely saw their level of activities decline between 1993 and 1995. And it was in some cases impossible to locate some associations that supposedly had existed previously. However, this is not to say that these associations necessarily have a short life-span or that their contemporary popularity is only a passing phenomenon. In some cases, older associations are replaced by new ones, have changed their names, or have merged to form larger ones. This is the case in Sokoura neighbourhood, where seven of the existing Islamic youth associations created an umbrella association (Union des Jeunes de Sokoura). Some of these neighbourhood-based Islamic youth associations have also emerged out of existing Qur'anic students' associations. Finally, some Islamic youth associations have decided to join the Bouaké branch of the national Islamic youth association (Association des Jeunes Musulmans de Côte d'Ivoire). This association was formed in the context of the restructuring of Islamic institutions in the 1990s (the period following the institutionalization of multi-partyism in Côte d'Ivoire), and it replaced the Union des Jeunes Musulmans de Bouaké created in 1975.
51. There are obviously individuals with children in Bouaké today who are literate in Arabic, but they are not in large numbers.
52. See LeBlanc, 'Youth, Islam and Changing Identities'; Marie Nathalie LeBlanc, 'From Ethnicity to Islam: Processes of identification amongst Muslim youth in Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire', Paideumia 46 (2000) (forthcoming).
53. See LeBlanc, 'Youth, Islam and Changing Identities'; Marie Nathalie LeBlanc, 'From Ethnicity to Islam: Processes of identification amongst Muslim youth in Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire', Paideumia 46 (2000) (forthcoming).
54. I shall not address this question in more detail here, but it is necessary to state that a number of authors have noted that this logic of universalism does not necessarily apply to women and the social category of 'slave', despite their participation in the Islamic faith. See, among others, B. Lewis, Le retour de l'islam (Gallimard, Paris, 1985); S. Zeghidour, Le voile et la bannière (Hachette, Paris, 1990); Marie-Blanche Tahon, 'Islamité et féminin pluriel', Anthropologie et Société, 18, 1 (1994), pp. 185-202.
55. I shall not address this question in more detail here, but it is necessary to state that a number of authors have noted that this logic of universalism does not necessarily apply to women and the social category of 'slave', despite their participation in the Islamic faith. See, among others, B. Lewis, Le retour de l'islam (Gallimard, Paris, 1985); S. Zeghidour, Le voile et la bannière (Hachette, Paris, 1990); Marie-Blanche Tahon, 'Islamité et féminin pluriel', Anthropologie et Société, 18, 1 (1994), pp. 185-202.
56. I shall not address this question in more detail here, but it is necessary to state that a number of authors have noted that this logic of universalism does not necessarily apply to women and the social category of 'slave', despite their participation in the Islamic faith. See, among others, B. Lewis, Le retour de l'islam (Gallimard, Paris, 1985); S. Zeghidour, Le voile et la bannière (Hachette, Paris, 1990); Marie-Blanche Tahon, 'Islamité et féminin pluriel', Anthropologie et Société, 18, 1 (1994), pp. 185-202.
57. Some authors, such as Bernard Salvaing, have posited a hypothetical tie between the social reproduction of such a versioning of Islam and the historical development of Islamic institutions in West Africa. See B. Salvaing, 'Les jeunes et le développement des madrasas au Fouta-Djalon face à la culture traditionnelle', in d'Almeida-Topor, Les jeunes en Afrique, pp. 430-42.
58. Some authors have noticed the same phenomena amongst youth of Muslim origin, notably in Northern Nigeria, Maradi, Niger, Fouta-Djalon, Guinea and Senegal; see Last, 'The power of youth, youth of power'. Grégoire, 'Islam and identity of merchants in Maradi (Niger)'. Salvaing, 'Les jeunes et le développement des madrasas au Fouta-Djalon'. T. Diaw, 'Les jeunes, la religion, la spiritualité. Formes d'encadrement habituelles, nouveaux groupements', in d'Almeida-Topor, Les jeunes en Afrique, pp. 333-46.
59. Some authors have noticed the same phenomena amongst youth of Muslim origin, notably in Northern Nigeria, Maradi, Niger, Fouta-Djalon, Guinea and Senegal; see Last, 'The power of youth, youth of power'. Grégoire, 'Islam and identity of merchants in Maradi (Niger)'. Salvaing, 'Les jeunes et le développement des madrasas au Fouta-Djalon'. T. Diaw, 'Les jeunes, la religion, la spiritualité. Formes d'encadrement habituelles, nouveaux groupements', in d'Almeida-Topor, Les jeunes en Afrique, pp. 333-46.
60. Some authors have noticed the same phenomena amongst youth of Muslim origin, notably in Northern Nigeria, Maradi, Niger, Fouta-Djalon, Guinea and Senegal; see Last, 'The power of youth, youth of power'. Grégoire, 'Islam and identity of merchants in Maradi (Niger)'. Salvaing, 'Les jeunes et le développement des madrasas au Fouta-Djalon'. T. Diaw, 'Les jeunes, la religion, la spiritualité. Formes d'encadrement habituelles, nouveaux groupements', in d'Almeida-Topor, Les jeunes en Afrique, pp. 333-46.
61. Some authors have noticed the same phenomena amongst youth of Muslim origin, notably in Northern Nigeria, Maradi, Niger, Fouta-Djalon, Guinea and Senegal; see Last, 'The power of youth, youth of power'. Grégoire, 'Islam and identity of merchants in Maradi (Niger)'. Salvaing, 'Les jeunes et le développement des madrasas au Fouta-Djalon'. T. Diaw, 'Les jeunes, la religion, la spiritualité. Formes d'encadrement habituelles, nouveaux groupements', in d'Almeida-Topor, Les jeunes en Afrique, pp. 333-46.
62. Some Muslim young people have parents who have been educated in Western-style institutions or in madersa schools, but they are not numerous. This is because the democratization of formal schooling in Côte d'Ivoire did not take place until independence in 1960 and also because many Muslims in Bouaké came from Mali in the past 40 years or so. The Malian population has a relatively low level of literacy and schooling, and a very large number of Malians in Bouaké are traders, weavers, or leatherworkers.
63. It is interesting to note that those university students (at the Bouaké campus) who had not yet received their diploma and who had not moved to Abidjan were still active in these associations. This implies that schooling, French-language Western-style schooling in this case, may slow down the process of entry into adulthood.
64. See LeBlanc, 'Youth, Islam and Changing Identities'.
65. See Otayek, 'L'affirmation élitaires des arabisants'.
66. See Brenner, 'Constructing Muslim identities in Mali'.
67. For the description of a similar phenomenon in Burkina Faso, see Otayek, 'L'affirmation élitares des arabisants'.