Making and Remaking Mosques in Senegal

Erscheinungsjahr 2012
ISBN: 978-90-04-20337-2
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 13, 436 Seiten, Format (B × H): 157 mm x 241 mm, Gewicht: 857 g

Reihe: Islam in Africa

This book constitutes a seminal contribution to the fields of Islamic architectural history and gender studies. It is the first major empirical study of the history and current state of mosque building in Senegal and the first study of mosque space from a gender perspective. The author positions Senegalese mosques within the field of Islamic architectural history, unraveling their history through pre-colonial travelers’ accounts to conversations with present-day planners, imams and women who continually shape and reshape the mosques they worship in. Using contemporary Dakar as a case study, the book’s second aim is to explore the role of women in the “making and remaking” of mosques. In particular, the rise of non-tariqa grass-roots movements (i.e.: the “Sunni/Ibadou” movement) has empowered women (particularly young women) and has greatly strengthened their capacity to use mosques as places of spirituality, education and socialization. The text is aimed at several specialized readerships: readers interested in Islam in West Africa, in the role of women in Islam, as well as those interested in the sociology and art-history of mosques.

Zielgruppe

Readers interested in Islam in West Africa, in the role of women in Islam, as well as those interested in the sociology and art-history of mosques.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Cantone, Cleo

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Kunst Kunststile Islamische Kunst
• Geisteswissenschaften Architektur Gebäudetypen Sakralbauten
• Geisteswissenschaften Islam & Islamische Studien Geschichte des Islam
• Geisteswissenschaften Islam & Islamische Studien Islam: Literatur & Kunst

Inhaltsverzeichnis

CONTENTS
List of Illustrations. xi
Preface. xxi
Acknowledgements. xxv
List of Abbreviations. xxix
A Note on Orthography and Translation. xxxi
Maps and Figures. xxxiii
Introduction Making and re-Making Mosques in Senegal. 1
On the Centrality of the Mosque. 5
On the Diversity of Styles. 12

PART ONE
FROM CONVERSION TO CONSTRUCTION
Chapter One Sudanese Style Mosques and their Little Known Relatives in Futa Toro (15th–mid 19th century).21
Baraka and Building Traditions: From the Eyes of Arab Geographers. 23
Encroaching Eurocentrism: Early European Explorers. 26
Mosques in the Sudan and ‘Sudanese Style’ Mosques. 36
Some Reflections on Linguistic Kinship. 50
Defensive Tatas and Protective Palisades. 54
Fulbe Jihad and Mosques. 70
Architecture of the ‘Umarian’ Mosques of Futa Toro. 75
Conclusion. 87

PART TWO
THE QUEST FOR AN APPROPRIATE AESTHETIC
Chapter Two The Birth of the ‘Colonial Mosque’: Hybridity, French Policy and Muslim Identity (ca. 1820–1920). 93
Marabouts, Mosques and the Policy of Assimilation. 93
Trade, Territory and the Mission Civilisatrice. 95
The Churches of Gorée and Saint-Louis: Slaves, Missionaries and Métisses. 98
Consolidating Colonialism through the Creation of Colonial Cities. 106
France’s Ambivalent Attitudes towards Mosques: To Fund or Not To Fund Them?. 114
Three Colonial Mosques: Gorée, Saint-Louis Nord and rue Blanchot. 122
Veranda-style Mosques. 147
Concluding Remarks. 156
Chapter Three Regionalism, Revivals and Repercussions on Senegalese Mosques (ca. 1920–1950s). 159
Framing Attitudes towards Islam: The Policy of Association. 159
Regionalism, Revivals and Colonial Expositions. 166
Financing of Mosques, 1930–1940s. 180
Jenne, neo-Sudanese Style and the Quest for an Appropriate Aesthetic. 184
Genesis of the Murid Style. 187
The Great Mosque of Dakar and the Politics of Construction. 192
Smaller Mosques in Dakar. 198
Afro-Brazilian Synthesis and its Appearance in Senegal. 209
Shaping Muslim Identity. 222
PART THREE
DISCOURSE, GENDER AND IDENTITY
Chapter Four The Contemporary Urban Mosque Phenomenon: Ibadou and Tariqa Identities (1960s–present). 229
Urbanization and the Construction Boom. 229
The Rise of Religiosity: To each man his own mosque. 232
Multiplication of Mosques as Material Manifestation of Spiritual Clout. 234
Stylistic Appropriation of Tariqa Mosques. 240
Intimating Independence: The Great Mosque of Dakar. 243
The Great Mosque of Touba: Monumental Murid Eclecticism. 248
The Revival of Islamic Identity. 254
Ibadou mosques. 258
The Contentious Issue of Funding Mosques. 288
The Mosque as Locus for Inclusiveness, Access and Community. 292
Chapter Five Women, Space and West African Mosques. 297
Women, Islam and the West African Context. 297
“These Mutes of Islam”: Colonial and Scholarly Views. 302
Women, Education and Role Models. 308
Spatial Segregation. 318
Jakka Jigeen: A Women’s Mosque or a Mosque for Women?. 324
The Place of Women in West African Mosques: Doctrinal Debates. 332
Architecture, Space and the Regional Variety of Women’s Mosques. 335
A Question of Visibility: les filles voilées and ‘les Salaf ’. 342
Female Architects and the Appropriation of (Male) Sacred Space. 354
Concluding Remarks. 357
Epilogue: Is There Room for Sustainable Architecture?. 363
Glossary. 371
Bibliography. 375
Index. 391
Colour Plates. 408

Über Autor(innen)

Cantone, Cleo
Cleo Cantone, PhD in Art and Archaeology at London University (2006), is a freelance translator and researcher specialising in the architecture and sociology of mosques as well as the issues of gender and space in Islam. Her current research interests include sustainable architecture and Islamic influences on Siculo-Norman architecture.

Cleo Cantone, PhD in Art and Archaeology at London University (2006), is a freelance translator and researcher specialising in the architecture and sociology of mosques as well as the issues of gender and space in Islam. Her current research interests include sustainable architecture and Islamic influences on Siculo-Norman architecture.