Syed Dissertation Final 2
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Al-ḤājjʿUmar Tāl and the Realm of the Written: Mastery, Mobility and Islamic Authority in 19th Century West Africa by Amir Syed A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Anthropology and History) in the University of Michigan 2017 Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Rudolph T. Ware, Chair Professor Paul Johnson Professor Rüdiger Seesemann, University of Bayreuth Professor Andrew Shryock Dedication To my parents, Safiulla and Fazalunissa, for bringing me here; And to Shafia, Neha, and Lina, for continuing to enrich me ii Acknowledgements It is overwhelming to think about the numerous people who made this journey possible; from small measures of kindness, generosity and assistance, to critical engagement with my ideas, and guiding my intellectual development. Words cannot capture the immense gratidue that I feel, but I will try. I would never have become a historian without the fine instruction I received from the professors at the University of British Columbia. From among them, I will single out Paul Lewin Krause, whose encouragement and support first put me on this path to scholarship. His lessons on writing and teaching are a treasure trove that, so many years later, I continue to draw from. By coming to the University of Michigan, I found a new set of professors, colleagues, and friends. Through travel and intellectual engagement, away from Ann Arbor, I also met many others who have helped me over the years. I would like to first thank my committee members for helping me see this project through. Over numerous years, and perhaps hundreds of conversations, my advisor, Butch Ware, helped me develop my ideas, and get them onto paper. His encouragement and support have shaped my own scholarship in profound ways. I owe it to his direction and passion for why I ended up studying African history. Paul Johnson has been a constant source of support and encouragement from the moment I entered the Anthropology and History Program. His incisive comments and wealth of knowledge have helped me grow tremendously. Andrew Shryock has always helped me sort my muddled ideas, and taught me to approach history through the mindset of an anthropologist. Rüdiger Seesemann, who joined my iii committee much later, has been a source of inspiration for his humor, humility and his scholarship. The research and writing of my dissertation would not have been possible without generous fellowship and stipend support from the Rackham Graduate School, which allowed me to travel to Senegal and France. Further support from the RGS allowed me to begin writing my dissertation in Vancouver. I also received grants from the Department of Afroamerican and African Studies (DAAS), the African Studies Center, and the Anthropology and History Program, which helped me make preliminary trips to Senegal, Gambia and Egypt. I would be remiss not to thank Diana Denney, who provided me with numerous hours of administrative support over the years, and also to Kathleen King, who ensured I submitted all the necessary paperwork on time. In Ann Arbor, my colleagues made life as a graduate student bearable, through their wit, and moral and intellectual support. I spent long hours in the Anthro-history lounge, and will remember those moments as some of my fondness. I would like to thank Edgar Taylor, Anna MacCourt, Robyn d’Avignon, Yanay Israeli, Lamin Manneh, and Daniel Birchok. I would also like to thank Joseph Ho, for making me love photography again, Joseph Viscomi, for commiserating, and Harjeet Grewal, for all his help. There are also many colleagues and friends to thank outside of the University of Michigan. They include, Jeremy Dell, Nathaniel Matthews, and Mauro Nobili, whose assistance during the final stages of writing was indispensable, and Matthew Schumann, for making my final summer in Ann Arbor memorable. I have to also mention Dzavid Dzanic, for always listening to the good and the bad, Maung Tin for the delicious food, and Dmitrijs Belousovs, for his calmness and wisdom. iv I would not have been able to complete my project without the assistance of the librarians and archivists at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, in Paris. The manuscript reading room at the Richelieu-Louvois branch was truly a wonderful place to work. I would also like to thank the staff at Les Archives Nationales du Sénégal, Dakar, including Albert Diatta, for fulfilling my unending requests. Numerous people assisted me with research in Egypt, Senegal and Gambia. I would especially like to thank the Jakhanke scholars and students that I have met over the years, including Shaykh Salim Drammeh for taking care of me, when I first arrived in Senegal, long ago. To Silla Drammeh and Ibrahim Jabi for taking time to travel with me, and to Abdul Qadir Sylla for introducing me to so many incredible people. I would also like to thank the Taal family in Dakar and Halwar, including Mahmood Taal and Oumar Taal, for their assistance. My research in Dakar would not have been possible without the tireless work of Babacar Fall. A project that has taken a number of years to complete could not have been possible without the unwavering support of family. My parents, Safiulla and Fazalunissa, have helped in numerous ways throughout this process. My in-laws, Sharif and Sujila, opened their home to us, in between research trips and writing. My siblings, Aisha and Ahmad, have always supported my pursuits. Julia and Nafisa have helped with their positive words of encouragement. Shafia has been an unbelievable source of support and help. Thank you for putting up with it, and making me believe that this was worth it. Neha has been a source of joy, and a wonderful travel companion. One day you will know what a “dissertation” is. Lina may never remember this time, but you will always remind us of Ann Arbor. Finally, Imam Fode Drame has been a source of inspiration and a wealth of knowledge. He is a model of a West African Muslim scholar, and I can never repay him for what he has done v for me. It is hard to express my immense gratitude, and so I will simply end by praising the One. Yā Laṭīf vi Table of Contents Dedication ...................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... iii Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... ix Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 A Nineteenth Century Muslim Scholar .................................................................................................2 Political Authority, Jihād and Clerical Communities ..........................................................................8 Charisma, Sufism and Spiritual Authority .........................................................................................17 The Scholar and his Scholarship: A New Approach to Tāl ...............................................................24 Outline and Chapter Summary ............................................................................................................29 Chapter 1: Mobility and Embodied Knowledge: The Early Life of ʿUmar Tāl…………………………36 Introduction ...........................................................................................................................................36 Futa Toro: Anti-slavery Rebellions and the Atlantic World .............................................................39 Embodied Knowledge and Mobility ....................................................................................................45 Scholarly Interconnections and the Travel of Manuscripts ..............................................................51 Travel, Embodied Knowledge and the Production of Texts ..............................................................55 Conclusion ..............................................................................................................................................58 Chapter 2: ʿUmar Tāl’s Ḥajj and the Seal of Sainthood………………………………………………….60 Introduction ...........................................................................................................................................60 An Encounter .........................................................................................................................................64 On Transformations ..............................................................................................................................68 Materiality: Between the Verbal and Written ....................................................................................73 Secret Knowledge and the al-ism al-aʿẓam ..........................................................................................79 Conclusion ..............................................................................................................................................84 Chapter 3: Al-ḥajj ʿUmar Tāl’s Program of Moral and Social Reform through Two Early Acrostic Poems……………………………………………………………………………………………87 Introduction ...........................................................................................................................................87 Tadhkirat al-mustarshidīn: