Imperialism, Independence, and Islam in Senegal and Mali

Abstract A long-term perspective is essential for understanding the complex processes of cooperation and pragmatism pursued and developed by Senegalese and Malian religious and secular authorities from early colonial times to the present. Comparing secular-religious ties in Senegal and Mali shows that Senegal is not as exceptional a case as has been suggested. Initial confrontations between state and religion, including the reform movements of al-Hajj Umar Tal and Mamadu Lamine Drame, were replaced by acceptance and cooperation which continued after independence to the benefit of both sides. Pragmatism has clearly informed the interactions between government and the dominant religious brotherhoods, the Tijaniyya and Murides, resulting in a balance between the secular political systems and a non-militant Islamic society. Despite a series of unprecedented political events in the 1990s, these interactions will most likely continue along a path of mutual cooperation and support, a path begun in the early colonial period.