A former French colony in western Africa, Senegal is a country where a Muslim majority and a Christian minority live peacefully together and pride themselves on interfaith harmony. Several UW-Madison faculty and staff members visited Senegal in January, 2009, to find out what makes Senegal a model for interfaith peace.
The UW-Madison group interviewed a prominent Imam in Saint Louis. Following his father's footstep, the 83-year-old Imam became a scholar and teacher at age 16. He started running a school well before Senegal became independent. Because his school was not involved in political activities, just in Qur'anic teaching, the colonial power left it alone.
For the Imam, "Islam" means "peace." He pointed out that the Qur'an not only mentions but accepts many prophets in the Bible such as Moses, Abraham, and Jesus. In his community, Muslim and Christian leaders often invite the other side to official events. For example, when the Cardinal came to Saint Louis for a visit recently, the Imam was invited and, because he was too frail to go, he sent a representative.
The main challenges facing the Muslim community are poverty and the preservation of shrines such as mosques. Although the country has one of the region's more stable economies, according to the BBC, poverty is widespread and unemployment high. Funding for restoring and maintaining historical mosques is tight. But it helps that Saint Louis is classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage site.
Videographer: Shiela Reaves, Professor of Life Sciences Communication
What role can religious leaders, Muslim or Christian, play in promoting interfaith harmony? Will Senegal's model work in your community? We welcome your comments.
• Four of the top 10 countries with the largest number of Muslims are in Africa.
Egypt (#5): 78,513,000 Muslims
Nigeria (#6): 78,056,000
Algeria (#9): 34,199,000
Morocco (#10): 31,993,000
• 28% of the world's Muslim population lives in Africa.
• According to Arab oral tradition, Islam first came to Africa with Muslim refugees fleeing persecution in the Arab peninsula. This was followed by a military invasion, some seven years after the death of the prophet Mohammed in 639.
• In Africa, most states limit the use of Sharia law to "personal-status law" for issues such as marriage, divorce, inheritance and child custody. With the exceptions of Nigeria and Somalia, secularism does not seem to face any serious threat in Africa.
• Ancient manuscripts from Timbuktu, Mali are indicative of the high level of civilization attained by West Africans during the Middle Ages. Situated on the edge of the Sahara Desert, Timbuktu was famous as a market for obtaining the goods and products of Africa. However, Timbuktu's most famous and long-lasting contribution to Islamic and world civilization is the scholarship practiced there.
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The Great Mosque of Djenné in Mali is the largest mud brick building in the world. It was inscribed on the UN's World Heritage List in 1988.
Sources:
1. "Mapping the Global Muslim Population" - Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life
2. "The Story of Africa: Islam (BBC)
3. "Islam in Africa (Wikipedia)
4. "Ancient Manuscripts from the Desert Libraries of Timbuktu (The Library of Congress)
5. "World Heritage List
6. "The Great Mosque, Djenné