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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Generational Changes, Political Stagnation, and the Evolving Dynamics of Religion and Politics in Senegal
Author:Villalón, Leonardo A.ISNI
Year:1999
Periodical:Africa Today
Volume:46
Issue:3-4
Period:Summer/Fall
Pages:129-147
Language:English
Geographic term:Senegal
Subjects:Muslim brotherhoods
Church and State
Politics and Government
Religion and Witchcraft
politics
External link:http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/africa_today/v046/46.3villalon.pdf
Abstract:Postindependence Senegal has maintained political stability, even a degree of democracy, based on a peculiar sociopolitical system in which Islamic institutions, in the form of the Muslim Sufi orders, have been central but have coexisted with a nominally secular State. Interaction of religion and politics in Senegal in the 1990s has been shaped by two factors in particular. The first is a blocked political system which has led to rising frustration, particularly among youth. The perceived illegitimacy of this system is due to political stagnation and the crisis of democracy. The second relates to generational pressures of two sorts: a growing number of young urban intellectuals no longer willing to accept the models of the State proposed by their elders, and generational tensions within the leadership of the major Senegalese religious families. This paper assesses the contestatory potential of increased religious fervour in the 1990s. While the suggestion that militant Islam has threatened to overwhelm the system would be an overstatement, there has been an evolution in the role of religion. Three events reflecting this trend are discussed: the Muslim students' movement at the University Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar; the Hizbut-Tarqiyyah movement in the Mouride Order; and the Moustarchidine movement which has resulted in a schism in the Sy Tijan family. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum.
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