Fula jihads

The Fula or Fulani jihads, were a series of independent but loosely connected events across West Africa between the late 17th century and European colonization, in which Muslim Fulas took control of various parts of the region. It is also sometimes referred to as "Fulani revolution." The best known of these events is the Fulani War of 1804-10.

A jihad state is a territory that was established by political and religious Muslim leaders who conquer a region by war, invoking (offensive) jihad ("struggle" in Arabic). The rulers often assumed honorific titles such as in the Fulani Empire, Emir, an Arabic title which can mean general as well as prince or governor, or a derivate in a local language. Another title was Almamy (from Imam) used by rulers of Kingdom of Fouta Djallon.

These states are listed in rough chronological order below.

Bundu

A small state in present day Senegal in which Muslim Fulas took control in the late 17th century.

Futa Jallon

The Futa Jallon, located mainly in present day Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Senegal, and Sierra Leone, was a major state with a written constitution and ruling alternance between the 2 main parties: the Soriya and the Alphaya. The Futa Jallon state was born in 1735 when Fulani Muslims decided to rise against the non-Muslim Fulanis and Djalonkes rulers to create a confederation of provinces. Alpha Ibrahima Sory Maoudho was elected as the first Almaamy in 1725 at the capital Timbo in present day Guinea. The Futa Jallon state lasted until 1898 when the French colonial troops defeated the last Almamy (Ruler) Bokar Biro Barry, dismantled the state and integrated it into their new colony of Rivières du Sud, which became Guinea.

Jihad

Jihad (English pronunciation: /dʒɪˈhɑːd/; Arabic: جهاد‎ jihād [dʒiˈhæːd]) is an Islamic term referring to the religious duty of Muslims to maintain the religion. In Arabic, the word jihād is a noun meaning the act of "striving, applying oneself, struggling, persevering". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid, the plural of which is mujahideen (مجاهدين). The word jihad appears frequently in the Quran, often in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God (al-jihad fi sabil Allah)", to refer to the act of striving to serve the purposes of God on this earth.

Muslims and scholars do not all agree on its definition. Many observers—both Muslim and non-Muslim—as well as the Dictionary of Islam, talk of jihad having two meanings: an inner spiritual struggle (the "greater jihad"), and an outer physical struggle against the enemies of Islam (the "lesser jihad") which may take a violent or non-violent form. Jihad is often translated as "Holy War", although this term is controversial. According to orientalist Bernard Lewis, "the overwhelming majority of classical theologians, jurists", and specialists in the hadith "understood the obligation of jihad in a military sense."Javed Ahmad Ghamidi states that there is consensus among Islamic scholars that the concept of jihad will always include armed struggle against wrong doers.