5. Development of Islamic Culture and Learning in North Africa
A large part of present North African populations are Berbers, while others are of Arab origin. Arabs came to North Africa with the religion of Islam in the seventh century and Islam has since become the dominant faith in the region and a part of the identity of its peoples. The continent of Africa is so vast and the nature of its societies is so diverse that it is almost impossible to generalize about the people. Differences in geography, language, religion, politics, and other aspects of life contributed to the diversity and to Africa's lack of political unity over long periods of time. Unlike many parts of Asia, North Africa, neither universal states nor universal religions characterized the history of sub-Saharan Africa. The African people were divided into the various ethnic groups and tribes that had their own culture. Yet universal religions, first Christianity and later Islam, did find adherents in Africa and sometimes contributed to the formation of large states and empires. Islam offered a number of attractions to Africa. It gave the consciousness of unity among the people of Africa under the banner of the concept of Ummah or brotherhood in Islam. Its fundamental teaching that all Muslims are equal within the community of believers made the acceptance of conquerors and new rulers easier. The Islamic tradition of unification the powers of state and religion in the person of the ruler or caliph appealed to some African kings as a way of reinforcing their authority. The concept that all members of the Ummah, or community of believers, were equal put the newly converted Berbers and later Africans on an equal footing with the Arabs, at least in law. Despite these democratic and somewhat utopian ideas within Islam, practice differed considerably at local levels. The disparity between law and practice, between equality before God and inequality within the world, sometimes led to reform movements of a utopian type. Groups like the Almohads are characteristic within Islamic history, often developed and dedicated to a purification of society by returning to the original teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). One of the primary effects of the spread of Islam into North Africa was the acceptance of the Arabic language. The Arabs made Arabic the predominant language in North Africa. Although they have many languages in Africa but there was no script available there. Muslims had their own script of Arabic which was not only script but a source which could help them to spread Islamic teachings in newly converted people of African Berbers. The North African region was dominated by Muslims, but there were also minority communities of Christians, especially in Egypt. Most Muslims in the region adhere to the Sunni theological creed. Followers of the Shiite and Khariji creeds could also be found in smaller numbers in Egypt and Algeria. Twinning religion and politics along with tribal affiliations was a characteristic of the ruling dynasties of North Africa. Almost all the known dynasties defended an identity in which a distinct interpretation and understanding of the religion was linked, to a great extent, to their
1 ISB653 tribal origins. Despite these differences, Islam has made a deep impression on the social, cultural and economic life of these societies. It has provided its followers with a distinct way of life, at the heart of which lie clear prescriptions for individual, family and other societal domains. Muslim societies enjoyed well-organized legal systems that continued to resist the modern European law. In several parts of North Africa, old-style Islamic traditionalism or orthodoxy, represented by the ulama, the marabouts, and the shaykhs of the Sufi brotherhoods has been replaced by modernist revivalist discourses. Clerics are scholarly experts in the religion of Islam who support local communities. As the culture of scholarship and administration spread, Islam became less “foreign” and more “African.” Some African traditional people and Muslims do not only practice polygamy, but also both cultures frown on polyandry. However, Muslims are restricted in terms of number which is a maximum of four. As in other part of the world, literacy in Africa was connected with religion, so was Quranic education in the life of Africans. Many institutions were gradually established to facilitate such an intellectual effort right from the beginning and a well-structured educational system developed. As the foundation of this system, were elementary schools (in modern terms) which were devoted to teaching the Qur’an and ensuring basic literacy. Madrasahs, the equivalent of intermediate and secondary schools in modern times, were gradually instituted to deliver a variety of religious and scientific subjects, such as advanced language sciences, mathematics, philosophy, Islamic law, etc. Al Qarawiyyin in Fez founded by Fatima Al-Fihri in ninth century and Al Azhar in Cairo are great examples of the development of education and learning in North Africa. Abdullah Shafi (d. 820) and Sharaf al Din al Busiri (d. 1296) are renowned Muslim scholars of medieval period who wrote extensively and played important role to disseminate the Islamic teachings. Sufism The spread of Sufism has been as rapid and profound as the spread of Islam. Mystical orders (tariqas) were established in the Maghreb in the early Middle Ages. It flourished and spread eventually from the Maghreb to West Africa, Asia, Europe, and the United States. Each tariqa, usually named after its founder, espoused its own doctrine and tradition (including music), social convention and political culture, all of which underscore the nuances and diversity that are hallmarks of Islamic civilization. Some important Sufi orders of Maghreb are The Jazuliyya: It is an early modern Moroccan order of the Shadhili tradition that influenced Sufi doctrines and practices as far away as South Asia. The Moroccan Jazuliyya Sufi order (15th- 17th centuries CE) sunnah. Muhammd ibn Sulayman al-Jazuli (d. 1465 CE) was founder of the Jazuliyya Sufi order. Jazuli attached with two the Shadhiliyya of North Africa and the Qadiriyya. The Tijaniyya: It founded in eighteenth-century Morocco and currently influential in West and North Africa with increasing presence in Europe. The Tijaniyya Sufi order was founded by
2 ISB653 Ahmad al-Tijani in the late 18th and early 19th centuries in Algeria and Morocco. It developed at a time of an intense religious revival in the Muslim world which was fueled by European colonialism and led by the contending forces of Sufism and salafism. It rapidly expanded in North Africa, the Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa. The Boutchichia: It is a modern Moroccan Sufi order of the Qadiri Darqawi Sufi tradition. Qadiri Boutchichi Tariqa or Boutchichiya Tariqa was brought to Morocco (Fez) from Spain through several Khulfa of Sheykhs of Abdul Qadir Jilani that later recognized as Tariqa e Boutchichiya. This order was started in Morocco by Moulay al-Arbi Darqawi. The notable Shaykh of this order includes Shaykh Aboo Madyaan Boutchichiya, Shaykh Sidi Abbas Boutchichi, Shaykh Sidi Hamza Boutchichiya and the current incumbent Shaykh Sidi Jamaal Uddin Boutchichi. Its main zawiya is found in the small village of Meddagh. The Maryamiyya: It is a modern international Sufi order based on the Darqawi-Shadhili tradition of Morocco and the philosophy of the Transcendent Unity of Religions. This Sufi order received its inspiration from Maryam (AS). The founder of this Sufi order was Shaykh Isa Nur al-Din Ahmad, commonly known by his Swiss-German name Frithjof Schuon (June 18, 1907 – May 5, 1998). He is the author of numerous books on religion and spirituality. After Schuon's death Seyyed Hossein Nasr the next Shaykh of this order turned back to the Shadhili roots, calling his Tariqa al-Maryamiyya al-Shadhiliyya.
