Islamic sufi networks in the western Indian Ocean (c. 1880-1940) : ripples of reform

In the period c. 1880-1940, organized Sufism spread rapidly in the western Indian Ocean. New communities turned to Islam, and Muslim communities turned to new texts, practices and religious leaders. On the East African coast, the orders were both a vehicle for conversion to Islam and for reform of Islamic practice. The impact of Sufism on local communities is here traced geographically as a ripple reaching beyond the Swahili cultural zone southwards to Mozambique, Madagascar and Cape Town. Through an investigation of the texts, ritual practices and scholarly networks that went alongside Sufi expansion, this book places religious change in the western Indian Ocean within the wider framework of Islamic reform. Contents 5 Foreword and Acknowledgements 9 List of Illustrations 12 List of Figures 13 Note on Transliteration, Quotes and Dates 14 Chapter 1 Introduction 15 The Ripple and the Reef: Perspectives and Objectives 16 Chapter 2 The Luminescent Sun and Brilliant Rays of Light: Towards a Geography of Reform 34 Towards a Geography of Reform: A Web of Centres 36 The Ḥaramayn: The Blessed and the Radiant 40 The Ḥaḍramawt: Home of the Luminescent, Encompassing Mid-Day Sun 43 Zanzibar: The Brilliant Star of East Africa 46 Lamu and the Riyadha Mosque 49 The Comoro Islands: Moon Islands in a Sea of Sun 51 Rays of Light and Hierarchies 59 Chapter 3 The Branches of the Qādiriyya and the Shādhiliyya in Northern Mozambique: Silsilas to the South 61 The Ṭarīqa Qādiriyya in Zanzibar 62 The Qādiriyya in Mozambique: Multiple Routes South 68 Muḥammad Al-Maʿrūf and the Spread of the Shādhiliyya in Northern Mozambique 81 The Emergence of Sufi Orders in Northern Mozambique 84 Chapter 4 The Shādhiliyya in Northern Madagascar c. 1890–1940: The Planting of a Garden and the Growing of Malagasy Roots 86 Islam in Northern Madagascar 87 Family, Religion and Trade on Madagascar: East African-Comorian Networks and the Shādhiliyya 88 Aḥmad al-Kabīr: The Great Shaykh of the Ṭarīqa Shādhiliyya of Northern Madagascar 93 Reform and the Emergence of a Malagasy Sufi Order 102 Chapter 5 The Cape Town Muslim Community and East African Sufi Networks: Beyond the Monsoon 104 Islam in South Africa and Cape Town 104 Muhammad Salih Hendricks: From Periphery to Centre to the Network 107 Other Travellers – More Da'wa 115 Chapter 6 Travelling Texts: Arabic Literate Learning in Coastal East Africa, c. 1860–1930 122 Textual Transmission and Religious Authority 123 Book Knowledge in the Age of Manuscripts: 1860s into the Twentieth Century 125 From Manuscript to Print: Parallel or Converging Authorities? 144 Manuscripts, Printed Books and Religious Authority 153 Chapter 7 Ritual of Reform – Reform of a Ritual: Rātib al-Ḥaddād in the Southwestern Indian Ocean, c. 1880–1940 157 Rātib al-Ḥaddād as Sufi Reform 157 Rātib al-Ḥaddād in East and South Africa 162 The Rātib in Writing: Textualization of Charisma 167 The Rātib Performed: Reform of a Ritual? 170 The Rātib al-Ḥaddād: New Reform of a Reformist Ritual? 175 Chapter 8 Consolidating the Network: Waqf Distribution and New Organizations in Zanzibar, c. 1900–1930 177 Scholarly Networks and the Zanzibari “Meccan Waqfs”, c. 1880–1940 178 Waqf Distribution within Intellectual Networks: Consolidating Reform through Waqf Funds 193 From Networks to Organizations: The Rise of the Jamʿiyya, c. 1900–1930 195 Chapter 9 Conclusions 205 On Ripples and Reefs: Agency in a Translocal World 205 Sufi Reform on the Move 206 The Ecumene that wasn’t – yet? 210 Appendix 1 The Zanzibari “Meccan Waqfs” Contained in ZA-HD10 213 Sources and Bibliography 215 Arabic Textual Material 215 Arabic Manuscript Sources (Listed) 218 Archival Sources 225 Oral Sources/Interviews 225 Bibliography 226 Index 239 In The Period C. 1880-1940, Sufism In East Africa Was The Vehicle Both For Conversion To Islam And For Reform Of Islamic Practice. In This Book, Sufi Expansion Is Traced And Situated Within The Wider Framework Of Islamic Reform.