Note 458 — VIII

[The Senussi have proved a fruitful source of inspiration to alarmist writers, both in England and on the Continent. The influence of the Senussi in Bornu is nil, nor is it likely to spread there. The majority of the Kanuri belong to the Tojani or Tijani sect of Islam. The Tojani and the Senussi are about as likely to co-operate as a Puseyite and a Plymouth Brother, or rather as a Kensit preacher and a Broad Churchman. The following remarks, taken from Professor Margoliouth’s monograph on ‘Mohammedanism’, recently published, bear on the point. On p. 184 he says: ‘Senussi’s idea was to unite Moslems against European influence, from which he failed to dissociate that of the Turks. In the heart of Africa he proposed to found an Islamic state, whither all Moslems who wished to be quit of these pernicious influences could resort for refuge. . . . His doctrine savoured strongly of Wahhabism in respect of its puritanism, e.g. prohibition of tobacco and music. . . . So far as they have interfered in disputes between tribes and governments, it appears to have been with a view to conciliation.’ Again on p. 221 he says: ‘The Tijanis of North Africa used to be mentioned as an exceptional case of an order which has favoured the power of France.’ Cf. p. 333 of the present work.

In this connexion M. Landeroin remarks, Doc. sc., ii. 528: ‘It is pretty generally supposed that the tribes between the Niger and the Chad have all been Islamized, whereas in reality Islam has not penetrated very far into the heart of the population. Its propagation was favoured by the Arab merchants, and above all, by the Fulani . . . but the attachment of the natives for this religion seems never to have been more than outward, . . . and its practice seems to be decreasing more and more since the occupation of the country by France and England. Since Fulani, Arabs, and Tuaregs have had to yield to the Christians, and it no longer appears politic to flatter the masters of the country by adopting their religious beliefs, the mass of the population is quietly returning to their ancient and simple fetish practices, only retaining certain external appearances of Islam.’

If this means that Mohammedanism in Nigeria is only skin-deep, it is perfectly true. On the other hand, it is equally true that, at any rate, nominal adhesion to Islam is spreading among the pagans. For a detailed account of Islamic sects vid. Depont and Coppolani, Les Confréries religieuses musulmanes, Algiers, 1897; but I think they are wrong in showing on their map a Senussi ‘zauwia’ at Kuka. The Sarikin Mussulmi of Sokoto is, I believe, Kaderiya. In jurisprudence Bornu follows the Hanafi school, cf. Denham, Appendix V, and foot-note thereto by A. Salame, official Arabic translator to the Foreign Office; and Benton, Notes, &c., p. 200; Sokoto follows the Maliki school.]