Knowledge Circulation Between Arabian Peninsula and Africa: The Graduates of Medina

Panel Convenor(s)

• AS

  Abdoulaye Sounaye

  Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, Germany
• UF

  Ulrike Freitag

  Leibniz Zentrum Moderner Orient, Germany

Panel Chair(s)

• AS

  Abdoulaye Sounaye

  Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, Germany

Panel Discussant(s)

• UF

  Ulrike Freitag

  Leibniz Zentrum Moderner Orient, Germany

Presenter(s)

• IH

  Ismail Hashim

  Advancing Education and Research Center, Morocco
• DK

  Dominik Krell

  Centre for Socio-Legal Studies University of Oxford, United Kingdom
• KK

  Kai Kresse

  Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, Germany

Carried by various agendas and institutions, epistemic connections between Africa and Asia were already important in the colonial context; they became even more significant in the postcolonial context when the modern state became a major political institution, channelling various forms of exchange and cooperation. Islamic trends and knowledge circulation across West Africa in the last few decades can only confirm this observation, especially with the impact of Saudi religious diplomacy, a renewed interest in Islamic learning among Muslims in West Africa, and the opening of institutions of higher learning of the Arabian Peninsula to West Africans. The Islamic University of Medina, for example, has proved instrumental in connecting not only the Saudi Arabia state to West Africa, but also West African Muslims among themselves, from Nigeria to Senegal, as well as with Muslims elsewhere in Africa and beyond. Both serving Saudi religious diplomacy and offering many young men the opportunity to further their Islamic (and other) learning, the Islamic University of Medina has produced graduates whose influence has been significant in reshaping Islamic knowledge economy across West Africa.

This panel examines the socio-cultural, political and religious impact of the graduates of the Islamic university of Medina, focusing on their trajectories, their networks, and the social-cultural infrastructures as they connect West Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

Their role in the transmission of Islamic knowledge has made them key actors in the sociopolitical, religious and intellectual life of the region. How did they manage to acquire such a position? How do they affect the sociopolitical life of their local communities, societies and countries as they promote Islamic reform, modernize Islamic learning infrastructures, and introduce new ideas and pedagogies? How do they maintain their connections with the Arabian Peninsula? What networks have they developed within and beyond West Africa?

Panel supported by: Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin

Presentations:

• 14:00 - 15:45 GMT

  Sheikh Ahmed Msallam from Lamu, Kenya, and his Network
  

  Presenter: Kai Kresse – Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient
• 14:00 - 15:45 GMT

  Political Activism and Quietism among Nigeria's Graduates of Islamic University of Medina and their Impact on Nigeria's Politics in the 21st Century
  

  Presenter: Ismail Hashim – Advancing Education and Research Center
• 14:00 - 15:45 GMT

  From Arab Universities to Gambian Courts: Education and Adjudication at the Cadi Courts of The Gambia
  

  Presenter: Dominik Krell – Centre for Socio-Legal Studies University of Oxford