Book Review
Title Of Book: The Holistic History Of Islam In The Western And The Central Africa
Author: Sheikh Osman Bari
No Of Pages: 613
ISBN: 978-9988-1-5174-4
Price: Not Stated
Reviewer: A.R. Gomda
Sheikh Osman Bari is a retired diplomat who worked with the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now African Union (AU) for several years. But his book, as titled above, is about the history of the Islamic faith in some parts of the world: subject which has a lot of gray areas requiring further exposition.
His several years of work in the diplomatic sphere have exposed him to many contacts which have been helpful in the laborious task of researching into the rather complex history of the religion of Islam in the areas aforementioned.
Islam and for that matter its history in Western and Central Africa is known only to scholars in the relevant humanity, little wonder there is a general misconception of the religion in many quarters, our part of the world not an exception. Even adherents of the religion have a limited knowledge about its origin and developments over time, a shortcoming which accounts for the worrying misconception of the faith.
A scholarly work of this nature, the quality and depth outstanding as it is, demands years of hard work to research. Sheikh Bari’s feat, especially in putting together what he has assembled over many countries is one worthy of commendation.
It is a book worth the shelf of those seeking a comprehensive knowledge about the fastest growing religion in the world in Western and Central Africa. It is a faith misunderstood by those who have concentrated more on the negatives such as the so-called Islamic State and its cousins such as Boko Haram.
Many wonder what the sects in Islam are all about and how these impact on the quality of the religion in West Africa.
The book is a trove of knowledge for those who seek to know about the origin of these sects and how they came to gain a foothold in the Western and Central Africa.
As for those studying religions at tertiary and post-graduate levels, this is a sine qua non. Both students and others interested in the subject would find it a worthy compendium of the notches of the Islamic faith vis a vis geo-politics of the areas it covers.
A few yet powerful pictures of important spots in Islam are showed on some chapters, one of them the Al Azhar University in Egypt where the author studied.
The author dedicates his book to a long list of persons but his spiritual mentors catch my attention the most. The list here includes Dr. Abubakar Djallo Talli, the First Secretary General of the OAU, now AU, As-Shaikh Usman Dan Fodio, the founding father of the Sokoto Caliphate, As-Shaikh Amadu I, the founding father of the Massina Empire, As-Shaikh Umar El-Juti, the founding father of the Umarian Empire.
The author’s knowledge of Africa, his experience at the AU playing a major role in this regard, is vividly exhibited in Part One-Africa And Its Definition.
Sufyism, Islamic jurisprudence, important poems of Islamic clerics, who lived in some parts of the Western Africa, are treated with outstanding expertise by the author.
For those who want another treatment of the ancient kingdoms of Ghana, Songhai and Mali, this book should not escape them, as they are treated sufficiently: the references properly done to make for easy comprehension.
The poem of Usman Dan Fodio and how the author managed to lay hands on these are important testimony to how much work went into the authorship.
Poems played a critical role in the dissemination of knowledge in the formative years of Islam in Western Africa in particular. Malam Umaru Karachi who lived in the Volta Basin and died somewhere in 1937, having migrated from Sokoto, composed a number of poems which gave an important insight into the history of the times.
The author’s treatment of the failure of the colonialists to totally entrench their culture in Western and Central Sudan in the 19th Century is captivating.
Chapter 13 Spiritual Development In the Light of the Quran and the Sunnah is an important read. With a limited space earmarked for such review, I can only end here.