Visit to Scandinavia by Cheikh Modou Kara Mbacke from Senegal

 

West African muslims in Scandinavia are at the moment enjoying a short but intense visit of a prominent spiritual leader from the sufi Muridiyya order in Senegal – Serigne Modou Kara Mbacke Noureyni, who’s charismatic leadership style can leave no one indifferent. Modou Kara Mbacke travels as an official representative for Senegal, with diplomatic status, and since 2005 the Cheikh has also been entitled UNESCO ambassasador for Peace and Reconciliation.

After his arrival to Stockholm, the Cheikh has so far recived hundreds of guests at his residence in a Stockholm hotel. The unprecedented influx of visitors is the talk of the weekend at the hotel where the staff has tried to handle the situation politely, with the understanding that the cheikh is a prominent religious leader who’s presence is widely appreciated by Africans and those who know about Mouridism.

The purpose of the visit is the promotion for the Cheikh’s project ”Bamba Fepp – Bamba Partout – Bamba Everywhere”, which aims to give an introduction to a wider understanding of the importance given to the founder of the Mouride tariqiyya (spiritual road) in Senegal and Gambia – Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba. The founder of the Mouride tariqiyya, Ahmadou Bamba who passed away in 1927, is not only considered a religious personality and a teacher of Islam, but is also considered a symbol of freedom, indepence and peaceful resistance against the colonial powers. The Cheikh spoke about Ahmadou Bamba’s work at his visit to Gamla Stan in Stockholm today, where bayefall (the followers of Fall) had gathered to chant zhikrullah, an event that draw the attention of many curious spectators.

With the project Bamba Fepp – Bamba Partout – Bamba Everywhere Cheikh Modou Kara Mbacke wants to put focus on Islam as a peaceful and non-discriminating religion, where no difference is made between people because of race, nationality or position. Another aim is to put focus on Senegambians living in exile world-wide, for whom the islamic teachings and many poems by Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba and his faithful follower Cheikh Ibrahima Fall play an important role in daily life.

While some will argue that the followers of Ahmadou Bamba are worshipping a human being, which is forbidden according to Islam, the faithful will answer that no religious leader within the Mouridiyya has ever told anyone to worship them as persons, but that the importance of Ahmadou Bamba and his partner Ibrahima Fall can simply not be underestimated when talking about the religious landscapes of West Africa.

The duality of the two personalities Bamba and Fall and the relation between them as teacher and student / visionary and ”doer” are at the core of sufi teachings and Mouridism. For those who really want to understand the politics and beliefs of West African daily life, it is necessary to get an understanding of the original religious movements in the region. Mouridism is definitely to be counted with in that landscape, not only as a spiritual path but today also as a political force.

Source: http://meretegrut.com/2013/08/17/1429/