Islamic Society and State Power in Senegal

Senegal is one of the most stable sub-Saharan African countries. LeonardoVillal6n's book, Islamic Society and State Power in Senegal, attributes that stabilityto the forms of religious organization provided by Senegal's unique brandsof Sufism. Most Senegalese are affiliated to a marabout (Sufi leader) and aremembers of a Senegalese Sufi order. These orders remain the most pervasiveforms of social organization. Leonardo Villal6n's work, devoted to an examinationof the shape of Senegalese society, therefore focuses on its most salient feature:the forms and patterns of its religious organization.The author argues that the Senegalese Sufi orders, developed in the wake ofFrench colonialism, provide an effective mode of social organization vis-a-visthe state. They check the hegemonic ambitions of the state and give a measureof leverage to the disciple-citizens in their dealings with it. This maraboutic systemexplains much of Senegal's relative success in maintaining a dynamic balancebetween state and society. In other words, the Sufi pattern has become thebasis for the establishment of a religiously based "civil society." While this balanceremains precarious, as there are conceivable factors that can disrupt it, ithas thus far shielded Senegal from the instability and strife that continue tobedevil many African societies ...