Religious ideas and institutions: transitions to democracy in Africa

Abstract

groups needed the French to maintain a privileged position, and the French needed their authority to control the population. At the same time, the French presence changed land use and modified possession. This section of the book also encompasses a legal history built upon case studies of Islamic law used to justify slavery; Hall effectively shows how the French allowed slavery to continue in the region up to decolonization. He argues that the French colonial presence changed the authority and structure between pastoralist Tuareg and Songhay-speaking sedentary villages to such an extent that the area politically polarized after decolonization, leading to two wars. This is a very fine piece of academic scholarship that will further understandings about the intellectual and political history of the Niger Bend area, as well as a wider North and West African region. A History of Race in Muslim West Africa, 1600– 1960 is particularly relevant given current events in the Niger Bend area of Mali.