{"title":"Islam and Muslim Societies in the Contemporary Sahel","authors":"Benjamin Soares","doi":"10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198816959.013.32","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198816959.013.32","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter presents an overview of Islam and the Islamic landscape in the contemporary Sahel and points to broad patterns and major trends as they relate to the practice of Islam in the region. After discussing the conventional wisdom about Islam in Africa, in which Islam is frequently equated with Sufism and “reform,” this chapter addresses several interrelated themes: Islam and its broad appeal in the region; intra-Muslim debate; global interconnections and the media revolution; and Salafism and Islamism trends, as well as jihadism. As it suggests, the Islamic landscape in the Sahel is much more diverse and complex than most commentary usually suggests. It also underscores the importance of understanding how the practice of Islam in the region has been changing in recent years in an increasingly globalized world. Finally, the chapter emphasizes how much more there is to know about Islam and Muslim societies in this region in flux.","PeriodicalId":209487,"journal":{"name":"The Oxford Handbook of the African Sahel","volume":"19 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115203065","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mapping the Sahelian Space","authors":"O. Walther, Denis Retaillé","doi":"10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198816959.013.8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198816959.013.8","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter examines the geographical meaning of the Sahel and its spatial dynamics. Unlike other approaches that define the Sahel as a bioclimatic zone or as an ungoverned area, it shows that the Sahel is primarily a space of circulation in which uncertainty has historically been overcome by mobility. The first section discusses how precolonial empires relied on a network of markets and cities that facilitated trade and social relationships across the region and beyond. The second section explores changing regional mobility patterns precipitated by colonial powers and the new approach they developed to control networks and flows. The third section discusses the contradiction between the mobile strategies adopted by local herders, farmers, and traders in the Sahel and the territorial development initiatives of modern states and international donors. Particular attention is paid in the last section to how the Sahel was progressively redefined through a security lens.","PeriodicalId":209487,"journal":{"name":"The Oxford Handbook of the African Sahel","volume":"43 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122531795","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}