Ulama and the State in Borno

In our quest here at the blog to read all the relevant Nigerian scholarship on Borno, we finally read Bobboyi's dissertation, The 'Ulama of Borno: A study of the relations between scholars and state under the Sayfawa, 1470-1808. Due to their local proximity, access to oral and written sources, and a deeper familiarity with Kanuri history and culture, we have been trying to find more of the often inaccessible studies on Kanem-Borno by African scholars. Sadly, these excellent secondary sources are not easy to find. Lamentably, some of the precious primary sources at Nigerian archives or museums are not cited enough by outsiders, so we have to rely on Kanuri and other Nigerian scholars who have read the documents and have access to excellent sources on oral history to add context and fill in the gaps in our knowledge. 

For instance, Bobboyi's dissertation, and other studies by Nigerian scholars, cite late Sayfawa-era primary sources excluded in other studies, particularly two texts by Maina Muhammad Yanbu. These sources, although late in the history of the dynasty, should be more widely known, cited, and translated to add to the list of known internal textual sources on Kanem. But besides the use of important oral and written sources, Bobboyi's study establishes a clearer idea of who and what the ulama of Kanem-Borno were during the Borno period of the dynasty, with hints of continuity from their earlier Kanem phase. We get an inkling of the reputable scholars and their disciplines, the educational curriculum, how they were fully integrated into the state apparatus of Kanem-Borno as an Islamic administration, the role of the mahrams in shaping ulama-state relations, and Borno Sufism. This last chapter was probably the weakest, but given the limitations of the sources, a step forward in contextualizing the earlier history of Sufism in Kanem-Borno. Once we have read more of the Nigerian scholarship, we shall return to these topics in light of other perspectives on the administration of Kanem-Borno and Islamic influences. 

Ahmad Baba of Timbuktu

We truly wish Mahmoud A. Zouber's Ahmad Baba de Tombouctou (1556-1627), sa vie et son oeuvre was available in English translation. Zouber's work appears to be the best general overview of one of the best-known West African Islamic scholars of the precolonial era, based on his own works, the references from his disciples and contemporaries and the established modern scholarship. Although one wishes there was a deeper analysis of more than 8 of what Zouber considers Baba's most important, representative works, he undoubtedly succeeds in portraying the life of a Timbuktu scholar whose family were a key part of the Timbuktu intellectual scene. 

And yes, to a certain extent, the hyperbole surrounding the scholastic achievements and reputation of Timbuktu compared to the rest of the Muslim World finds some justification in the respected position of Baba during his Moroccan exile. That he was able to teach prominent Moroccan scholars and be taken as an equal attests to, at least in his case, the exemplary level of Islamic instruction achieved by some at Timbuktu and probably Jenne and other cities in the Western Sudan. Certainly, Ahmad Baba's principal teachers in Timbuktu, such as Muhammad Baghayogho, would have likely been perceived as excellent scholars if they had lived in Morocco. In light of this, Zouber suggests Timbuktu's comparable standing to other centers of Islamic learning like North Africa and Egypt but carefully avoids any firm conclusion on the question. After all, it was during his period in Morocco that Baba was most prolific, perhaps attesting to the greater availability of books in Marrakech and, though we cannot prove it, a more stimulating environment for intellectual production than the declining Songhay Empire?

In addition, Zouber's study dispels some of the myths and assumptions about Baba. For instance, the assumption that he was "black" or identified as such (despite one of his students in Morocco asserting he was not "black"), although Zouber pushes a strong patriotic or "national" identity based in the region of the Western Sudan on the part of Baba against the Moroccan invasion. Moreover, though only focusing specifically on 8 of the 56 works attributed to Baba, Zouber establishes the main areas of study he specialized in: grammar, fiqh, biography, morality, theology, history, and fatwas. Clearly, the Islamic sciences occupied most of his attention and to truly understand him or the intellectual scene in Timbuktu under Songhay rule requires some comprehension of Islamic learning and the connections with Egypt, the Maghreb, and earlier Islamic literature. 

But to know that several of Baba's works survived and his education in Timbuktu might shed light on comparable methods of education and curriculum for those of us interested in Hausaland and Borno during the same period. Perhaps, to a certain extent, Ahmad Baba's "Sudanese" upbringing and education can tell us something about Muslim writers from the same era in other parts of West, possibly revealing some of their shared concerns (like questions from Touat and North Africans about emerging discourses of "racialized" West Africans and the widespread illegal enslavement of Muslim West Africans). Perhaps, though Baba was critical of Idris Alooma, one can see possible influences of Timbuktu in the Birni Gazargamo of Ahmad b. Furtu in Borno and vice versa through the confluence of Songhay and Borno influence in Hausaland and Air.