Exploring a Sufi Tradition of Islamic Teaching: Educational and Cultural Values Among the Sy Tijāniyya of Tivaouane (Senegal)

Abstract

The author examines the philosophy and practice of Muslim education in the tradition of the Sy family of Tivaouane (Senegal). The focus is on formal educational institutions such as the dahira, or Sufi circles of worship, and the daara, Kur’anic school, which play a major role in the system of education pioneered by the Sy branch of the Tijāniyya. He also examines a third institution, khalifa, or spiritual authority, which continues to play a central role in the Muslim brotherhoods as transmitter of the teachings of the Shaykh. The author shows how these three institutions work together and constantly reshape Sy Tijāniyya (Syèen si in Wolof), how changes in Senegalese society influence and transform the branch, and how the continuous development of neo-Sufi organizations increases the importance of Tijāniyya in a globalized world.