‘TO NEVER SHED BLOOD’: YACOUBA SYLLA, FÉLIX HOUPHOUËT-BOIGNY AND ISLAMIC MODERNIZATION IN CÔTE D'IVOIRE

After an ill-fated religious revival, the Sufi teacher Yacouba Sylla and his followers became wealthy and politically influential in post-Second World War Côte d'Ivoire. They argued for an understanding of democratization and development that defined both ideas in terms of their community'...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of African history 2008-01, Vol.49 (2), p.281-304
Main Author: HANRETTA, SEAN
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Africa
African history
African modernities
African studies
Area studies
Articulation
Communities
Côte d'Ivoire
decolonization
development
Economic competition
Ethnology
Generalities
History
Islam
Modernization
Muslims
Mysticism
political culture
Political parties
Political power
Political rhetoric
Politics
Potraits of an Islamic Past and Present
Prayer
religion
Religion & politics
Religion, magic, witchcraft
Religions, beliefs, worships
Social change
Social organization, political organization and power, relations with the State
Social structure and social relations
Sufism
Sylla, Yacouba
Teachers
Tense
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Summary:After an ill-fated religious revival, the Sufi teacher Yacouba Sylla and his followers became wealthy and politically influential in post-Second World War Côte d'Ivoire. They argued for an understanding of democratization and development that defined both ideas in terms of their community's own mystical experiences and world-historical significance, rather than in terms of modernity. As a way of making sense of their own past and defending their place in an increasingly tense political environment, these efforts achieved their most explicit articulation in a powerful story about Yacouba Sylla's refusal of a gift from Ivoirian President Félix Houphouët-Boigny.
ISSN:0021-8537
1469-5138
DOI:10.1017/S0021853708003666