1. Sheikh Amadou Bamba, known to followers as the Servant of the Messenger and Serigne Touba or "Sheikh of Touba", was a Sufi saint and religious leader in Senegal and the founder of the Mouride Brotherhood.
19 Facts About Amadou Bamba
1. 2.
Sheikh Amadou produced poems and tracts on meditation, rituals, work, and Quranic study.
3.
Amadou Bamba led a pacifist struggle against the French colonial empire travelling across the Atlantic Ocean while not waging outright war on the French like several prominent Tijani marabouts had done.
4.
Amadou Bamba was born into a family with an ancient Islamic tradition that had nevertheless maintained close relations and alliances with royal dynasties such as the Gueej.
5.
Amadou Bamba's father Maam Mor Anta Saly Mbacke was a Marabout from the Qadiriyya, the oldest tariqa in Senegal.
6.
Amadou Bamba had been appointed Qadi of the kingdom both by Maba Diakhou Ba and the Damel Lat Jor.
7.
Ahmadou Amadou Bamba disavowed this collaboration, which he considered suspicious in that it obliged his father to render power-inspired rulings potentially contrary to Islamic law.
8.
Amadou Bamba was the second son of Maam Mor Anta Saly Mbacke and Maam Mariyama Bousso.
9.
Ahmadou Amadou Bamba founded the Mouride brotherhood in 1883, with its capital in Touba, Senegal.
10.
Abdoul Ahad Mbacke, the third Caliph and son of Ahmadou Amadou Bamba, declared that Ahmadou Amadou Bamba had met the prophet Muhammad in his dreams, a tale that has become an article of faith for Mouride believers.
11.
In one of his numerous writings, Matlabul Fawzeyni, Amadou Bamba describes the purpose of the city, which was intended to reconcile the spiritual and the temporal.
12.
Ahmadou Amadou Bamba prayed two rakat in the Governor's office before addressing the council, declaring his firm intention to be subjected to God alone.
13.
Proof of Amadou Bamba having recited these prayers is not included in colonial archives, but is rather based on the testimonies of his disciples.
14.
Amadou Bamba's movement continued to grow, and in 1926 he began work for the great mosque at Touba.
15.
Amadou Bamba was succeeded by his descendants as hereditary leaders of the brotherhood with absolute authority over the followers.
16.
Currently, Serigne Mountakha Mbacke is the Khalifa-General, Ahmadou Amadou Bamba's oldest living grandson who holds the brotherhood's highest office.
17.
Today, Amadou Bamba has an estimated following of more than 3 million people and parades occur around the world in his honor, including in various cities in the United States.
18.
Amadou Bamba has several surviving photographs, in which he wears a flowing white robe and his face is mostly covered by a scarf.
19.
Amadou Bamba is the author of various manuscripts, most of which are currently held at the library of the Great Mosque of Touba.