by Alain Agboton, Senegal, December 1999
THEME = ELECTIONS
In Senegal, religion plays an important role in every major election
The presidential elections of 27 February 2000 will be no exception. The Muslim marabouts (religious authorities) are always sure of a large following and their votes are sought avidly. These days, however, new factors have entered the political arena and these can't be ignored even if political-religious prospects are not going to be radically changed.
Things are hotting up as the elections draw ever closer. All the politicians are busy soliciting the support of the marabouts or other Muslim religious authorities belonging to the Brotherhoods, begging them to give clear instructions to their faithful as to which way to vote (i.e. a "ndigueul" - instructions which they hope will be turned into actual votes on polling day). All in all, candidates and their supporters are engaged in a non-stop round of visits to the "holy" cities of Touba, Tivaouane, Thiénaba, Ndiassane, Médina- Gounass, etc, all of which are headquarters of the various Brotherhoods.
Even President Abdou Diouf who is seeking re-election, is no exception - he's on the vote-seeking round in places which matter (in terms of votes). From 1 March-7 December 1999, no less than ninety marabouts had been seen treading a well-warn path to the presidential palace. On the other hand, the leader of the Catholic Church only met with the President once during the same period (it should be noted that President Diouf's wife is a Christian). The election campaign is scheduled to start on 6 February.
The notion of "ndigueul" is a strong issue among the Mouride Brotherhood compared with other Brotherhoods. Numerically, the Mouride Brotherhood comes after the Tidjanni Brotherhood which Mr. Abdou Diouf belongs to, but it has far greater prestige. The Mourides are spreading their influence over large areas of Senegal and elsewhere (they have a strong community in the United States), and are well-known both for their business acumen and a certain degree of fanaticism. In Senegal, they have a predominant influence in the informal business sector. Their founder (at the beginning of the century), Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba Mbacké, is accorded a particular cult, which causes extreme consternation among other Muslims. The Mourides' way of working is almost a dogma for members of this particular Brotherhood.
Out of a total of 8.5 million, 90% of Senegal's population are Muslims, compared to the 10% of Christians. 2.6 million people are eligible to vote. Support from the Mouride Brotherhood is always sought after. The French colonists quickly understood this, and used it to further their own interests. Ever since the days of Blaise Diagne, the first Senegalese Member of Parliament, down to Abdou Diouf, the marabouts have been and continue to be incredibly powerful and it's impossible to ignore them.
Touba, some 200 km of Dakar, is the capital of the Mouride Brotherhood and is a veritable state within a state. For example, on 29 November 1999, the Khalif Serigne Saliou Mbacké (the Khalif of the Mourides resides at Touba where he's also known as Serigne Touba), forbade any political activity on what he called the "territory of Touba", following an outbreak of violence which took place during a meeting. This prohibition was made public by a town crier, completely ignoring the local civil prefect who normally should have this responsibility.
Then there's the thundering declarations of Serigne Modou Kara Mbacké, one of the Mouride religious authorities. He's threatened to sack the Head of the State if Diouf does not follow the "recommendations" of Serigne Touba. These denunciations which could be construed as being very close to high treason, were made on 24 November 1999 by the "young people's marabout" (as Serigne Mbacké likes to be called). He's also leader of the World Movement for the Oneness of God (MMUD), an association which has a certain importance among Mouride adherents. It especially influences young people in the 18-35 year range, i.e., in theory some 60% of the electorate. Serigne Modou Kara Mbacké's statement caused a great deal of controversy for nigh on two weeks. He hit the headlines in the Press during this period.
This overall political canvassing appears to indicate a full-scale "ndigueul war". The marabouts themselves appear to be divided over the issue of issuing commands to vote for a particular party. Indeed, matters have changed these last years. Originally the Grand Khalif used to take it upon himself to direct people as to how they should vote. Now, many of the Muslim religious authorities have taken matters in their own hands. In short, the Senegalese situation shows a clear redistribution of religious influences within the Muslim context.
Since he came on the scene, i.e. less than ten years ago, Serigne Saliou has assumed a neutral stance vis-à-vis the elections, and this in spite of many and pressing requests to come out in the open regarding his political affiliation. As one political observer puts it, the grandsons of religious authorities, such as Serigne Modou Kara Mbacké, have completely changed their approach. Whereas in the past they limited themselves to giving instructions as to how people were to vote, now they want to become Members of Parliament and Senators themselves. One civil servant who is familiar with what's going on says that the new- style "marabout-politicians are destroying the whole concept of the marabout as educator and spiritual guide".
It would seem that now we have entered the pre-election campaign period, many of the less important marabouts are doing their utmost to extend their influence and are getting themselves ready to enter the fray and thus hopefully to improve their political aspirations.
Many political analysts are somewhat perplexed by what's happening. That is to say, many, but not all, especially when faced with the example of the "migratory" activities of Serigne Bara Méoundou Diakhaté, Member of Parliament for the Touba constituency, who, on 22 November 1999, resigned from the opposition Senegalese Democratic Party (led by Lawyer Abdoulaye Wade) only to return later on. What happened? Serigne Bara Méoundou Diakhaté had allowed himself to be lured away by the ruling Socialist Party, only to return to the fold "following the advice of his marabout", as he put it.
Has the concept of "ndigueul" any value today? Does it have the same influence as previously? People are wondering.
A recently published study, concludes that over and above the internal leadership quarrels of the Mouride families, and the separatist leanings of those "border-line" marabouts who refuse to follow "party-lines", the "new-style ndigueul" is losing ground. To explain what's happening, the study suggests that attenuating factors induced by the economic crisis, structural adjustment, poverty, the policy of decentralization and the great number of political parties and groups (41 at the latest count!), cannot be ruled out.
Another study makes the point that peoples' mentalities and the way they vote are changing. Are they prepared to follow the dictates of those "border-line" marabouts, who don't seem to have much in the way of a long-term policy when to comes to instructing their faithful as to how they are to vote? People are changing because of the advance of multiparty politics and all the freedoms which accompany the "winds of change". Then there's the emergence of the independent Press and the new role of the Opposition (now seen as playing a constructive role in the business of government) - all this has altered somewhat, the relationship between the civil and religious authorities. Also, the advent of a more fundamentalist form of Islam has affected the way people vote.
In any event, symptomatic of the way things are changing, the sulphureous declarations of Serigne Modou Kara Mbacké will have had the merit of making it possible to evaluate relations between the spiritual and the temporal, the State and the politicians, and to examine the situation of democracy in Senegal. The declarations will also have re-opened the debate on the role and the place of the marabouts in politics, and their relationship with the State and secular institutions. There's a whole gamma of problems - what's the mission and the function of the State in a modern context; how can the State find its place in world globalisation; how can the State be freed from the dross of another age?
There's no danger in a State being secular in nature and make-up. A number of politicians affirm that "religious leaders are citizens like any other" and there's no need to worry. This is contrary to a widely-held notion, but one historian puts it this way to support the thesis of the secularity of the State: "The way in which the marabouts take part in the political life of the nation has nothing contrary to the principles of secularity. In Europe, countries having proclaimed in their fundamental law that they are "secular", then allow political parties described as "Christian" to take part in the political life of the nation. And there's no great worry over that". He goes on: "But in Senegal, to describe the State as "secular" is somewhat of a paradox. It takes no account of local realities. It comes down to us from the French tradition of governance". If Senegal is to be a secular state in reality, then this must be clearly spelled out in the country's basic law, and put into practice.
The old collusion between the "temporal" and the "spiritual" within Senegal, was emphasised in the 1940s by Lamine Gueye, leader of the French (women's section) of the International Workers Organisation. Lamine Gueya considered it regrettable that the marabouts have such a hold over the Senegalese people that the danger is, politicians will be "used" by the marabouts. "It's a mistake to involve the marabouts in politics". When the future President Abdou Diouf was still a student, he wrote in his thesis which he defended in 1959 at the National School for Overseas Administration: "Most of the marabouts don't know anything about what constitutes the notion of working for the public interest; they live in a feudal world and don't represent anything. They exist to further their own interests".
Taking a closer look at what some of our religious advisers are telling us, and considering the rush to get their votes, some political analysts are wondering whether the whole political system is "being perverted", or at the very least, the voters are "immature". Isn't the existence of the ndigueul, a betrayal of freedom in the name of values which have been completely corrupted, especially when it comes in the context of people turning out to vote?
Here's what one journalist has to say. With the Kara Mbacké statements concerning the Head of State as background, his newspaper devoted a lengthy dossier on the subject of "those marabouts, racketeers and activists who lay siege to the consciences of our people". He notes that "democracy in Senegal has fared badly because of its politicians, its religious leaders who involve themselves in the country's economic and political life", and what he describes as "those flatterers, flunkies and others of the same ilk who haunt the corridors of power. There's nothing new under the sun. What's been happening among our country's politicians has been going on for a long time - fomenting trouble; buying people to get votes; unrestrained use of the ndigueul; going where's the money's right.
The alarm's been raised. "It's time to come up with another kind of policy", advises a university professor. He states: "It's for the voters to make quite clear to the candidates that they've been voted into power on their own merits and for very good reasons. The religious authorities, who, in any case have no competence when it comes to politics, have no right to then start giving orders. But the fact that all the candidates are not prepared to oppose the religious authorities, means the status quo i.e. backing political parties through the religious groups, is likely to be maintained. Some people are prepared to stand up against what's presently happening, but this will have little effect if the future President of the Republic is still held hostage by all those who've brought him to power, either because votes have been bought or there's been an all-out operation to "find" the necessary number of votes to ensure victory. This has to be changed."
Because of what we've been describing above, it would be a good thing during this pre-election campaign time where all tendencies are possible, if the authorities and the politicians, working together, were to clearly define and delineate what is meant by a secular State. And that appropriate and reassuring replies be given to the body-politic on this issue.
END