I am a senior International Relations and Religion double major at Drake University.
Planned Research for Wiki Article
editI intend for my overall contribution this semester to be added to the Religions and Beliefs of Senegal Wikipedia page, (which I will translate from French,) and to revolve around the religiosity of Senegalese youth—namely how they incorporate religion into almost every aspect of their daily lives. This is true for much of the Senegalese population, but the difference between adults and youths is in the subject matter that Senegalese youth are addressing. Senegalese youth are highly political, and in the 2012 Presidential election, Senegalese youth were a booming voice in the movement to remove former President Abdoulaye Wade from power after he unconstitutionally sought a third term for the presidency. This manifested itself through the hip-hop movement "Y'en a Marre" (roughly translated to “They are sick,”) which has been a large voice for social and political change throughout the country. I wish to analyze specifically how religion has played into this type of activity in Senegal, and how youths have developed a new religiosity from that of their parents.
Senegal is an almost entirely Muslim country, and the specific form of Senegalese Islam follows the Sufi belief structure. There are several different confreries or brotherhoods that compile the Senegalese belief system, and the most dominant of these is the Mouride Brotherhood. It is this group that I focused my research on previously, and I believe that I will limit most of my research to them for this project. (This should be appropriate, as they are by far the loudest voice of politics in metropolitan Senegal today.) It is hard to adequately emphasize the extent to which religion plays a role in daily Senegalese life, but I do not think that it will be at all challenging to establish a connection between religion, youth, and political activism in Senegal, and I look forward to pursuing the subject.
Since I studied in Senegal last semester, and wrote a large research paper on religion in general in Senegal, (not specifically about youth,) I have a large store of resources to access for this topic. Though I did not study Y’en a Marre or other hip-hop or youth movements, I know many people with knowledge on the subject, and I will be able to speak with them about good places to look for information. Unfortunately much of Western Africa is largely oral-communication based, so finding written information may be more challenging than it would be in a Western context. Luckily, I have a good amount of secondary research compiled on my own, and I do not foresee any difficulties finding things like transcribed interviews and published news articles.
Some preliminary resources
edit“Touba: A Spiritual Metropolis in the Modern World” Eric Ross. Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue Canadienne des Études Africaines , Vol. 29, No. 2 (1995), pp. 222-259
Generational Changes, Political Stagnation, and the Evolving Dynamics of Religion and Politics in Senegal. Leonardo A. Villalón. Africa Today , Vol. 46, No. 3/4, Islam in Africa (Summer - Autumn, 1999), pp. 129-147
Markovitz, Irving Leonard. "Traditional Social Structure, the Islamic Brotherhoods, and Political Development in Senegal." The Journal of Modern African Studies 8.01 (1970): 73. Print.
'Après Senghor'--A Socialist Senegal? Pamela Cox and Richard Kessler. African Affairs , Vol. 79, No. 316 (Jul., 1980), pp. 327-342
Gomez-Perez, Muriel, Marie-Nathalie LeBlanc, and Mathias Savadogo. "Young Men And Islam In The 1990S: Rethinking An Intergenerational Perspective." Journal Of Religion In Africa 39.2 (2009): 186-218. ATLA Religion Database. Web. 2 Oct. 2013
Loimeier Roman. "L'Islam ne se vend plus: The Islamic Reform Movement and the State in Senegal." Journal of Religion in Africa , Vol. 30, Fasc. 2 (May, 2000), pp. 168-190