"The Palgrave Handbook of Islam in Africa" Book Launch Conference

This handbook generates new insights that enrich our understanding of the history of Islam in Africa and the diverse experiences and expressions of the faith on the continent. The chapters in the volume cover key themes that reflect the preoccupations and realities of many African Muslims. They provide readers access to a comprehensive treatment of the past and current traditions of Muslims in Africa, offering insights on different forms of Islamization that have taken place in several regions, local responses to Islamization, Islam in colonial and post-colonial Africa, and the varied forms of Jihād movements that have occurred on the continent. The handbook provides updated knowledge on various social, cultural, linguistic, political, artistic, educational, and intellectual aspects of the encounter between Islam and African societies reflected in the lived experiences of African Muslims and the corpus of African Islamic texts.

Friday, May 14, 2021

10:00 am to 10: 30 am EST: Opening Lecture - Fallou Ngom (Boston University)

10:30 am to 1:00 pm EST: Panel 1: History and Diffusion

Chair: Toyin Falola (University of Texas at Austin)

1.  “Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa, 800-1900” by Bernard Salvaing (Université de Nantes)
2. “Religious Leadership and Mobility: Revisiting the Legacy of Al-Ḥājj Salim Suwari” by Alfa Mamadou Diallo (Independent scholar)
3. “Islamic Intellectual Traditions of Sudanic Africa, with Analysis of a Fifteenth Century Timbuktu Manuscript” by Zachary V. Wright (Northwestern University in Qatar)
4. “Between Jihād and History: Re-conceptualizing the Islamic Revolutions of West Africa” by Amir Syed (University of Pittsburgh)
5. “Geography, Islam, and Africa” by Karen S. Barton (University of Northern Colorado)
6. “Islam in West Africa: Diffusion and Growth” by Bala Saho (University of Oklahoma)

Saturday, May 15, 2021

8:30 am to 11: 00 am EST: Panel 2: Institutions, Practices, and Creativity

Chair: Muhammed Haron (University of Botswana)

1. “Sharīʿa Law in Muslim Africa” by Erin E. Stiles (University of Nevada, Reno)
2. “Female Muslim Scholars in Africa” by Britta Frede (Free University of Berlin, Germany)
3. “Islam and Politics in West Africa: Intricacies of the Relationship as seen through Mali and Senegal” by Claire S. Lim (Bates College)
4. “Islam and West African Religions” by Christopher Wise (Western Washington University)
5.  “Islamic Calligraphy, Abstraction and Magic Talismans in Northern Nigeria” by Abdalla Uba Adamu (Bayero University)
6. “Islam in Europhone African Literature,” by Cherif Correa (Madison College)

Break: 11:00 am 12:00 pm EST

12:00 pm- 1:30 pm EST: Panel 3: Islam, Modernity, and the Contemporary World

Chair: Mustapha Kurfi (Bayero University)

1. “Islam and Music in Africa,” by Brendan Kibbee (City University of New York)
2. “African Islamic Influences in Selected African American Literary Writings,” Babacar M’Baye (Kent State University)
3. “Islam and Activism: The Marabout and the Trade Union,” by Omar Gueye (Université Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar)
4.  “Exploring and Preserving the Islamic Manuscript Heritage of Sub-Saharan Africa” by Sara Fani (University of Naples “L’Orientale”)
5.  “Researching Digital Media and Islam in Africa: Recommending a Framework” by Ibrahim N. Abusharif (Northwestern University in Qatar)

1:30-2:00 pm EST: Concluding Remarks - Mbaye Lo (Duke University)

ORGANIZER: Duke University - Islamic Studies Center

WEBSITE: https://islamicstudies.duke.edu/palgrave-handbook-islam-africa-book-laun...