‘Native’ Conversion to Islam in Southern Côte d’Ivoire: The Perils of Double Identity

Abstract

This article presents a synthetic, historical-cum-anthropological overview of the collective trajectory of Ivoirian converts to Islam from southern autochthonous lineages who can be referred to—albeit unsatisfyingly—as ‘native’ Muslims. It focuses on what is effectively an invisible and silent minority within southern native groups and the majority Dioula Muslim society alike: a community that has barely received any attention from social scientists despite the transformative impact of its slow but steady Islamization process. The study aims first at shedding light on salient socio-religious and political aspects of this group’s development, from colonial to postcolonial times. Given that this plural group is situated at the crossroads of various ethnic, national, and religious controversies, having enflamed Côte d’Ivoire in olden days as much as in recent years, the article eventually makes use of this group’s distinct prism to question the contested Ivoirian interface between Islam, ethnic geography, and nationalism at large, and attempt some nuanced answers.

Islam in and Out: Cosmopolitan Patriotism and Xenophobia Among Muslims in Côte d'IVOIRE

“…Dioula, the language of the marketplace, became a national lingua franca along with French and was the only vernacular in which Bété and Baoulé were able to communicate with one another 22 . Above all, Muslim intellectuals recall how Islam spread steadily and peacefully throughout the South, first among strangers and later among members of Southern lineages as well (Miran-Guyon 2012), thus becoming a true cosmopolitan-cum-national religion. Although revivalists discreetly contest statistics they believe to underestimate the Muslim population, they feel deeply gratified that even these figures recognize that Islam has become the first religion of the country.…”

“…Inter alia, Dioula became synonymous with Muslim, including Muslims of non-Malinké origins. A Southern convert to Islam, for instance, would become Dioula (although few actually did) (Miran-Guyon 2012).…”

“… 42 On the minority participation of Southern native converts in the Wahhabiyya, see Miran-Guyon (2012). …”

‘How, for God's sake, can I be a good Muslim?’: Gambian youth in search of a moral lifestyle

“…The first trend pays attention to conversion from traditional religion to Islam (e.g. Mark, 1985; Searing, 2003; Dramé, 2009; Miran-Guyon, 2012; Thomson, 2012; for reconversion to traditional religion see Baum, 1990), whereas the second trend focuses on conversion from one branch of Islam to another (e.g. Umar, 1993; Rosander, 1997; LeBlanc, 2000; Augis, 2009; Leichtman, 2009).…”

“…3. Tuubi is used in both Wolof and Mandinka. It is derived from the Arabic tawba , the Quranic meaning of which is ‘repentance’ and by extension ‘conversion’ (see also Miran-Guyon, 2012: 101).…”