Where Sufism is the Law

[From the French language press]:

Nouakchott: La Mauritanie est un pays musulman à 100%, adoptant le rite malékite.

A l’intérieur de cette communauté de rite cohabitent une multiplicité de confréries soufistes, dont les plus répandues sont la Qadiria, héritée de Cheikh Abdel Ghader El Jeilany, et la Tidjania, qui doi son appellation à Cheikh Ahmed Tijani.

Il y a aussi la Hamaouiya, en référence à Cheikh Hamahoullah, dont les adeptes se trouvent surtout dans l’est du pays. Même au sein d’une seule confrérie, il y a des tendances différentes.

APA/Mauritanie Web - Bagneux, France - dimanche 17 février 2008

Nouakchott (Mauritania): Mauritania is a 100% Muslim country adopting the Maliki school [one of the four schools of religious law within Sunni Islam].

Within this community of school there is a multiplicity of cohabiting Sufi brotherhoods, the most common of which are the Qadiria inherited from Shaykh 'Abd al-Qadir Jilani and the Tijaniya, which owes its name to Shaykh Ahmad al-Tijani.

There is also the Hamaouiya, referring to Shaykh Hamahoullah, whose followers are mostly in the east. Even within a single brotherhood, there are different trends.

The article is a brief overview on the Sufi Orders in this Sub-Saharan Country.

[Picture: Map showing some core areas of Maliki, Shafi, Hanbalis and Hanafi Muslims in Africa, Asia and Europe. Click on the map to enlarge it. Image from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maliki].