Osman Dan Fodio’s reform movement in West Africa 1775-1817 AD

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دكتوراه في التاريخ الحديث والمعاصر - جامعة أسوان

Abstract

The revolutionist reformer Othman Ben Fodio was able to lead the first reformation movement in West Sudan and the Basin of Niger River in particular and West Africa in general in 1775. The aim of that was to returning back to the sound Islamic beliefs for Muslims in this area and to pure their concepts from superstitions which were wrongly connected to the Islamic religion through calling for the spread of the right and sound instructions of Islam from their original sources in texts of the Holy Quran and the Prophet's Suna. This is in addition to convincing pagans to be Muslims. Moreover, Othman used the style of simple flexible persuasion through his lessons for his students, the Muslims and the pagans. Accordingly, thousands of people were convinced of his instructions and Islamic call. 
The Pagan kings were so much afraid of Othman Islamic call at the kingdom of Goubeir where he stayed and where he centered his Islamic reformation movement. They oppressed him and all his supporters who felt sympathy with him. Thus, he united the Muslims and led them forming his Islamic Foulata State to resist the oppression inflicted by Goubier kings. After a series of wars between Goubeir and Foulata, Goubier fell down in 1810. This led Othman to develop his reformation movement from calling for reformation to applying reformation till his death in 1817. Thus, all West Africa was influenced by his entire reformation and the callers and leaders of reformation at this area followed his model of reformation.

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