The formation of the Sudanese Mahdist state : ceremony and symbols of authority : 1882-1898 / by Kim Searcy.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Searcy, Kim.

Series:

Islam in Africa ; v. 11.

Islam in Africa, 1570-3754 ; v. 11

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Islamic renewal--Sudan.

Islamic renewal.

Islam and politics--Sudan.

Islam and politics.

Sudan--History--1821-1881.

Sudan.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (174 p.)

Place of Publication:

Leiden [The Netherlands] ; Boston : Brill, 2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book is the first analysis of the Sudanese Mahdiyya from a socio-political perspective that treats how relationships of authority were enunciated through symbol and ceremony. The book focuses on how the Mahdi and his second-in-command and ultimate successor, the Khalifa Abdallahi, used symbols, ceremony and ritual to articulate their power, authority and legitimacy first within the context of resistance to the imperial Turco-Egyptian forces that had been occupying the Nilotic Sudan since 1821, and then within the context of establishing an Islamic state. This study examines five key elements from a historical perspective: the importance of Islamic mysticism as manifested in Sufi brotherhoods in the articulation of power in the Sudan; ceremony as handmaids of power and legitimacy; charismatic leadership; the routinization of charisma and the formation of a religious state purportedly based upon the first Islamic community in the seventh century C.E.

Contents:

Preliminary Material / K. Searcy

Introduction / K. Searcy

Chapter One. Islam In The Sudan / K. Searcy

Chapter Two. Protocol, Ceremony, And Symbols Of Authority / K. Searcy

Chapter Three. The Charismatic Leader / K. Searcy

Chapter Four. The Khalīfa and the Routinization of Charismatic Authority / K. Searcy

Chapter Five. The Creation Of An Islamic State / K. Searcy

Conclusion / K. Searcy

Bibliography / K. Searcy

Index / K. Searcy.

Notes:

This book is the first analysis of the Sudanese Mahdiyya from a socio-political perspective that treats how relationships of authority were enunciated through symbol and ceremony. The book focuses on how the Mahdi and his second-in-command and ultimate successor, the Khalifa Abdallahi, used symbols, ceremony and ritual to articulate their power, authority and legitimacy first within the context of resistance to the imperial Turco-Egyptian forces that had been occupying the Nilotic Sudan since 1821, and then within the context of establishing an Islamic state. This study examines five key elements from a historical perspective: the importance of Islamic mysticism as manifested in Sufi brotherhoods in the articulation of power in the Sudan; ceremony as handmaids of power and legitimacy; charismatic leadership; the routinization of charisma and the formation of a religious state purportedly based upon the first Islamic community in the seventh century C.E.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [153]-155) and index.

ISBN:

1-283-11964-1

9786613119643

90-04-19107-0

OCLC:

727949659

Publisher Number:

10.1163/ej.9789004185999.i-166 DOI