Berkley Center

“Please do not overwhelm the airport when the corpse arrives; please do not flood the holy city of Tivaouane. Pray and be patient.” Such were the words of the spokesman for the Tijane Brotherhood in a futile attempt to stop the inevitable. The night of Saturday, December 8, the caliph of the Tijane Brotherhood passed away after spending several days in a French hospital.

Normally, when a caliph passes away he is buried at night in secrecy, and the news is not made public until the next day. However, this time it was not possible; everyone was mourning within hours of the caliph passing as information leaked from the hospital in Paris. Personally, I found out in the announcements of the Sunday morning Mass at the Dakar Cathedral. At the end of the mass the priest offered condolences in the name of the Dakar cardinal to the Tijane Brotherhood for the passing of their leader. The mosques all over the city were particularly full Saturday night and all day Sunday. For the next few days the ambiance in Dakar was somber; Muslims mourned and cried as if it had been a close family member that had just been called back to God.

In a move that could have been extremely controversial the Senegalese government paid for the private airplane that delivered the caliph’s body to Dakar. In a republic that is constantly debating what influence religious leaders should have at the national level and what their relationship to the government should be like, this gesture by President Macky Sall was applauded by the great majority of Senegalese citizens of all confessions.

During the burial and funeral services the holy city of the Tijaniya, Tivaouane, was paralyzed because of the unprecedented number of faithful in attendance, amongst them the president of Senegal, Macky Sall, who even gave some words. For the past few days uncertainty has reigned as the Tijane community waits for the designated successor caliph, Ahmed Tijane Sy, to either accept or decline the position. In traditional Sufi fashion Ahmed Tijane is taking his time to meditate and pray before making a decision.

The Tijane Brotherhood is not the most militant brotherhood in Senegal, but it is the biggest one. Being an international brotherhood and having adherents all over the world, Tivaouane is only one of the great cities of the Tijaniya. It is clear that Tijanes from all over the world could have easily paid for the transportation and funeral costs of Serigne Mansour Sy.

Nevertheless, the Senegalese have come together in recognition of the great service that this religious personality offered to the country as a whole and have thus consented to the honors that the state has conferred to him. Tijane leaders from all over the world, particularly Africa, recognize the great contribution of caliph Mansour Sy to the brotherhood in Senegal and internationally. With Tijane Muslims and with Senegal as a whole, I feel the loss of this great man and expect to see the future developments that await the Tijaniya Brotherhood, soon to have a new leader.