ISLAM, SOCIETY & STATE IN WEST AFRICA
March 28 (7p.m.)& 29 (9-5)
Rutgers University, Center for African Studies, New Brunswick, NJ

The Conference will examine the impact of new associational freedoms on post-Cold War West Africa. This period has been marked by movements of religious resurgence in response to economic and cultural dilemmas. Scholars will explore the relationship between opposition political parties and religious movements ranging from Sufi brotherhoods and Muslim reformers to evangelical Christians.

Boubacar Barry's keynote lecture on Islamic history in West Africa will begin the Conference, followed by studies of Senegal (Leo Villalon, Erin Augis), Mali (Ben Soares), Guinea (Herve Jezequel), Cote d'Ivoire/Burkina Faso (Marie Natalie Le Blanc, Boukary Savodogo, Niger (Ousseina Alidou, Abdourahmane Idrissa) and Nigeria (Ousmane Kane, Ayesha Imam). For more information, see our website, call or contact conference organizer Barbara Lewis.