Abdoulaye Sounaye
Biographic Data
| ID | 636915 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Abdoulaye Sounaye |
| GIVEN NAMES | Abdoulaye |
| FAMILY NAME | Sounaye |
| SIGNATURE | SOUNAYE A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Northwestern University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-5296-8115 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 18 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 29 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 18 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2007 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
State, Society and Islam in the Western Regions of the Sahara Edited by Francisco Freire
Révolution salafiste en Afrique de l'Ouest
Cette contribution traite de la révolution salafi en Afrique de l'Ouest. Inspirée par un mouvement qui a commencé il y a quelques décennies, elle est portée par des acteurs, des institutions et des pratiques dont l'objectif est de réformer l'islam. Attentif à l'importance du contexte, cet article attire l'attention sur la diversité des appropriations du salafisme et problématise les positions prises par ses promoteurs en relation avec l'État, et …
Cross-border preaching between northern Nigeria and Niger: Practices, actors, and implications of wa’azi
Introduction Many scholars of Islam in Africa have drawn attention to the growing significance of preaching in the past twenty years (Miran 2007; Schulz 2012; Gomez-Perez & Madore 2013; Sounaye 2014; Thurston 2016). Among the factors that contributed to this phenomenon are struggles for power and legitimacy that came as a result of the emergence of new actors and currents – such as the Izala movement – as well as the growing mobility and visibili…
Malama Ta Ce! 1
This chapter explores the emergence of female preachers in contemporary Niger, who have amassed a large media presence in both TV and radio. Challenging conventional arrangements within media and Islamic practices, women preachers have taken the role of speaking for Islam and for themselves, using spaces they have conquered and secured on TV and radio stations in part due to a committed audience and the techno-infrastructural development that res…
Religion, Morality, and Boko: Students Training for a Good Life
West African ʿulamāʾ and Salafism in Mecca and Medina: Jawāb al-Ifrῑqῑ—The Response of the African, written by Chanfi Ahmed
Salafi Aesthetics: Preaching Among the Sunnance in Niamey, Niger
In their effort to contribute to Islamic reform in Niamey, young Salafi (Sunnance) have embraced preaching and have made it part of their religious practice. As preachers or audience members, they invest time and energy to imagine various ways to popularize the Sunna, the tradition of the prophet Muhammad. Because of the jokes, mimicry, and theatrics that characterize their preaching style, their critics have rejected their initiatives, claiming …
Introduction: Sermon in the City: Christian and Islamic Preaching in West Africa
Over the last two decades scholars have devoted a significant amount of time to uncovering and theorizing what has been termed the resurgence, renewal, revival, or even the return of religion in the public sphere.Scholars may disagree on how to appropriately term these developments, but part of their consensus is that we can no longer afford to overlook such phenomena in our attempts to make sense of contemporary Africa.This process has challenge…
Irwo Sunnance yan-no! 1: Youth Claiming, Contesting and Transforming Salafism
This article discusses youth religiosities and how young Salafi (Sunnance) appropriate the discourse of the popularization of the Sunna and at the same time distance themselves from the well-known Izala movement. The Sunnance have become a social formation only recently, but have earnestly and regularly taken the stage to lay the ground for a new expression and understanding of the Izala reform agenda. They claim to be Izala though they have cons…
Mobile Sunna: Islam, small media and community in Niger
In Niger, Izala is a well established Islamic reform movement that is known for its strategic use of small media. The author investigates how these media are produced and circulated during the Wa’zin kasa, a three-day international preaching rally, and how they play an active role in popularizing Izala’s discourses and practices and in shaping a moral community. The author illustrates that the mobility of these small media has instigated a media …
Alarama is all at once: Preacher, media 'savvy', and religious entrepreneur in Niamey
In Niger, the role of the media in the re-islamization process that began two decades ago has remained understudied. This article seeks to remedy this gap and discusses a particular example of media usage and appropriation in the urban context of Niamey. It draws on a series of fieldwork studies undertaken in Niamey during the last two years. It focuses on Alarama, a young preacher and one of the most prominent media figures in Niamey. In additio…
Heirs of the Sheikh Izala and its Appropriation of Usman Dan Fodio in Niger
The academic accounts of Islamic reform in Niger have focused on the Izala movement, reducing it to an anti-Sufism. When these representations stress the wahhabi-salafi tendency of this movement, not only Izala appears as the Sufi foe, it is also viewed as a brand of Islamic discourse of foreign origin. This article shows that these accounts have told only part of the genealogy of Izala. References to Sheikh Usman Dan Fodio’s 19th century jihad a…
Gendered Media and Gendered Religion: Female Preachers, Audiovisual Media and the Construction of Religious Authority in Niamey
Go Find the Second Half of Your Faith With These Women!” Women Fashioning Islam in Contemporary Niger
Doing Development the Islamic Way in Contemporary Niger
The rare literature on Islam in Niger that has addressed the contribution of Islamic organizations to the broad domain of development, has most often focused on the controversies involving these organizations, their elite entrepreneurs on one side, and state officials on the other side. Criticism and rejection have not been the only attitudes toward state-sponsored initiatives. Participation has also been a pattern of these interactions. Whether …
Speaking for Islam: Ulama, Laïcité, and Democratization in Niger
Unexpectedly, one of the marking features of democratization in Niger has been the rise of a variety of Islamic discourses. They focus on the separation between religion and the state and, more precisely, the way it is manifested through the French model of laïcité, which democratization has adopted in Niger. For many Muslim actors, laïcité amounts to a marginalization of Islamic values and a negation of Islam. This article present three voices: …
Ambiguous Secularism: Islam, Laïcité and the State in Niger
Au début des années 1990, la démocratisation a correspondu au Niger à une réforme politique rompant avec les régimes militaires, mais tenant aussi à l'écart les influences religieuses. L'adoption du principe de la laïcité visait d'abord à établir l'autonomie de la sphère politique par rapport à la sphère religieuse, et deuxièmement, la soumission de l'autorité religieuse à l'autorité politique. La consécration de ce principe amené à la critique d…
Instrumentalizing the Qur'an in Niger's Public Life
Recent developments in Niger have shown a growing presence of Islamic symbols in the public space in civil society organizations, and within government and political circles. The case under consideration here is the reform in 2004 that required magistrates presiding over electoral commissions to take an oath according to their religious conviction. For most of these civil servants the law meant being sworn in on the Qur'an, but the initiative res…
Alarama is all at once: Preacher, media 'savvy', and religious entrepreneur in Niamey
In Niger, the role of the media in the re-islamization process that began two decades ago has remained understudied. This article seeks to remedy this gap and discusses a particular example of media usage and appropriation in the urban context of Niamey. It draws on a series of fieldwork studies undertaken in Niamey during the last two years. It focuses on Alarama, a young preacher and one of the most prominent media figures in Niamey. In additio…
Ambiguous Secularism: Islam, Laïcité and the State in Niger
Au début des années 1990, la démocratisation a correspondu au Niger à une réforme politique rompant avec les régimes militaires, mais tenant aussi à l'écart les influences religieuses. L'adoption du principe de la laïcité visait d'abord à établir l'autonomie de la sphère politique par rapport à la sphère religieuse, et deuxièmement, la soumission de l'autorité religieuse à l'autorité politique. La consécration de ce principe amené à la critique d…
Doing Development the Islamic Way in Contemporary Niger
The rare literature on Islam in Niger that has addressed the contribution of Islamic organizations to the broad domain of development, has most often focused on the controversies involving these organizations, their elite entrepreneurs on one side, and state officials on the other side. Criticism and rejection have not been the only attitudes toward state-sponsored initiatives. Participation has also been a pattern of these interactions. Whether …
Irwo Sunnance yan-no! 1: Youth Claiming, Contesting and Transforming Salafism
This article discusses youth religiosities and how young Salafi (Sunnance) appropriate the discourse of the popularization of the Sunna and at the same time distance themselves from the well-known Izala movement. The Sunnance have become a social formation only recently, but have earnestly and regularly taken the stage to lay the ground for a new expression and understanding of the Izala reform agenda. They claim to be Izala though they have cons…
Révolution salafiste en Afrique de l'Ouest
Cette contribution traite de la révolution salafi en Afrique de l'Ouest. Inspirée par un mouvement qui a commencé il y a quelques décennies, elle est portée par des acteurs, des institutions et des pratiques dont l'objectif est de réformer l'islam. Attentif à l'importance du contexte, cet article attire l'attention sur la diversité des appropriations du salafisme et problématise les positions prises par ses promoteurs en relation avec l'État, et …
Heirs of the Sheikh Izala and its Appropriation of Usman Dan Fodio in Niger
The academic accounts of Islamic reform in Niger have focused on the Izala movement, reducing it to an anti-Sufism. When these representations stress the wahhabi-salafi tendency of this movement, not only Izala appears as the Sufi foe, it is also viewed as a brand of Islamic discourse of foreign origin. This article shows that these accounts have told only part of the genealogy of Izala. References to Sheikh Usman Dan Fodio’s 19th century jihad a…
Go Find the Second Half of Your Faith With These Women!” Women Fashioning Islam in Contemporary Niger
Salafi Aesthetics: Preaching Among the Sunnance in Niamey, Niger
In their effort to contribute to Islamic reform in Niamey, young Salafi (Sunnance) have embraced preaching and have made it part of their religious practice. As preachers or audience members, they invest time and energy to imagine various ways to popularize the Sunna, the tradition of the prophet Muhammad. Because of the jokes, mimicry, and theatrics that characterize their preaching style, their critics have rejected their initiatives, claiming …
Instrumentalizing the Qur'an in Niger's Public Life
Recent developments in Niger have shown a growing presence of Islamic symbols in the public space in civil society organizations, and within government and political circles. The case under consideration here is the reform in 2004 that required magistrates presiding over electoral commissions to take an oath according to their religious conviction. For most of these civil servants the law meant being sworn in on the Qur'an, but the initiative res…
Speaking for Islam: Ulama, Laïcité, and Democratization in Niger
Unexpectedly, one of the marking features of democratization in Niger has been the rise of a variety of Islamic discourses. They focus on the separation between religion and the state and, more precisely, the way it is manifested through the French model of laïcité, which democratization has adopted in Niger. For many Muslim actors, laïcité amounts to a marginalization of Islamic values and a negation of Islam. This article present three voices: …
Ambiguous Secularism: Islam, Laïcité and the State in Niger
Au début des années 1990, la démocratisation a correspondu au Niger à une réforme politique rompant avec les régimes militaires, mais tenant aussi à l'écart les influences religieuses. L'adoption du principe de la laïcité visait d'abord à établir l'autonomie de la sphère politique par rapport à la sphère religieuse, et deuxièmement, la soumission de l'autorité religieuse à l'autorité politique. La consécration de ce principe amené à la critique d…
Gendered Media and Gendered Religion: Female Preachers, Audiovisual Media and the Construction of Religious Authority in Niamey
Go Find the Second Half of Your Faith With These Women!” Women Fashioning Islam in Contemporary Niger
Doing Development the Islamic Way in Contemporary Niger
The rare literature on Islam in Niger that has addressed the contribution of Islamic organizations to the broad domain of development, has most often focused on the controversies involving these organizations, their elite entrepreneurs on one side, and state officials on the other side. Criticism and rejection have not been the only attitudes toward state-sponsored initiatives. Participation has also been a pattern of these interactions. Whether …
Heirs of the Sheikh Izala and its Appropriation of Usman Dan Fodio in Niger
The academic accounts of Islamic reform in Niger have focused on the Izala movement, reducing it to an anti-Sufism. When these representations stress the wahhabi-salafi tendency of this movement, not only Izala appears as the Sufi foe, it is also viewed as a brand of Islamic discourse of foreign origin. This article shows that these accounts have told only part of the genealogy of Izala. References to Sheikh Usman Dan Fodio’s 19th century jihad a…
Alarama is all at once: Preacher, media 'savvy', and religious entrepreneur in Niamey
In Niger, the role of the media in the re-islamization process that began two decades ago has remained understudied. This article seeks to remedy this gap and discusses a particular example of media usage and appropriation in the urban context of Niamey. It draws on a series of fieldwork studies undertaken in Niamey during the last two years. It focuses on Alarama, a young preacher and one of the most prominent media figures in Niamey. In additio…
Mobile Sunna: Islam, small media and community in Niger
In Niger, Izala is a well established Islamic reform movement that is known for its strategic use of small media. The author investigates how these media are produced and circulated during the Wa’zin kasa, a three-day international preaching rally, and how they play an active role in popularizing Izala’s discourses and practices and in shaping a moral community. The author illustrates that the mobility of these small media has instigated a media …
Irwo Sunnance yan-no! 1: Youth Claiming, Contesting and Transforming Salafism
This article discusses youth religiosities and how young Salafi (Sunnance) appropriate the discourse of the popularization of the Sunna and at the same time distance themselves from the well-known Izala movement. The Sunnance have become a social formation only recently, but have earnestly and regularly taken the stage to lay the ground for a new expression and understanding of the Izala reform agenda. They claim to be Izala though they have cons…
West African ʿulamāʾ and Salafism in Mecca and Medina: Jawāb al-Ifrῑqῑ—The Response of the African, written by Chanfi Ahmed
Salafi Aesthetics: Preaching Among the Sunnance in Niamey, Niger
In their effort to contribute to Islamic reform in Niamey, young Salafi (Sunnance) have embraced preaching and have made it part of their religious practice. As preachers or audience members, they invest time and energy to imagine various ways to popularize the Sunna, the tradition of the prophet Muhammad. Because of the jokes, mimicry, and theatrics that characterize their preaching style, their critics have rejected their initiatives, claiming …
Introduction: Sermon in the City: Christian and Islamic Preaching in West Africa
Over the last two decades scholars have devoted a significant amount of time to uncovering and theorizing what has been termed the resurgence, renewal, revival, or even the return of religion in the public sphere.Scholars may disagree on how to appropriately term these developments, but part of their consensus is that we can no longer afford to overlook such phenomena in our attempts to make sense of contemporary Africa.This process has challenge…
Religion, Morality, and Boko: Students Training for a Good Life
Cross-border preaching between northern Nigeria and Niger: Practices, actors, and implications of wa’azi
Introduction Many scholars of Islam in Africa have drawn attention to the growing significance of preaching in the past twenty years (Miran 2007; Schulz 2012; Gomez-Perez & Madore 2013; Sounaye 2014; Thurston 2016). Among the factors that contributed to this phenomenon are struggles for power and legitimacy that came as a result of the emergence of new actors and currents – such as the Izala movement – as well as the growing mobility and visibili…
Malama Ta Ce! 1
This chapter explores the emergence of female preachers in contemporary Niger, who have amassed a large media presence in both TV and radio. Challenging conventional arrangements within media and Islamic practices, women preachers have taken the role of speaking for Islam and for themselves, using spaces they have conquered and secured on TV and radio stations in part due to a committed audience and the techno-infrastructural development that res…
Révolution salafiste en Afrique de l'Ouest
Cette contribution traite de la révolution salafi en Afrique de l'Ouest. Inspirée par un mouvement qui a commencé il y a quelques décennies, elle est portée par des acteurs, des institutions et des pratiques dont l'objectif est de réformer l'islam. Attentif à l'importance du contexte, cet article attire l'attention sur la diversité des appropriations du salafisme et problématise les positions prises par ses promoteurs en relation avec l'État, et …
State, Society and Islam in the Western Regions of the Sahara Edited by Francisco Freire
Sociology (13 works) · Philosophy (12 works) · Islam (10 works) · Political science (9 works) · Religion and Sociopolitical Dynamics in Nigeria (9 works) · African Studies and Geopolitics (7 works) · Philosophy (7 works) · Anthropological Studies and Insights (6 works) · Gender Studies (6 works) · Law (6 works)