Islamic Scholarship on the Hausa-Kanuri Frontier: the Malamai of Mirriah.

ABSTRACT

This paper provides a glimpse of Islamic scholarship in Mirriah, Niger Republic, at a particular point in time, 1974-1975, before some of the latest currents of religious unrest erupted in West Africa. Through interviews with local scholars, it examines the degree to which they participated in a West African "core curriculum" shared with other Islamic scholars across the Sahel. It also explores the history of the malamai class in Mirriah, noting significant ties to the Bornu empire. Both the ruling dynasty and Mirriah itself also exemplify the process of "becoming Hausa" people of diverse origins have come to define themselves as Hausa, adopting the Hausa language and the religion of Islam.