al-Islam fi سيراليون
- Author died
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- Editions
- Islamic University of Madinah
al-Islam fi Siyraliyun (Islam in Sierra Leone) is a treatise by Ahmad Salih Muhayri documenting the history, demographics, religious practices, institutions, and contemporary condition of Muslims in Sierra Leone .
Background and Context
The author, a graduate of the College of Sharia at the Islamic University of Madinah, was dispatched as an envoy of the Saudi Dar al-Ifta (Presidency of Scientific Research) to Sierra Leone in 1967 CE before being transferred to Brazil, where he completed this work on 10 Sha'ban 1393 AH (September 1973 CE) . The text draws on Muhayri's firsthand missionary experiences in the country and was also published in the journal of the Islamic University of Madinah .
Structure and Contents
Geography, Demographics, and History
The work begins with an overview of Sierra Leone’s geography, noting its naming by the Portuguese explorer Pedro de Sintra, its tropical climate, its independence from British rule in 1961 CE, and its declaration of a republic in 1971 CE . It records that while Muslims constituted no more than 40% of the population in 1920 CE, official figures cited by the Minister of Social Affairs in 1972 CE placed the proportion between 70% and 75%, with actual estimates exceeding 80% among major ethnic groups such as the Temne, Limba, and Mende .
According to the author, Islam was initially known to local tribal chiefs in the sixteenth century through visiting Muslim traders from Guinea, Senegal, Nigeria, and Mauritania . Its widespread practice commenced in the eighteenth century following the Fouta Djallon campaigns led by Almamy Sori with twenty-two leaders from the Fula and Mandinka against regional pagan factions, which established Muslim settlements in northern towns such as Karina, Falaba, and Port Loko .
Education, Beliefs, and Languages
Muhayri contrasts British missionary schooling with traditional Islamic wooden-slate schools (katatib), describing how students progressed through reading and memorization to earn the title Alfa, and after extensive study of Quranic interpretation (tafsir) and Maliki jurisprudence (often spanning ten years), received the title Fodi during communal celebrations .
The work addresses syncretic practices, pagan remnants (such as wooden juju and horn karafelo fetishes), and magical talismans, which the author critiques alongside the influence of the Tijaniyya Sufi order, advocating for orthodox monotheism (tawhid) . Regarding languages, the text notes the diversity of tribal languages, the role of Arabic among Islamic scholars, official English, and Krio as the nationwide lingua franca originating from freed slaves resettled in Freetown .
Organizations, Mosques, and Traditions
The author analyzes several prominent Muslim bodies and institutions:
- Sierra Leone Muslim Congress: Founded in 1928 CE under Almamy Sanusi and Hadir al-Din, which Muhayri notes fell under the influence of Ahmadiyya missionaries from Pakistan .
- Sierra Leone Muslim Brotherhood (Jam'iyyat al-Ukhuwwah al-Islamiyyah): Established in 1961 CE in Magburaka, which opened more than seventy primary schools, two secondary schools, and an Arabic teachers' college within a decade .
- Al-Jam'iyyah al-Imaniyyah: Founded in Freetown in 1938 CE by Sheikh Jibril Sesay among the Temne, establishing Jami' al-Jalil and its associated school as major centers for visiting callers .
The text also describes Ramadan customs, including large street gatherings for tarawih prayers, and the night preceding Eid al-Fitr, marked by illuminated lantern floats prepared by the Muslim Youth Society . It outlines the communal, judicial, and financial functions of local mosques, cataloging prominent mosques in Freetown such as the Old Mosque of Fourah Bay, Foulah Town Mosque, Jami' al-Jalil, Jami' al-Tawhid, Jami' al-Quddus, Jami' al-Amin, the Hausa Mosque (built in 1955 CE by Alhaji Ahmad Turay), and the Congo Cross Mosque, established by a former Christian priest named Cole after converting to Islam .
Official Status and Missionary Activities
The final sections contrast the limited colonial-era recognitions of Muslims with post-independence gains, such as official holidays for Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, and the Prophet's Birthday (11 Rabi' al-Awwal), alongside national radio and television broadcasts of Islamic programs .
Muhayri details the presence of Christian missionary denominations and the Ahmadiyya movement, contrasting them with the efforts of the Saudi Dar al-Ifta mission established in 1967 CE . The mission opened nine primary schools in Freetown, a secondary school in Kenema with roughly four hundred students, and another in Sefadu, leading Sierra Leonean President Siaka Stevens to confer the Gold Medal of Islamic Brotherhood upon the mission on 26 Sha'ban 1392 AH .
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