The popularity of the Tijaniyyah brotherhood marks this shift; Islam became “a rallying point for African resistance to the French."[1] El Hadj Umar Tall first created a Tijani brotherhood in West Africa after he was initiated into the Tijaniyya during his hajj to Mecca.[7] In his attempt to create a Tijani Islamic empire in Senegal, Tall is described as the “most eminent of the Muslim clerical warriors."[7] The marabouts, leaders and sources of guidance in Sufi brotherhoods, became alternative sources of authority in dissidence from the French.[2][7] Later, the Mouride brotherhood would serve this same role of resistance for the Senegalese.