Itinerant Mourid Cheikhs and the Ziyâra Area in Marseille
Mouridism was founded by Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba in late 19th century Senegal. This contemporary religious movement is based on Muslim mysticism. Originating in a society under crisis and French colonial rule, this movement has aroused the curiosity of researchers throughout the century. This paper puts forward the nature of the changes taking place in the contemporary religious world of the Mourid, between the holy city of Touba, and Marseille (France), one of the destinations of Mourid migration. It is based on a detailed ethnography of a Cheikh’s visits in Marseille. This Islamic migration links local and transnational practices, mobility, and geographic anchorage, and the religious actors can build everything between the two worlds. This “in between” is neither empty nor virtual, and it is through the study of what has been built by this religious movement in migration that it has been possible to show and measure it. Migration creates new objects and a new society; an approach of religious phenomenon is a relevant tool for the comprehension of these migratory processes, and vice-versa the analysis of the processes informs us about religious transformations in progress.