Panel 120: Ritual, Authority and Innovation in African Muslim Communities

Muslim societies in Africa have been characterized by a long tradition of discussion and dispute over issues of ritual and innovation, as informed by multiple historical settings and a large variety of local contexts. In these discussions and debates over the "proper Islamic" character of rituals and the permissibility of innovation, questions of authority were paramount. Debates and discussion over ritual practices and questions of innovation allow us to analyse the dynamics of negotiation of authority in a specific community/society in a given period of time. The panel will inquire into this theme by looking at a select number of Muslim communities and societies in Sub-Saharan Africa.