The main conclusions drawn from this study are that since there seem not to have been any clear-cut guidelines or documented policy of the British and the French on Christians and Muslims in Africa, the colonial governments related with Islam based on the discretion or decision of the Governor General. But whether a policy or attitude, it is clear that it was acted upon, implemented and very consistent in action. After the independence of the Ghana and Togo, successive governments of the two countries under study have made efforts constitutionally, educationally and spiritually to foster Christian-Muslim relations since adherents of the two religions continue to interact and engage one another.
Si l’Université de Lomé, auparavant sous l’emprise du parti unique du Rassemblement du peuple togolais, est souvent perçue comme un haut lieu de la contestation parfois violente du pouvoir depuis le tournant des années 1990, elle est aussi caractérisée par une multiplication d’associations religieuses de différentes confessions. Cette communication propose de retracer l’histoire du militantisme islamique dans cet établissement d’enseignement supérieur laïc depuis la création de la Jeunesse estudiantine islamique de l’Université du Bénin dans les années 1980. L’engagement militant sur ce campus reflète, d’une part, les mutations plus larges qui ont caractérisé l’islam au Togo au cours des dernières décennies, dont le rôle joué par cette élite musulmane dans les débats politiques. D’autre part, il met en relief les défis auxquels font face les jeunes étudiant.e.s musulman.e.s en contexte minoritaire et autoritaire, qui sont exacerbés par la méfiance de l’État envers l’islam "politique" et les craintes plus récentes de l’extension du djihadisme aux pays côtiers du Golfe de Guinée.
This volume examines religiosity on university campuses in Sub-Saharan Africa. Focusing on both individuals and organized groups, the contributions open a window onto how religion becomes a factor, affects social interactions, is experienced and mobilized by various actors. It brings together case studies from various disciplinary backgrounds (anthropology, sociology, history, religious studies) and theoretical orientations to illustrate the significance of religiosity in recent developments on university campuses. It pays a particular attention to religion-informed activism and contributes a fresh analysis of processes that are shaping both the experience of being student and the university campus as a moral space. Finally, it sheds light onto the ways in which the campus becomes a site of a reformulation of both religiosity and sociality.
The new study provides important insights into the situation of Ghana and Togo on the security chessboard in the region between the Sahel and the Gulf of Guinea. Both countries have increasingly become the focus of jihadist groups in recent years, especially due to the deteriorating security situation in Burkina Faso and Mali. The study looks at the varying degrees of jihadist terrorist threat in the West African countries on the Gulf of Guinea and sheds light on intergovernmental approaches in order to arm themselves against the growing danger of jihadist terror.
This publication is the result of several field studies conducted by Promediation's local teams and consultants as part of their programmes in the Sahel and the Gulf of Guinea.
L’islam est arrivé, dans ce qui deviendra l’espace territorial du Togo actuel, à partir du milieu du XVIIe siècle par le nord, le nord-ouest et le nord-est. Il faisait lentement son chemin quand survint la colonisation, à partir de 1884, qui va largement influer sur son cours. Aussi, est-il naturel de faire d’abord un bilan de la situation initiale, avant d’en décrire l’évolution entre 1884 et l’Indépendance ; il sera proposé aussi un regard sur le phénomène de la marginalisation de l’islam, parfaitement lisible dans la vie du pays pendant toute la période coloniale, ce qui, au passage, permettra de prendre connaissance de certaines données de la société musulmane nationale.
L’islam est arrivé, dans ce qui deviendra l’espace territorial du Togo actuel, à partir du milieu du XVIIe siècle par le nord, le nord-ouest et le nord-est. Il faisait lentement son chemin quand survint la colonisation, à partir de 1884, qui va largement influer sur son cours. Aussi, est-il naturel de faire d’abord un bilan de la situation initiale, avant d’en décrire l’évolution entre 1884 et l’Indépendance ; il sera proposé aussi un regard sur le phénomène de la marginalisation de l’islam, parfaitement lisible dans la vie du pays pendant toute la période coloniale, ce qui, au passage, permettra de prendre connaissance de certaines données de la société musulmane nationale.
Faced with jihadist breakthrough in Burkina Faso, neighbouring states in West Africa's Gulf of Guinea increasingly fear attacks in their own territories. These countries should improve intelligence sharing, strengthen border controls and regain the trust of local populations.
In recent years, jihadist groups have gradually shifted from northern Mali toward the centre of the country and then Burkina Faso. An acceleration occurred in 2018, with an increase in incidents in the south-west and flares of violence east of Burkina Faso, raising fears of spreading to Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo and Benin. Contrary to the discourse on an external threat and the resilience of the brotherhoods, while dozens of nationals of the Gulf Guinea countries have joined jihadist groups in recent years, West Africa’s coastal States have their backs against the wall in the attempt to develop and implement responses to stem the spread of jihadism, starting by learning from the experiences of their Sahelian neighbours.
Le présent ouvrage est le résultat du colloque international organise les 25, 26 et 27 septembre 2018 en hommage au professeur Sékou Bamba à l'occasion de son départ à la retraite. Directeur de recherches (CAMES), cet éminent historien ivoirien a consacré quatre décennies de sa vie à l'étude des civilisations africaines notamment l'histoire du Bas Bandaman précolonial en valorisant les traditions orales comme des sources pour l'exhumation du passe des sociétés africaines.
L'ouvrage revisite et réexamine plusieurs questions liées à l'islam africain du moyen âge à l'époque contemporaine.
This article looks at how religious discourse is used in Togo's presidential elections to offer the electorate new hope and win them over. On 22 February 2020, Togo's presidential chair is up for grabs for a new five-year term, in an election that may or may not be a high-stakes affair from one player to another. What's more, in the age of social networks and emerging protest movements on the continent, the country's large young population, well-versed in the law and lawlessness, is increasingly demanding a real political offer. As a result, many strategies are being developed by the various parties to revive the electorate's interest in these electoral contests, given a regime that has been holding on to power for several years and an opposition that is struggling to take it. These include the use of religion, since a prelate designated Mr Agbéyomé Kodjo, former prime minister under the Gnassingbé senior regime, as the "candidate of the Holy Spirit" and sole opposition candidate. How is God restoring hope in Togo's 2020 presidential elections? This is the main question at the heart of this study, which uses a qualitative empirical methodology based on observation, interviews and content analysis.
This is the first in a joint series of publications by ACLED and the GI-TOC profiling non-state armed groups in West Africa and exploring the intersections between their involvement in illicit economies and the provision of governance. The series brings new material and updated analyses using the ACLED database and qualitative research, examining how armed groups survive in their political and economic environments.
Each paper will examine the evolution, structure and tactics of armed groups, as well as their transnational relationships, means of financing, and governance practices. The series will offer a closer look at Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), bandit groups in north-western Nigeria and Ambazonian separatists in Cameroon, with a summative paper reflecting on broader findings.
Afin que la société civile et les médias puissent jouer un rôle significatif, il est indispensable qu’ils disposent d'informations précises sur l'extrémisme violent.
Le phénomène migratoire s’intensifie à travers le monde au gré des intérêts de ses acteurs. Migrants de tradition, des Sahéliens, pour des raisons diverses, se déplacent à travers la sous-région ouest africaine. Cet article s’appuie sur des données tirées des fonds documentaires et sur des entretiens approfondis avec des informateurs identifiés au moyen de la technique de choix raisonné pour analyser la migration et l’insertion socioéconomique et spatiale des migrants sahéliens au Togo de la fin du XIXe siècle jusqu’à 1975. L’analyse a permis de comprendre que le départ des Sahéliens de leur pays d’origine vers le Togo s’observait déjà avant l’érection des frontières coloniales. De plus, ce mouvement s’est poursuivi pendant et après la colonisation. Mais, les migrants se trouvaient confrontés à des difficultés d’insertion. En réaction, face à ces obstacles, ils avaient élaboré des stratégies de contournement par lesquelles ils ont réalisé, à partir des Zongo qui constituaient leur milieu d’accueil et de résidence, leur insertion socioéconomique et spatiale, même si celle-ci était limitée.
During the pre-colonial period, for mainly socio-political and economic reasons, today's Togolese space was home to large flows of migrants from the sub-region between the 16th and the end of the 19th century. These flows, followed by an almost perfect integration of migrants, allowed the continuation, recomposition and transformation of the different settlement areas. There was a very pronounced mixing of the identities of local and migrant communities. However, the erection of colonial borders at the end of the 19th century had slowed the traditional logic of the free movement of people and goods. Admittedly, the new migrants of the German colonial period succeeded in many ways in their integration, but this integration was also limited. At the same time, the dynamics of integration and identity mixing of the previous period were reinforced in Togolese space.
A description of social relationships among the inhabitants of the Lome's zongo, i.e. the urban ward populated with Muslims from the Sudanic hinterland. The 'make do' economy is dominated by the wealthier traders, mai gida, under a kind of patronage, derivated from traditional hospitality duties and a network of face-to-face links designated by Hausa kinship and amnity terms, which take up a special meaning in this context.
