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The Grand Mosque of Touba was the gathering place for thousands of pilgrims this Friday who came to worship on the occasion of Magal, a religious event in memory of the founder of Muridism, Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba Khadimou Rassoul, who lived in exile.
Long queues of people formed around the place of worship which was celebrating its 130th session.
Pilgrims flock from all parts of Senegal and the diaspora on this day, which is symbolic for the Mouride community and also coincides with the Great Friday prayers.
Amadou Camara, from the Tambo region, was found in the square of the Grand Mosque, drenched in sweat, having waited for hours before performing the ziar.
“It’s not serious. Even if we have to spend the night there, we will do it,” said Amadou Camara.
Like other worshippers in the Grand Mosque, he still has to wait to meditate inside and in the various mausoleums. According to a security official, entry is being done in batches to avoid crowding.
The Touba Grand Magal commemorates Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba, exiled in Gabon (1895-1902), the founder of Mourideism, one of the main Muslim brotherhoods in Senegal.
Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba was born around 1854 and gave himself the title Khadimou Rassoul, “the servant of the Prophet”.
After his father’s death, Ahmadou Bamba became a guide and founded the Mouride Route in the context of French colonial rule, which was also viewed very negatively by the colonial government.
Fearing that the teachings of anti-colonial resistance fighter Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba would spark a popular uprising, the French colonizer decided to exile him to Gabon from 1895 to 1902.
Kadim Rasul (a servant of the Prophet Muhammad) spent seven years on the desolate island of Mayombe in Gabon, braving all kinds of dangers.
There, he was repeatedly bullied by French colonists fighting Islam in Senegal. Historians tell of years of surveillance, deprivation, loneliness and persecution.
Ahmadou Bamba died in Dioubel in 1927. But his legacy is carried on by his son and grandson.
Magal, a Wolof term meaning to pay homage, celebrate, amplify, commemorates the exile, which marks the beginning of a series of trials that the Sheikh will endure in his conscience after signing a pact with his creator.
Every year, tens of thousands of pilgrims flock to the town of Touba to gather and pray during the Magal Festival, which is also a time for joy and hospitality through “berndé” (a sumptuous meal served to the pilgrims).
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