Moscow: Institute of Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2006, 306 p. (Civilizational Dimension, vol. 14)

Today, an increasingly important role is played by "political" Islam, which goes beyond the confessions themselves and beyond the borders of the Muslim world. This phenomenon requires close attention on the part of current politicians, as well as scientists and researchers. Many of the latter's works are devoted to the analysis of the situation in the Islamic countries of Asia and North Africa. However, Tropical Africa, where the role of the Islamic factor has grown significantly in recent years, remains poorly understood in this regard. Meanwhile, 20 countries of this subcontinent are members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and some (like Nigeria or Senegal) occupy important positions in the world of Islam.

The peer-reviewed monograph by A.D. Savateev, a scholar who has spent many years dealing with the problems of "African" Islam and devoted a number of works to them, fills this gap. The author is well aware of the available scientific literature on this topic, and he also has personal field research experience during the Russian scientific expedition to Tanzania in 2003, which was specifically devoted to the study of the confessional situation in this country. The body of sources of the work includes reports of medieval authors (Arabic-speaking and European); works of African medieval and modern authors (treatises of theologians and political figures); documents of modern Muslim organizations (local and international); travel notes of European (including Russian) travelers of the XVIII-XIX centuries. Many of these sources are first read from the perspective of an Islamic scholar. The appendices to the monograph contain translations of the writings of Osman dan Fodio, the spiritual and religious leader of the early 19th-century jihad in northern Nigeria, which were also published in Russian for the first time.

The research is based on a civilizational approach. Despite numerous discussions, there is no doubt that Tropical Africa is a special, peculiar civilizational world. The author of the book believes and convincingly proves that on the basis of the rooting of Islam in many areas of the subcontinent, a new reality is being formed, defined by him as an Islamic-African civilization, different from both African (Negro) and classical Islamic. He examines this still incomplete process against a broad historical and geographical background; traces the main milestones and features of the emergence of this phenomenon, the current situation and development trends. The book can be divided into three parts: the first (chapters I, II) is devoted to theoretical issues, the second (chapters III, IV) - to cultural issues, and the third (chapters V, IV) - to political issues.

The first chapter ("Civilizational approach as a theoretical basis for research") defines the basic characteristics of civilization, its functions, criteria and main features, and the second ("Civilizational approach as a theoretical basis for research") defines the basic characteristics of civilization, its functions, criteria and main features.Continuity and variability of Islam in Black Africa") - general provisions of Islam, the history of the spread of Islam in Tropical Africa, the formation of special features

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forms of existence of Sufi orders (tariqas) that combine ideological and spiritual components. Perhaps the book describes in too much detail the basis, essence, universalism of Islam, the history of intra-confessional struggle, which is already quite well known not only to researchers, but also to the general reader. I note the author's fair conclusion that if in the Middle Ages and up to the end of the XIX century. in Islam, disintegration processes prevailed, leading to the creation of a number of areas and law schools, then from the end of the XIX century. The ever-growing European influence is "contrasted with the tendency to consolidate on a purely religious basis", the awareness, despite local peculiarities, of a single "Islamic identity" (p.81).

The validity of this conclusion is confirmed by my personal observations and conversations with religious leaders in Ethiopia in 1992. This is not contradicted by regional (Indonesian, Caucasian, Central Asian, African) versions of Islam, etc. One of the modern African scholars of Islam, and a Muslim himself, has poetically defined this situation: "Islam is like water that takes the shape of the vessel where it is poured, and the color of the soil on which it is poured, but remains water." The process of creating such options takes more than one century. And the author traces this process in Tropical Africa, correlates it with the political and socio-economic development of society, emphasizing that " traditional cults and beliefs... they often became a hindrance to their further socio-economic, political and spiritual development" (p.84). Following Y. M. Kobishchanov, he sees in this the reasons for the relatively easy and rapid adoption of a new religion by many peoples of Tropical Africa. I think it should also be borne in mind that some of its important household requirements do not contradict traditional norms. Thus, the state of obsession of Sufis is akin to the rituals of traditional cults, polygamy and circumcision are also inherent in the latter, etc. This undoubtedly made it easier for these peoples to accept the norms of Islam and, on the contrary, made it difficult to spread Christianity among them.

Although in most cases the penetration of Islam was peaceful (merchants played a leading role in this process), there were also "three types of military jihads" on the subcontinent: the anti-Christian one in Ethiopia (as S. B. Chernetsov showed, however, here purely economic problems were solved in this form, and the goal of the struggle was not so much to strengthen Islam control of trade routes); anti-French in West Africa; anti-colonial Mahdist in Eastern Sudan under the slogan for the purity of the faith (p. 91). In the 19th century, Islam became the banner of resistance, which greatly contributed to the increase in the number of neophytes. This is clearly seen in Senegal, where in the 30 - 40 years since the 1860s it was adopted by the majority of Wolof.

An important feature of Islam in Tropical Africa was the special role of Sufi orders: Qadiriyya, Tijaniyya, etc. Proclaiming equality in faith and asceticism, they gradually became active subjects of the economy, continuing the "missionary" and economic activities of the first Muslim merchants, who combined spiritual and worldly goals and fulfilled in the name of Allah "requirements of an educational, ethical and economic nature" (p.97). As a result, a new character of social ties was established, when blood relations, which had been the basis of social unity for many centuries, were replaced by relations of spiritual closeness and economic subordination to the leaders of the tariqa. The most striking example is the activity of tariqats in Senegal, Ghana, Mali, Ivory Coast, who were engaged in the production and trade of peanuts, cocoa beans, coffee, etc. The basis of ideology, as the author rightly emphasizes, in these cases was "the glorification of agricultural labor as a God-pleasing cause that provided... the road to paradise, and in life - holiness " (p. 100). Marabout sages and Qur'anic scholars with charisma and grace (baraka) were also successful businessmen. If at first special cooperatives were created for the cultivation of commercial agricultural crops, then over time the scope of murid labor has expanded significantly, and today it has gone far beyond the borders of their countries. For example, in the United States, merchants who emigrate from Senegal now send their profits to the head of the tariqa, and in Europe, mainly in France, the Islamic Murid Movement, created in 1983, is active. The popularity of tariqas also affects the political situation in their countries, contributing to the choice of the preferred party.

The third chapter ("The Formation of the spiritual culture of Islam in Tropical Africa") and the fourth ("Islam-African civilization as a socio-cultural unity and diversity") discuss in detail the processes of mutual influence of traditional and Muslim cultural norms.-

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in the broadest sense of the term), which led to the formation of a socio-cultural unity, defined as an "Islamic-African civilization". The author notes the diversity of the influence of Islam on local cultures through the emergence of Arabic writing and education; the emergence of a new social stratum - the Muslim intelligentsia; the formation of new subjects of written and oral literature based on the interpenetration of Islamic and traditional genres; the change in material culture and fine art (masks, fetishes, forms and styles of architecture, etc.). As the author shows, there are two forms of Islam - "folk" ("village") and "legalist" (more rigidly adjusted to the native Muslim norms). I should add that these forms also gave rise to various forms of culture (see, for example, E. S. Lvova. "Urban "and" rural " Islam in Africa south of the Sahara // Islam and problems of intercivilizational interactions, Moscow: Institute of Islamic Civilization, 1994, pp. 208-219).

The author of the book shows the contradictions and complexity of the clash of not just Islamic and traditional cultures, but the diverse cultures of African peoples, on the one hand, and the values of different Islamic centers (from Morocco to India and Persia), on the other. If the main features of African cultures were locality and isolation, then the adoption of Islam destroyed them and contributed to the introduction of world culture. (Without denying that Islam played a similar role, Christianity also had the same influence.) In particular, this was facilitated by the hajj to Mecca, which expanded the horizons of pilgrims, especially the rulers of early state associations, and the Islamic world learned about the existence of states in the depths of Africa. In the latter, scientists and craftsmen from the countries of Islam appeared, Quranic schools appeared, and then higher-level educational institutions, sometimes called universities (in Jenna, Timbuktu, etc.religious and secular literary works were copied and composed; Arabic became the language of learning and enriched the vocabulary of peoples who converted to Islam; the Arabic alphabet was also used for local, previously unwritten languages-Fula, Hausa, Malinke, Kanuri, Swahili, Malagasi, etc. However, unlike in North Africa, Islamization did not lead to Arabization.

Islamization itself has long affected only the political, economic, and intellectual elite of African societies. Among the representatives of the latter, the most significant figure was Osman dan Fodio , a political and religious figure, warrior, thinker, founder of the Sokoto caliphate in the north of modern Nigeria. This extraordinary personality has repeatedly attracted the attention of researchers. Thus, D. A. Olderogge focused his attention on the social side of Osman dan Fodio's activity, Yu. K. Shcheglov considered his poems and speeches from a literary point of view, and A. D. Savateev, perhaps, was first attracted by Osman dan Fodio's theological statements, his explanations of the essence of Islam. The author convincingly shows that social problems were solved on the basis of the Muslim understanding of justice in the fight against pre-Islamic ideas. According to the author, the victory of this religious figure was not only political - as a result, a new social community emerged, based mainly on the spiritual and moral norms of Islam. It is from this time that we can speak of the gradual transformation of the "syncretic Afro-Muslim form of Islam" into the "synthesis Islam-African", i.e., the "syncretic Afro-Muslim form of Islam".e. about strengthening and increasing the general Islamic elements in it and reducing the importance of traditional ones.

The intensification of these processes is noticeable during the period of colonization and especially after independence, when African societies became more open. The author points out that the emergence of new states on the world stage (movement from within the continent) led to an increase in cooperation with the countries of Islam as opposed to the West and to an increase in the number of adherents of both "legitimist" and "popular" Islam. Of course, an important role is played by the activities of the Arab League, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and individual Islamic countries to spread the values of Islam through the channels of cultural and financial assistance to African States, which readily accept and support it (although not always explicitly). spreading Islamic norms, contrasting them with the individualism and callousness of the West. Socio-cultural integrity is emerging in Islamized areas of Africa, which is being strengthened through spiritual and religious education, including through the establishment of higher Islamic educational and research centers in many countries. As a result, "Afro-Islamic" culture becomes a symbol and means of combating the influence of the West not only in culture, but also in politics, a kind of "symbol of emancipation" (p.186).

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Chapters Five ("Contemporary Islamic Fundamentalism") and six ("Sources of Tension and Division: Political Currents in African Islam") The article is devoted to the political aspects of the problem considered by the author.

Islamic fundamentalism in Africa is divided into two areas - cultural and educational and political. Each of them has well-organized alliances and associations in sub-Saharan Africa (mainly in the west of the subcontinent). Although the author does not indicate this, it is clear that their occurrence is directly related to the intensification of the struggle for independence. Politicized organizations are closely associated with those both in North Africa and outside the continent (in particular, with the Muslim Brotherhood and others), and are focused on the Arab Islamic world. According to the author, these phenomena, which were not typical for local societies before the 20th century, speak about the growing rootedness of Islam in the African soil, about the desire to feel part of the Muslim world. Especially noticeable is the rise in their activity after the Iranian "Islamic" revolution. The rivalry between the "old" Islam (with the cult of saints, the high role of Marabouts, traditional cult practices, etc.) and the "new" Wahhabi continues. In such a competition, the second one has more success, and its role, including its political one, is constantly growing. This trend, using the discontent of the social base, creates separate quasi-Islamic movements such as "Maitatsine" in the 1980s in northern Nigeria, organizing pogroms and bloody clashes.

An important place in modern African political Islam is occupied by the question of power. The author traces the history of the development of this problem in early Islam through a calmer attitude to the separation of spiritual and secular power and to the return of the unity and indivisibility of secular and spiritual, sacred power initiated by fundamentalism.

An important feature of politicized fundamentalism is the desire to introduce a Sharia judicial and legal system. In a number of states in countries such as Nigeria, Niger, the Gambia, and Senegal (and in Somalia across the country), this has already happened. This process was not easy, especially dramatic in Nigeria, where there were victims. The Muslims of this country even demanded that this right be enshrined in the constitution. So far, the Nigerian government has categorically refused to change the basic law, but the demands for this do not stop in states where Muslims do not make up the majority of the population.

There are also contradictions between official Islam and the values associated with the traditional mentality of Africans: rigidity towards co-religionists and traditional tolerance; military jihad and the absolutization of the world; aggressiveness of radicals and the softness of "popular" Islam; rejection of secular power and loyalty to any authorities, etc. they have developed to such an extent that a split begins, and that " political Islamism, despite the expanding field of its influence, is still on the periphery of spiritual and cultural life. Society and the state are still able to contain extremist excesses, but globalization can contribute to the growth of the influence of Islamists and bring a serious aggravation to the life of Islamized African societies " (p. 247).

The activation of local Muslim organizations is supported from outside, by Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, etc. This has already led to a number of clashes and terrorist attacks in Mali, South Africa, Kenya, and Tanzania. At the same time, the invasion of Iraq by the United States and other countries, which caused widespread outrage in most countries of the Islamic world, did not cause any mass movement in Africa; demonstrations in Tanzania, for example, as the participants of the Russian expedition in 2003 were told, caused condemnation of the Islamic clergy. And Rashid Omar, one of South Africa's leading Islamic religious figures, even said: "South African Muslims need to show their commitment to Africa first" (p. 245).

It is important to understand that Tropical Africa has already developed an Islamic civilization, Islam plays a significant role in the social life of the countries of the region, the number of adherents of this religion is rapidly growing, and its political role is rapidly increasing. This happens in close connection and under the great spiritual and financial influence of international Islamic organizations and influential Muslim countries, which is often not taken into account in the analysis and definition of trends in African development, when it is assumed that the West remains the main model (especially in the context of ever-expanding globalization processes) and only the ways and pace of modernization are discussed, westernization. That is why A. D. Savateev's monograph is so timely and important not only for scholars of African studies or Islamic studies, but also for political scientists and practitioners in the field of international relations.

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