Touba

After a week of classroom lecture exploring the intersections of religion, politics and history in Senegal, we climbed back into our trusty bus and headed eastward to Touba. Touba is the holy city of Mouridism, a large Islamic Sufi brotherhood founded in 1883 by Cheikh Amadou Bamba. The city is considered sacred and constitutes an administratively autonomous zone governed by the Mouride brotherhood. Alcohol, tobacco, music and dance are forbidden in the city and despite the heat, the women in our group needed to wearlong sleeves, skirts, and headscarves.