In this book I have portrayed the West African Sahel as being part of the Dar al-Islam for most of the past millennium. The Almoravids claimed to create a “world of Islam” in the eleventh century, but mainly in the western region of the Sahara and then Morocco. The rulers of Mali, beginning at least from the time of the pilgrim emperor Mansa Musa, made the claim for the Sahel from the fourteenth century. Askia Muhammad made the claim for the Empire of Songhay with his accession just before 1500. His pilgrimage and consultation with al-Maghili, as discussed in Chapter 5, were testament to the Islamic identity that he envisioned for his state. Muhammad Rumfa, the sultan of Kano in Hausaland, had a similar vision, and he also consulted with al-Maghili about what constituted “Islamic government.”

The movement we study in this chapter came to a different conclusion. Its members became increasingly critical of the governments they saw practicing Islam. By 1800 they were ready to draw a new line in the sand – between “ignorance” and Islam – to create a new Muslim space. They saw the Dar al-Islam emerging only under their leader, Uthman dan Fodio. He was a partisan of reform and then of militant revolution, not unlike movements we encounter in many African societies.

Some things had changed between 1500 and 1800: greater violence, a degradation of the environment in many parts of Hausaland, and more corruption in government.