Islam, Youth, and Modernity in The Gambia

Islam, Youth, and Modernity in The Gambia: The Tablighi Jama'at is an ethnographic account examining the Tablighi Jama'at movement within The Gambia. Authored by Marloes Janson and published by Cambridge University Press in 2013, the book investigates the intricacies of Tablighi members' lives, presenting insights into how the movement shapes established Islamic practices, authority structures, and gender roles. Shortlisted for the 2014 The Thinking Allowed Award for Ethnography by BBC Radio 4 and the British Sociological Association, it is the first full-blown study of the Tablighi Jamaat movement in Africa. Drawing from 12 months of fieldwork in the early to mid-2000s, initiated in the late 1990s, Janson's narrative focuses on the experiences of five members, highlighting the nuanced interplay between modernity, Islam, and youth in the Gambian context. The book emphasizes the movement's resonance with urban youth aged 15 to 35 and its distinctive characteristics in The Gambia, including active women's participation in missionary activities. At its heart, the book thoroughly studies the repercussions of Islamic reform on gender dynamics in The Gambia. Janson characterizes the Jama'at as a youth movement, analyzing how Tablighis redefine identity, social dynamics, and gender roles through practices like missionary tours and teaching/learning sessions.

Background
Commencing research in the late 1990s in The Gambia, the author undertook a 12-month field study during the early to mid-2000s. Noted by Robert Launay for its intricate nature, the research is characterized by the author's candid acknowledgment of challenges faced, the complexities of the situation, and her role as a researcher. Notably, the Tablighis displayed reluctance in engaging with the researcher due to her non-Muslim status and, from the perspective of Tablighi men, her unrelated status as a woman. To overcome this hesitancy, the author adopted the use of a niqāb—a decision causing both physical and moral discomfort. Despite eventual acceptance of her presence, the Tablighis maintained skepticism toward the project's objectives, expressing the hope that her immersion among them would lead to personal conversion. Emphasizing the insignificance of their own life stories, they prioritized the importance of their mission. The majority of informants attended Western rather than Qur'anic schools and possessed limited proficiency in Arabic.

Content
The initial three chapters lay the groundwork by scrutinizing Muslim identity in postcolonial Gambia and analyzing how the Tablighi Jama'at, a global movement founded in colonial India in 1927, finds its place within this context. The movement, which traditionally targeted older men, attracts mainly urban youth in the Gambia, particularly those aged fifteen to thirty-five, since the 1990s. Chapters four to eight portray individual experiences within the Tablighi community, contrasting the lifestyles of Tablighi adherents like Bubacar with those who identify as 'ghetto boys.' The narratives clarify how Tablighi identity, marked by distinctive clothing and conduct, stands in stark contrast to the more secular lifestyles adopted by some Gambian youth. Despite the patriarchal aspects of Tablighi ideology, the book examines how women negotiate space within the movement through teaching sessions and missionary activities. Chapter nine scrutinizes the Tablighi movement's distinctiveness, emphasizing its use of English as the language of knowledge production and its 'emotionalist' appeal, addressing youth concerns about being good Muslims. The author navigates the paradoxes within the Tablighi movement, notably its shift to a youth-oriented phenomenon in The Gambia and its equal appeal to both genders.

Theme
Robert Launay observed that the author crafted a detailed and provocative narrative in this book, interweaving individual experiences with broader characteristics of the movement. The narrative emphasizes the fundamental ambivalences faced by those aspiring to lead pious lives. The tension between Tablighi Jamaat and Salafi ideologies is a central theme of this book. Ala Alhourani observes another theme—the politics and public performances of Muslim-ness—illustrating contestations with mainstream Muslims over the appropriate way of being a true pious Muslim.

The anti-intellectual stance of Tablighi Jamaat, as highlighted by the author, resonates with Aomar Boum's acknowledgment of the ethnographic approach. This approach allows readers to perceive individual religious experiences as ambivalent trajectories full of contradictions. Boum emphasizes the method's effectiveness in showcasing how Gambian Tablighi youth approach religion as a mechanism for negotiating shifting relations with the world around them.

According to Michelle C. Johnson, the heart of the book lies in its inquiry into the effects of Islamic reform on gender in The Gambia. Riyaz Timol underscores the central objective of the book, which is to dissect the ways in which youth, Islam, and modernity intersect in the lives of young Gambians seeking paths to piety. The contested arena where tribal and reformist strands of Islam vie for primacy becomes apparent, playing a role in a nuanced understanding of the complex dynamics at play.

Approach
Caitlyn Bolton asserts that, in the contemporary anthropological discourse, the author embarks on a thorough examination, challenging the prevailing portrayal of Islam as a "discursive tradition." This theoretical framework conceptualizes Islam as a succession of discourses that shape the conduct of present adherents by referring to conceptions of the Islamic past and future. The author contends that this perspective disproportionately values intellectual debate, inadvertently overlooking the Tablighis' anti-intellectual stance and their inclination towards orthopraxy over orthodoxy. Adding a layer of nuance, the author, narrowly construing "discursive tradition" as exclusively tied to the sacred texts of Islam, fails to acknowledge the Tablighi Jama'at's integral role within a broader discursive tradition. The group's central practice, tabligh—encompassing teaching and missionizing—inherently carries a discursive nature, presenting guidance to believers on "correct" Islamic practices by invoking a conceptualization of the Islamic past.

Limitation
Amir Syed underscores an omission in the author's analysis, pointing out that while the book examines crucial topics, it lacks a thorough examination of epistemological questions. This encompasses the intricate relationship between Western education and the Tablighi Jamaat, as well as variations in pedagogical approaches within the majlis and madrasa. The text also falls short in portraying the diverse religious affiliations and expressions of Islamic identity among Gambian youth beyond the somewhat stereotypical 'ghetto boys' or Tablighis. Building on this critique, Caitlyn Bolton highlights the absence of a discursive approach that would facilitate exploration into key aspects essential for understanding the movement. Lingering questions persist regarding the Tablighis' conceptualization of the Islamic past, its distinctions from neighboring Salafis, and the mediation of this conception through the Fazail-e-Amaal – the text exclusively referenced by Tablighis, alongside the Quran. Robert Launay's observation is that while the book provides detailed accounts of individual lives within the Tablighi Jama'at, the emphasis on specific experiences may pose a challenge in capturing the overarching collective nature of the movement.

Reception
It has received acclaim from scholars, with Dorothea E. Schulz praising its dual achievement in examining the reasons behind the involvement of women and youth in a transnational Islamic movement and presenting a compelling analysis of its localization in The Gambia. Amir Syed commends the work for posing important questions, while Karin Kapadia applauds its writing, rich detail, and nuanced depiction of reformist Islamic behavior. Ala Alhourani highlights its role in scholarly debates on the emergent Muslim public, linking it to modern nation-building and globalization. The Point underscores its academic depth and broad applicability, recommended across disciplines. Aomar Boum acknowledges its departure from traditional assumptions about African Islam, and Caitlyn Bolton finds value in its attention to lived spiritual lives and the questions it raises. David Perfect welcomes its involvement in Gambian literature, and Michelle C. Johnson describes it as a fascinating journey into Tablighi Jama'at. Riyaz Timol lauds its sensitive yet scholarly approach, recognizing its depth, texture, and substantial addition to understanding the appropriation of religious experience in a postcolonial, globalized context.

Legacy
On December 16, 2013, the Department of Cultural Anthropology at Leiden University, in collaboration with African Studies Centre Leiden, co-hosted a seminar dedicated to this book.