The Hajj as a Colonial and Post-Colonial Experience in the Gambia:1945-1970

Abstract

The Muslim Pilgrimage to Mecca or Hajj, is a journey of fulfilment for all
Muslims. Indeed, Susan O’Brien, who was writing about the Hausa Bori in
Nigeria, calls it ‘such a marker of prestige throughout the Muslim World’. The
journey to the Holy sites of Islam in Makkah and Madina is one of the Five Pillars
of Islam. This is why the study of Islam in The Gambia will not be attained
without a mention of the nature and motive of Hajj. This article seeks to centre the
hajj as a key indication of the pattern of collaboration and accommodation
between the Gambian state and its predominantly large Muslim population. It is
argued that the failure of the colonial government to prioritise the Hajj made
Gambian Muslims quite disappointed, and they saw the introduction of Cadi
courts in 1905, or the setting aside of Muslim Eids as public holidays, as not quite
sufficient. On the contrary, the strong action of the ruling Peoples’ Progressive
Party (PPP) soon after independence in 1965 to modernise hajj operations by
introducing air transportation for intending pilgrims, adequate forex allocations
and simpler inoculation regimes, made Gambian Muslims notice a safer and
hassle-free hajj. Indeed, it is argued that the ease of doing the hajj due to strong
state support was one of the first dividends of independence for Gambian
Muslims. Using recently released files at The Gambia National Archives in Banjul
and digesting the available secondary literature, this study shows how
decolonization positively impacted on Gambian Muslims.