Muslim Peacemakers
Shaykh Ahmadou Bamba of Senegal, Africa (1854-1927)
Shaykh Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Habiballah, more popularly known as Shaykh Ahmadou Bamba.was a Muslim saint who led a successful and completely nonviolent struggle for peace within the last century. His life of teaching, amidst 33 years of imprisonment, exile and house arrest, was spent in western Africa, but his profound message is global and continues today in the vibrant tradition he transmitted. His form of nonviolent resistance against the French colonial oppression was based on spiritual tenets and the rich intellectual heritage of his forebears.
In 2003, professors Allen F. Roberts and Mary Nooter Roberts, of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), were able to showcase the sacred writings and arts from Senegal, Africa, by those inspired by Shaykh Ahmadou Bamba, through the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. The exhibition was called A Saint in the City: Sufi Arts of Urban Senegal.