Singing the Prophet's Praise | Oludamini Ogunnaike

E462 | Reading and writing poems in praise of the prophet Mohammad is no simple matter in West Africa. Their composition was a vehicle for intellectual debate, just as their recitation was a means of spiritual transformation for the listener. In this episode, we speak to Dr. Oludamini Ogunnaike, the author of a recent book about praise or "madih" poetry in West Africa, and we listen to recordings of several recitations. Madih poetry is widely recited by Muslims in West Africa; we learn of several major authors from the 18th century to now, including Sheikh Ibrahim Niasse and Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba. Professor Ogunnaike explains the complex Sufi cosmologies and epistemologies intrinsic to the memorization and recitation of madih poetry, which make this such a powerful and widespread practice in Muslim communities. Finally, we discuss why these poems -- manuscripts of which can be found in every collection in West Africa -- remain so little studied. While part of this can be explained by the colonial legacy of considering Islam to be essentially Arab, and thus a foreign importation to Africa, there are other epistemological issues at stake. Professor Ogunnaike's work thus broadens our understanding of a form of embodied knowledge in Islam. More at https://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/2020/04/ogunnaike.html Oludamini Ogunnaike is an Assistant professor of African Religious thought at the University of Virginia. His research focuses on the intellectual and artistic dimensions of the Islamic and Indigenous traditions of West Africa, particularly Sufism and Ifa. He holds a PhD in African Studies and the Study of Religion from Harvard University, and spent a year as a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University's Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies before and taught at the College of William as an Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies. Shireen Hamza is a doctoral candidate in the History of Science department at Harvard University. Her research focuses on the history of medical exchange in the medieval Indian Ocean world. She is also the managing editor of the Journal of Middle East Women's Studies. CREDITS Episode No. 462 Release Date: 28 April 2020 Recording Location: Cambridge, MA, USA Audio editing by Shireen Hamza Audio clips: Salatu Rabbi recited by Sidi Ali ibn Nazir Niasse, Muhammad al-Mustafa recited by Zakiru, Safa Li Waqti recited by Tierno, Hani'an li Ibrahim recited by Zakiru, and Hubb al-Hashimi recited by Ibrahim Abd al-Rahman Isa Images and bibliography courtesy of Oludamini Ogunnaike available at https://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/2020/04/ogunnaike.html