📜 Post with us on Reddit
📝 Create a new article
🏭 Create a company page
🇬🇧 - in English
🇫🇷 - en Français (FR)
🇵🇹 - em Português (PT)
🇩🇪 - auf Deutsch (DE)
🇯🇵 - 日本語で (JA)
Sponsored articles

You can edit almost every page by Creating an account and confirming your email.

Shaykh Mahy Cisse

From EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki


Shaykh Mahy Cisse
Shaykh Mahy Cisse in 2017
Born1966 (age 59–60)
Kaolack, Senegal
🏳️ NationalitySenegalese
🏫 Educational-Azhar University
💼 Occupation
Spiritual guide of the Tijaniyya Sufi order

Shaykh Mahy Cisse, or Muhammad Mahi Cisse, born 1966 in Kaolack, Senegal, is a Muslim scholar, Sufi spiritual guide and official spokesman for the Fayda Tijaniyya, religious movement founded by his grandfather Sheikh Ibrahim Niass (1900-1975) and which has over 300 million followers worldwide.[1]

The Fayda emerged within the Tariqa Tijaniyya, a spiritual path founded by Shaykh Ahmad Tijani (1737-1815), as a universal means of grounding Islamic knowledge in a living and personal encounter with the presence of God and that of the Prophet Muhammad.[2] What is emphasized then is the possibility offered to a large number of Muslims to experience this on a day-to-day basis, without cutting themselves off from everyday life.[3]

Under the impetus of Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse, the Fayda spread first in Africa, being strongly associated with Pan-Africanism. It was then spread to North America (particularly in African-American ghettos) and South Africa by Shaykh Hassan Cisse, the elder brother of Shaykh Mahy Cisse. With the latter, the movement expanded into Europe (France, UK, Luxembourg, Spain, Germany), Latin America (Mexico and Brazil) and Southeast Asia (Singapore).

Early life and training

Shaykh Mahy Cisse is the son of Shaykh Ali Cisse (1906-1982), the first khalifa of Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse, and Fatima Zahra, the first daughter of Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse. He is the younger brother of Shaykh Hassan Cissé (1945-2008) and Shaykh Ahmad Tijani Ali Cisse (b. 1955).

At the age of 12, he completed the memorization of the Koran under the guidance of Mauritanian scholar Mauritanian Abdullah Ould Rabbani. As Zachary Wright has amply demonstrated, the West African Islamic curriculum is based on the oral transmission, from master to disciple, of a set of sciences, the main one being the study of Maliki law. However, the approach advocated is not that of a simple theoretical study of legal cases, but rather presents itself as a means for the student to come into the presence of the Prophet's person through his words and actions.[4]

After studying the Islamic sciences in West African circles of learning, Shaykh Mahy Cisse left for Egypt at the urging of his father Shaykh Ali Cisse, to further his education. He obtained an MA in Islamic Studies and Arabic Literature from the prestigious al-Azhar University, the center of Sunni Islam in the Arab world.[5]

Due to his grandfather's inherited charisma, his educational background thus mixes Islamic studies in the oral West African tradition with certificates from several Arab countries, most notably Egypt. Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse, who very early on developed relations with Egyptian sunni circles, had sought this dual legitimation.[6]

Shaykh Mahy Cisse is fluent in Wolof, Arabic and English. He also understands French and Hausa language.

Positions

Since the death of his elder brother Shaykh Hassan Cisse in 2008, Shaykh Mahy Cisse has been appointed Imam assistant to the Grand Mosque of Médina Baye, Kaolack, Senegal.

He is currently Vice President and Director of Studies of the African American Islamic Institute (AAII), an international NGO in consultative status with the ECOSOC of the United Nations,[7] founded by his older brother Shaykh Hassan Cisse.[8]

In June 2018, he was appointed official spokesman of the Fayda Tijaniyya by the Niasse family's Khalifa, Shaykh Ahmad Tijani Niasse (d. 2020).[9]

Teachings

According to Shaykh Mahy Cisse, each major Sufi master brings a new understanding of the metaphysical and legal teachings of Sunni Islam. His teachings are delivered in Wolof in Medina Baye (Senegal) and in English on various platforms.[10]

He conveys the fundamental teachings of Sufism, such as the requirement of sincerity in the path and regarding the behavior with others, respect for every living being, the necessary mistrust of the Sufi aspirant concerning his metaphysical illusions, the extinction of the self in God, the inner witnessing of divine Oneness, the extinction of the self in the person of the Prophet.[11]

Within the Fayda, spiritual education (tarbiyya) takes the form of a series of litanies that the disciple receives to accompany those he already recites as a member of the Tijaniya. The spiritual journey is frequently the result of the student spending a lot of time focusing on the specifics of the numerous experiences he has had, followed by an extended length of time working on his person and character. This education presents itself as baggage to help one better orient themselves in the challenges of daily life and those brought on by the spiritual journey later on.[12]

As Owaisi notes, the uniqueness of Shaykh Mahy Cisse's teaching is particularly apparent in his recitation of the poetry of his grandfather Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse, which is slow, melodious and humble. He seeks to convey the absolute servitude to God and the humility required by Muslims before the Prophet.[13]

Shaykh Mahy Cisse incessantly promotes a culture of peace and a tolerant Islam in all his teachings.[14]

Reception

As a result of Shaykh Mahy Cisse's efforts to forge, under the guidance of the Tijaniyya, a universal unity across cultural variety, numerous groups have emerged around him globally.[15][16]

In her doctoral dissertation defended at Harvard, Farah El Sharif places West African Sufism in the tradition of Shaykh 'Abd al-Wahhab al-Sha'rani (1491-1565)[17] and the Tariqa Muhammadiyya movement of the eighteenth century,[18] which combines the desire for a simplification of Islamic law with the search for an intimate experience of the mystical encounter with the Prophet.

Humanitarian involvement

West African Sufism has been connected to agricultural labor overseen by Sufi masters since the 18th century. Working the land allows the disciple to purify his soul while also putting himself at the service (khidma) of his master and his community. Then, the teachings of Islam are likened to the rain that falls to vivify the parched soil.[19]

If this was Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse's context (d. 1975), Shaykh Hassan Cisse (d. 2008) shifted the notion of khidma to humanitarian commitment through the creation of various NGOs serving West African and African-American populations. Shaykh Mahy Cisse has taken up his elder brother's legacy, focusing on the material, psychological and spiritual well-being of his community.

One of the functions of the African American Islamic Institute (AAII) is thus to alleviate the structural violence caused on the one hand by contemporary capitalism, which in the US establishes a racial hierarchy between human beings, and on the other hand by the economic apartheid that this same postcolonial capitalism produces between the populations of the North and the populations of the South.[20]

In 2015, Shaykh Mahy Cisse founded the NGO Alfityanu Humanitarian International (AHI), which has branches in various countries (Luxembourg, France, UK, Germany, Spain, Gambia, USA and Nigeria) and has consultative status with ECOSOC.[21] He has launched various programs contributing to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals agenda (SDG2, hunger eradication, SDG3, health and well-being, SDG4 education, SDG5 gender, SDG10 inequality, SDG17 partnerships for these goals).[22] These projects include aid for students, orphans and disabled women, support for rural populations, assistance in providing food security, medical care, donation of medicines, micro-finance and vocational training.[23]

In collaboration with other international NGOs such as "Gift of the Givers" (South Africa), IDDEF (Turkey) and Sout Ilaahi (Singapore),[24] Shaykh Mahy Cisse also organizes the distribution of meat for needy families on the occasion of Eid al-Adha in Kaolack.[25]

In 2018, he initiated the construction of a Health Center in Taiba Niassene, in the Nioro du Rip region, Senegal. It will include maternity, pediatrics and urology services on a total surface area of 1,100 m2 for an overall budget of €475,000.[26]

Shaykh Mahy Cisse's humanitarian commitment has been studied by several researchers.[27][28]

Promoting women's dignity

In October 2015, Shaykh Mahy Cisse took part in Dakar in the conference "Partnering with faith-based leaders to increase access to reproductive health services" organized by the UN (UNFPA), on the theme "The role of faith-based organizations in achieving the demographic dividend".[29]

In January 2016, he was invited by the Chad UNFPA to bring the National Assembly to vote and adopt the law prohibiting child marriage in Chad.[30]

Following the teachings of Shaykh Mahy Cisse, his disciples on different continents are working to improve the status of women. In the UK, Sukina Douglas carries out poetic exercises in English, promoting the spiritual development of women who feel socially and psychologically alienated from their grounded identities.[31][32]

In Singapore, the Sout Ilaahi association promotes the message of Shaykh Mahy Cisse in his efforts to bring material, psychological and spiritual comfort to populations in distress. In particular, the association fights domestic violence, of which many women are victims.[24] Sout Ilaahi also regularly organizes major international meetings that bring together several Sufi authorities around a chosen theme.

Publications

  • Muhammadou Mahy Aliou Cisse, The Nocturnal Journey and the Heavenly Ascension from the Divine (Fayda Books, 2016). ISBN 978-0991381319 Search this book on ..
  • Mouhamadou Mahy Cisse, Le voyage nocturne et l'ascension (AFNIL, 2021). French translation of the former. ISBN 979-1069967106 Search this book on ..

External links

References

  1. ↑ These estimates are generally based on calculations by 'Abdelaziz Benabdellah available at: https://abdelazizbenabdallah. org/tijanis.htm, as well as on the work of Abderrahmane Talib of the University of Oran and comments by Shaykh Hassan Cisse. The members participation ranges from simple appreciation of Niasse's teachings to full and active participation (spiritual practices, financial and logistical organization of local communities, social engagement, etc.
  2. ↑ Cisse, Shaykh Tidiane Ali, Knowing Allah, Living Islam, trans. Zachary Wright and Muhammad Hassiem Abdullahi, Atlanta, Fayda Books, 2014.
  3. ↑ Niasse, Ibrahim, The Removal of Confusion Concerning the Flood of the Saintly Seal Ahmad Tijani, trans. Zachary Wright, Muhtar Holland and Abdullahi Okene, Louisville, KY, Fons Vitae, 2010, Chap. VI
  4. ↑ Wright, Zachary, Living Knowledge in West African Islam, Leiden, Brill, 2015, p. 32.
  5. ↑ "Shaykh Mahy Cisse". nasrulilmamerica-blog.tumblr.com. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  6. ↑ Thurston, Alexander (23 August 2018). "Polyvalent, Transnational Religious Authority: The Tijaniyya Sufi Order and Al-Azhar University". Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 86 (3): 789–820. doi:10.1093/jaarel/lfx090.
  7. ↑ "African American Islamic Institute » Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC)".
  8. ↑ Official website of AAII. https://aaii.info/education/
  9. ↑ https://senego.com/medina-baye-cheikh-mahi-cisse-nouveau-porte-parole_712022.html (uploaded 16/06/2018 and accessed 28/05/2023)
  10. ↑ especially on the following youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@RuhulAdabGroup (accessed 05/27/2023)
  11. ↑ Ware, R., Wright, Z., Syed A., Jihad of the Pen. The Sufi Literature of West Africa, AUC Press, Cairo-NY (2018), p. 241.
  12. ↑ Cisse, Cheikh Tidiane Ali, What the Knowers of Allāh Have Said About the Knowledge of Allāh, trans. Z. Wright and Muhammad Hassiem Abdullahi, Atlanta, Fayda Books, 2014
  13. ↑ Owaisi, Fakhrudin, The Diwans of Shaykh al-Islam Ibrahim Niasse in praise of the Prophet Muhammad: an Introduction and Overview, presented at the April 2021 Conference held at Harvard University. See: https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/ousmanekane/files/updated_4.23.21_the_harvard_islam_in_africa_initiative.pdf (accessed 05/28/2023)
  14. ↑ International Conference heald at Dakar, July 2015, about the topic: La contribution de l'Islām à la diffusion continuelle de la paix: https://maqamibrahim.com/2023/05/14/le-pacifisme-dans-la-vie-et-loeuvre-de-sayẖ-al-islam-ibrahim-niasse/ (accessed 28/05/2023)
  15. ↑ Wright, Zachary, "Afropolitan Islam. The Contemporary Tijaniyya in Global Contexts", in Sedgwick, M., Piraino, F. (eds.), Global Sufism. Boundaries, Structures, and Politics, Hurst and Co, London (2019), p. 57. https://tijani.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Wright-AfropolitanSufism.pdf (accessed 28/03/2023)
  16. ↑ Kobo, Ousman Murzik, "Fayda-Tijaniyya and Islamic Reform in Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Africa", in Østebø, Terje (ed. ), Routledge Handbook of Islam in Africa, Routledge, NY (2022), p. 229. https://books.google.com/books?id=cc5JEAAAQBAJ&dq=mahy+cisse&pg=PT264 (accessed 28/03/2023)
  17. ↑ El Sharif, Farah, Kitāb al-Rimāḥ of 'Umar Fūtī Tāl: Sealing Muhammadan Sainthood in Nineteenth Century West Africa, Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. See also the blog Reading Muslims, The Rimāḥ De-Marginalized: Sealing Sainthood and Ṭarīqa Formation in 19th Century West Africa: https://readingmuslims.ca/article/the-rimah-de-marginalized/ (published 12/08/2022 and accessed 27/05/2023)
  18. ↑ Wright, Zachary, On the Path of the Prophet. Shaykh Ahmad Tijani (1737-1815) and the Tariqa Muhammadiyya, Atlanta, Fayda Books, 2015.
  19. ↑ Seesemann, Ruediger (3 May 2015). "Work Ethics among Sufis in Sub-Saharan Africa". Religions. 2015 (1). doi:10.5339/rels.2015.work.17.
  20. ↑ Rahman, Samiha (2023). "From American to Cisse: Sufism and the remaking of diasporic ties across the Atlantic". Africa. 93 (2): 201–220. doi:10.1017/S000197202300027X. Project MUSE 895729. Unknown parameter |s2cid= ignored (help)
  21. ↑ https://sdgs.un.org/partnerships/creating-sustainable-means-empower-vulnerable-rural-senegal (accessed 05/29/2023)
  22. ↑ Leal Filho, Walter; Wall, Tony; Barbir, Jelena; Alverio, Gabriela Nagle; Dinis, Maria Alzira Pimenta; Ramirez, Julianna (February 2022). "Relevance of international partnerships in the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals". Nature Communications. 13 (1): 613. Bibcode:2022NatCo..13..613L. doi:10.1038/s41467-022-28230-x. PMC 8807598 Check |pmc= value (help). PMID 35105880 Check |pmid= value (help).
  23. ↑ Official website of Alfityanu (AHI): https://en.alfityanu.org/
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Arjana, Sophia Rose "#VOICEOUT. Sufi hardcore activism in the Lion City", in Howe, Justine (ed.), The Routledge Handbook of Islam and Gender, London, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2019, chap. 18: https://books.google.com/books?id=FcFzDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22sukina+douglas%22&pg=PA189
  25. ↑ http://www.sinesaloum.info/actualite-kaolack-cheikh-mahi-cisse-offre-221-moutons-et-500-boeufs-aux-habitants-pour-la-tabaski.html (accessed 05/28/2023).
  26. ↑ Official website of the Alfityanu Medical Project (AHI): http://healthcenter.alfityanu.org
  27. ↑ Niang, Cheikh E. Abdoulaye (8 July 2021). "Globalization and Missionary Ambition in West African Islam. The Fayda after Sheikh Ibrahim Niasse". Religions. 12 (7): 515. doi:10.3390/rel12070515.
  28. ↑ De Diego González, Antonio (14 June 2016). Identidades y modelos de pensamiento en África (Thesis). pp. 281–282. hdl:11441/44303.
  29. ↑ Final report, Regional Consultation meeting with Faith Based Leaders on Reproductive Health and Demographic Dividend, p. 20: https://wcaro.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Final%20report%20FBO%20consultation.pdf
  30. ↑ See the video of the speech on the Chad UNFPA youtube channel (original speech in Arabic and dubbed in French): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41V7qgYTiCE (accessed on 27/05/2023)
  31. ↑ Huxley, Justine Afra (ed.), Generation Y, Spirituality and Social Change, London, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2019, chap. 18: https://books.google.com/books?id=FcFzDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22sukina+douglas%22&pg=PA189
  32. ↑ Sarkowsky, Katja and Stein, Mark U. (eds. ), Ideology in Postcolonial Texts and Contexts, Leiden, Brill, 2021, pp. 174-176: https://books.google.com/books?id=gWULEAAAQBAJ



This article "Mahy Cisse" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Mahy Cisse. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.


Retrieved from "https://en.everybodywiki.com/index.php?title=Mahy_Cisse&oldid=6001369"
License CC BY-SA 3.0
Powered by MediaWiki