Islamic History and Civilization in West Africa, Bilad as-Soudan

The international conference on “The History of Islamic Civilization in West Africa” was held in Niamey, Niger, on 14-15 March 2019, under the high patronage of H.E. President Issoufou Mahamadou, President of the Republic of Niger. It was organized by IRCICA and Abdou Moumouni University (UAM) of Niamey through its Institute of Research in Humanities (Institut de Recherches en Sciences Humaines, IRSH). Thirty-one papers were presented during the working sessions by scholars and researchers from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and Turkey. In highly specialized studies, they analyzed the particularities of the spread of Islam in Bilad al-Sudan, the role and place of Islam and the impact of Quranic studies and Islamic culture in the different State administartions and the lives of peoples of the region (IRCICA Newsletter nr. 108, January-April 2019). Fourteen papers of the conference have been edited published as a book, with the Preface of Prof. Dr. Halit Eren, Director General of IRCICA. The book has the General Introduction by Prof. Dr. Hamadou Adama from Ngaoundere University in Cameroon, who prepared the papers for publication together with Prof. Dr. Seyni Moumouni, Director of the IRSH. The conference was conducted in the French language; a couple of papers that were presented in Arabic will be published in a forthcoming issue of the IRCICA Journal. All articles in this book are in French. This collection of studies by authors from within and around the region is a valuable addition to history literature. It also appeals to the general reader.