Customer Reviews

One Woman's Jihad: Nana Asma'u, Scholar and Scribe

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This is a realy important book and it is a shame that it is so overlooked. Nana Asma'u was the daughter of Sheikh Usuman dan Fodio, scholar and warrior and sister of the Caliph Muhammad Bello. This book not only describes the Islamic community that thrived in West Africa under Muhammad Bello but also the importance given to education especially the education of women.

In this Nana Asma'u played an especially important role she not only being sister to the Caliph but an important Islamic scholar in her own right. This book details the methodolay used by the Muslim community of West Africa in education and how Islam was spread by educated Muslim women such as Nana Asmau.

This book is a valuable read and one I would recomend to anyone who had an interest in either Islam/Sufism or African history.

Here is the historical, spiritual, and literary portrait of a remarkable 19th-century African Muslim woman. The daughter of the spiritual and political leader of the Sokoto community (Usman Dan Fodio), Nana Asma'u (1793-1864) was a poet, teacher, and role model for Muslim women. She was a scholar of Islam and a key adviser to her father as he struggled to bring Islam to the population of what is now northwestern Nigeria. Her poetry is familiar to Hausa Muslims today, attesting to the power and continued relevance of her convictions and achievements.

Teachers/Librarians: 9th-adult, Social Studies/Humanities