The Rope Maker of Mali

Through the life of an ordinary Muslim, examines the way that Muslims in Mali use the concept of baraji, or "divine reward," as a profound but unexplored framework for understanding Islam and Indigenous religion in daily life in West Africa. To understand the various ways through which Muslims in West Africa seek to acquire baraji, generally understood as the merit needed to enter Paradise and acquired through an array of ethical acts, the book draws on archival and ethnographic research to narrate the life of Amadou Diallo, an elderly Fulbe man living in the town of Ouélessébougou in southwestern Mali. It recounts Amadou's own understandings of the importance of and methods for earning religious merit, showing how they change with age and circumstance and how closely its accumulation reflects one's life trajectory. Revealing the embeddedness of Islamic merit in West African life cycles, the book argues that paying attention to the concept offers previously undocumented insights into religious life in the region. Throughout, it argues that the deeply individual beliefs and practices that make up any religion cannot truly be understood beyond the contexts of individual lives.