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

by Jean Boyd and Beverly Mack

Book Overview

" . . . a most welcome addition to the body of scholarship on the Sokoto Jihad and Caliphate." --Religious Studies Review

The fascinating life and times of Nana Asma'u (1793 - 1864), a West African woman who was a Muslim scholar and poet. As the daughter of the spiritual and political leader of the Sokoto community, Asma'u was a role model and teacher for other Muslim women as well as a scholar of Islam and a key advisor to her father as...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0253213983
• ISBN13: 9780253213983
• Release Date: May 2000
• Publisher: Indiana University Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

An important book in Islamic scholarship

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.