ABSTRACT

An important body of scholarship has explored the salience of Sufism (‘mystical Islam’) in Senegal. Approaches have emphasized its social and political dimensions, while little attention has been devoted to the symbolic yet important role of Sufi-affiliated pop musicians, especially mbàllax singers, in the grassroots negotiation of faith and religious tolerance in the country. Using the documentary, Youssou N’dour: I Bring What I Love (US, 2008), and observation, the study examines what it calls ‘cultural friction’, here a metaphor for the transient conflicts emerging as classically oriented Sufi Muslims condemn and protest against the encroachment of “obscene” practices on religious spaces and symbols. The study approaches the film as a music documentary following N’dour during and after the making of his Grammy-winning yet controversial album released in Senegal as Sant Yalla (‘God Be Praised’, 2003) and internationally as Egypt (2004). It analyzes cultural friction as part of a Senegalese artistic modernization, but also as a contemporary phenomenon speaking to the historical role of the Wolof ‘griot’ (bard) in the peaceful appropriation of Islam. Finally, the study portrays N’dour as a pop singer whose liberal Sufi perspective on music promotes his legitimacy to perform in the Islamic religious space as well.

摘要

一个重要的学术机构探索了塞内加尔的苏菲派（“伊斯兰伊斯兰教”）的重要性。各种方法都强调了其社会和政治方面的意义，而很少有人关注苏菲派隶属的流行音乐人，特别是姆巴拉克斯歌手，在该国基层的信仰和宗教容忍谈判中的象征性但重要的作用。使用纪录片《Youssou N'dour：我带来我的爱》（美国，2008年）和观察，该研究考察了所谓的“文化摩擦”，这里是隐喻的短暂冲突，因为以古典为导向的苏菲派穆斯林谴责并抗议宗教场所和符号上“淫秽”行为的侵犯。这项研究是在N'dour在塞内加尔以Sant Yalla（'God ​​Be Praised'，2003年）和国际上以埃及身份发行的格莱美奖获奖专辑（但仍颇有争议）之后以及之后制作音乐记录片的。（2004）。它分析文化摩擦是塞内加尔艺术现代化的一部分，也是一种当代现象，它谈到了沃洛夫“吟游诗人”（吟游诗人）（巴德）在和平占用伊斯兰教中的历史作用。最后，该研究将N'dour描绘为流行歌手，他的苏菲派自由主义音乐观点也促进了他在伊斯兰宗教空间演出的合法性。