Like other countries in the Maghreb and Western Africa, Mauritania has become a hub for the pull of Sufi orders that entered the land of Shinqit at the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century AD.
Due to the intersection between the principles of Sufi orders and the nature of the Bedouin society that leans towards asceticism and piety, the Sufi movements found in Mauritania a suitable space to infiltrate and thrive within the social system.
Among the many diverse Sufi schools, there is the Ghazfia order, which spread in the north and southeast of Mauritania in the 19th century.
After its influence waned and its role faded at the end of the 20th century, it has made a strong comeback in the Shinqiti arena today after President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani ruled Mauritania in 2019, as his family is considered among its sheikhs who have carried its banner for decades and in whom its succession has continued.
The Ghazfia follows the paths of asceticism in worldly life, righteous restraint, and withdrawal from people (Mauritanian press)
Origin and Spread
The Ghazfia is a branch of the Shadhili Sufi order attributed to Taqi ad-Din Abu al-Hasan Ali bin Abdullah bin Abdul Jabbar al-Shadhili. The Shadhili order entered Mauritania at an early stage after its spread in Morocco.
Dr. Mukhtar Mohamed Fadel, Dean of the College of Religion’s Fundamentals at the University of Islamic Sciences in Laayoune, known as “Dah Ould Hamid,” says that the early beginnings of Shadhili’s presence in Mauritania were with Mohamed bin Sidi Yahya al-Qalaqmi, who received it from Abu al-Abbas Ahmed bin Ahmed, known as “Zarruq.”
Initially, the Shadhili order was an elitist order spread among the notable scholars and dignitaries who were not seeking disciples and followers.
Dean Dah Ould Hamid added to Al Jazeera Net that the Shadhili order saw a decline after the spread of the Qadiri order. However, when Sheikh Mohamed al-Aghzaf bin Hamahallah bin Salem al-Dawoodi, who died in 1803, took it over, it flourished with him until it became known as “the Ghazfia order,” named after Sheikh Mohamed al-Aghzaf, and it emanated from the reality of Mauritanian society, in accordance with its peculiarities.
The Ghazfia spread in Mauritania in the 19th and early 20th centuries and expanded within the eastern Mauritanian region of Houdh, eventually reaching the Adrar areas in the north.
During Sheikh Mukhtar bin Talib Amr bin Nuh al-Bassadi’s pilgrimage to Mecca through Libya and his settlement for a while in the Fezzan region, a number of men of science and jihad in Libya took it from him.
The order continued to spread in Turkey with Sheikh Mohamed Amin Ould Zeini al-Qalaqmi al-Shinqiti, who emigrated from Mauritania after World War I and settled in Eastern Turkey, where he kept the company of leaders of the Ottoman state.
The Shadhili Ghazfia Order (Mauritanian press)
Characteristics of the Ghazfia
As a branch of the Shadhili order, the Ghazfia practices the paths of asceticism in worldly life, righteous restraint, withdrawal from people, and self-discipline by avoiding desires and pleasures, adhering to acts of obedience and good deeds.
Dean Dah Ould Hamid told Al Jazeera Net that the Ghazfia distinguished itself by practising asceticism, wearing patched clothes, abstaining from worldly adornments, self-discipline, perseverance under hardships, austerity, frequent supplications and preaching, and raising the banner of jihad against colonial power.
The followers of the order in Mauritania were advocates of resisting the French colonizer, participating in jihad operations against it, and organizing mass migrations from Shinqit after the French took control of their regions.
The movement is characterized by its asceticism, simplicity, unyielding devotion to the sheikh, whereby the disciple adheres to all the teachings of his sheikh, the revival of the spirit of jihad, the sacrifice of self in the defense of religion, and commitment to the liturgies and remembrances attributed to the sheikh.
Notable Figures
The Ghazfia has included many distinguished Mauritanian figures, starting with the founder Sheikh Mohamed al-Aghzaf al-Dawoodi (d. 1803), Sheikh Mohamed Amin bin Zein al-Qalaqmi, and Sheikh Ghazouani (d. 1966).
Currently, among its most prominent figures is the Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, who is expected to succeed in leading the order, as his family has inherited the leadership of the path for various periods.
Many disciples and followers are associated with this movement, including Sheikh Abdullah Ould Bayyah, whose father was also a follower.
This book stirred controversy among the educated elite in Mauritania (Al Jazeera)
Controversy Around It
Since its early spread in the Shinqiti country, the order has been widely denied by a number of scholars such as Sheikh Mohamed Yahya al-Walati and Sheikh Mohamed Amin Ould Ahmed Zidane al-Jakni, who died in 1916, and many other scholars who vehemently opposed it.
This led to the then-Amir in the eastern Mauritanian region, Ali bin Mohamed Mahmoud Lamheimid, convening a council to try its sheikhs and later allowing them to practice their rituals and spread their doctrine.
Following the election of the Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani in 2019, several researchers called for the history of the order, reviving its role, and restoring its stature, previously unknown to many Mauritanians.
In 2021, a group of researchers published a book titled “The Shadhili Ghazfia Order: Guidance, Support, and Jihad”.
Sheikh Abdullah Ould Bayyah, a former minister in the government of Mokhtar Ould Daddah, provided the foreword to the book.
Stir
The book caused a stir among Mauritania’s intellectual elite, with some considering it a pandering to the ruling president and an attempt to use the president’s authority to promote the order, whose leadership has been inherited by his ancestors.
In response to the new establishment of the order and its affiliation, Islamist leader Mohamed Ghoulam al-Haj Cheikh wrote, “If the President of the Republic remains silent on these initiatives, then affiliation to the order will be like affiliation to the ruling party, from which politicians withdraw as soon as the president leaves the palace.”
In recent years, the activity of the Ghazfia order has increased with articles written and books authored about it, symposiums and seminars organized, with the latest being a scientific symposium held in the Eastern Houdh state in March 2022, titled “The Shadhili Ghazfia Order: A Model for the Ideal City,” which was attended by political and scholarly figures from various Mauritanian regions.
