{ "version": 1, "dataset": "communications", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/api/communications.json", "count": 80, "items": [ { "id": "beyond-keywords-entity-linking-cikm-2026", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/beyond-keywords-entity-linking-cikm-2026", "type": "conference", "title": "Beyond Keywords: Training-Free Entity Linking for Multilingual Research Metadata", "authors": [ "Jiayu Yang", "Durgesh Nandini", "Mirco Schönfeld", "Frédérick Madore", "Neeraj Thandayan Viswajith", "Oliver Baumann" ], "date": "9 November 2026", "dateISO": "2026-11-09", "year": 2026, "language": "English", "abstract": "Research databases accumulate rich metadata, including subject keywords, themes, geographic and cultural references, but much of this data remains largely isolated, making it difficult to retrieve and reuse across different databases. The key problem is semantic grounding: without stable identifiers, multiple databases describing the same cultural practice or geographic region have no way to know it, even if there is a semantic overlap in the underlying subjects.\n\nWe present CAREL (Context-Aware Routing for Entity Linking), a training-free, cost-efficient pipeline that links research metadata keywords to Wikidata QIDs. These stable identifiers are the basis for semantically grounded cross-database search and, in the longer term, knowledge graph construction. CAREL processes heterogeneous keywords through a four-layer cascade. The first three layers rely entirely on rule-based processing and statistical signals, including a novel Cross-lingual Retrieval Consensus (CRC) signal that exploits rank-distribution agreement across language-specific API queries as a proxy for linking confidence, without requiring annotated data. Only genuinely ambiguous keywords are routed to the final layer, where locally deployed open-source LLMs reason agentically via tool use. This cost-aware design keeps inference costs compatible with modest institutional GPU resources.\n\nWe evaluate the pipeline on a benchmark constructed from our multilingual African studies research metadata, a domain characterised by culturally embedded concepts and significant cross-institutional vocabulary variation. We deploy locally hosted open-source LLMs to assess whether such LLMs can support the task without relying on commercial APIs. This matters for research data that should not be sent to external services. CAREL achieves an end-to-end linking accuracy of 89.8% with Gemma-4-31B-it (92.1% on resolvable entities).", "conference": "35th International ACM Conference on Knowledge and Information Management (CIKM 2026)", "location": "Auditorium Parco della Musica, Rome", "country": "Italy", "coordinates": { "latitude": 41.9289, "longitude": 12.4739 }, "tags": [ "Entity Linking", "Named Entity Recognition", "Wikidata", "Metadata", "Knowledge Graph", "Large Language Models", "Multilingualism", "AMIRA", "Africa Multiple" ], "project": "Digital Research Environment (University of Bayreuth)", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/cikm-2026.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/cikm-2026-hero.webp", "alt": "Logo of CIKM 2026 in Rome: the Colosseum, Trajan’s Column and the shell of the Auditorium Parco della Musica stand side by side beneath an arc of network nodes and edges in the green, white and red of the Italian flag, with the wordmark “CIKM 2026” set below in heavy black capitals." }, "links": [ { "label": "Conference Website", "url": "https://cikm2026.diag.uniroma1.it/" } ] }, { "id": "beyond-keywords-entity-linking-jcdl-2026", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/beyond-keywords-entity-linking-jcdl-2026", "type": "conference", "title": "Beyond Keywords: Training-Free Entity Linking for Research Metadata via Cross-Lingual Retrieval Consensus", "authors": [ "Jiayu Yang", "Durgesh Nandini", "Frédérick Madore", "Oliver Baumann", "Neeraj Thandayan Viswajith", "Mirco Schönfeld" ], "date": "15 October 2026", "dateISO": "2026-10-15", "year": 2026, "language": "English", "conference": "ACM/IEEE Joint Conference on Digital Libraries (JCDL 2026)", "panelTitle": "Text and Language Processing", "location": "Embassy Suites by Hilton Dallas Frisco Hotel & Convention Center, Frisco, Texas", "country": "United States", "coordinates": { "latitude": 33.1003, "longitude": -96.8213 }, "tags": [ "Entity Linking", "Wikidata", "Metadata", "Large Language Models", "Multilingualism", "Digital Libraries", "AMIRA", "Africa Multiple" ], "project": "Digital Research Environment (University of Bayreuth)", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/jcdl-2026.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/jcdl-2026.webp", "alt": "Logo of ACM/IEEE JCDL 2026: a white line drawing of the Dallas skyline, its towers joined by network nodes and edges and trailed by strings of binary digits, above the words “ACM/IEEE JCDL 2026” on a dark ground." }, "links": [ { "label": "Conference Programme", "url": "https://2026.jcdl.org/program/#s=thu-p12" } ] }, { "id": "responsible-ai-access-mcp-server-2026", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/responsible-ai-access-mcp-server-2026", "type": "poster", "title": "Responsible AI Access to Research Repositories: An MCP Server for African Studies Data", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore", "Oliver Baumann", "Durgesh Nandini", "Neeraj Thandayan Viswajith", "Jiayu Yang", "Mirco Schönfeld" ], "date": "25 September 2026", "dateISO": "2026-09-25", "year": 2026, "language": "English", "abstract": "As large language models (LLMs) increasingly mediate access to digital repositories, institutions face a choice between blocking AI access entirely and surrendering their data to unrestricted extraction. We argue for a third position, mediated openness, and demonstrate it through an open-source Model Context Protocol (MCP) server built for the Africa Multiple Interactive Research Atlas (AMIRA), the multilingual research-data platform for African studies developed within the “Africa Multiple” Cluster of Excellence. The server lets conversational AI assistants query AMIRA’s metadata on the institution’s own terms: read-only, provenance-preserving, and governed by the underlying data reconciliation infrastructure rather than by model inference. Twenty-six tools cover structured search, record retrieval, full-text and transcript search, and relational discovery; the signature tool, FindRelated, operationalises co-occurrence across people, places, subjects, projects and formats, turning a static metadata graph into something an LLM can reason over responsibly. We evaluate the system along the two axes most relevant to trustworthy AI-mediated research access: response stability and source fidelity across repeated sessions. Identical queries posed in independent sessions returned identical, correctly ordered result sets, and even a misspelled query was resolved correctly rather than producing a fabricated answer. MCP does not resolve the political economy of AI data extraction, but it offers institutions a concrete, sovereignty-preserving architecture that keeps governance, provenance and epistemic authority with the data holder rather than the model.", "conference": "AI Day 2026, Research Center for AI in Science and Society (RAIS²)", "location": "University of Bayreuth", "country": "Germany", "coordinates": { "latitude": 49.9427, "longitude": 11.5674 }, "tags": [ "MCP", "AMIRA", "Africa Multiple", "Large Language Models", "AI", "Data Sovereignty", "Metadata", "Digital Humanities", "African Studies" ], "project": "Digital Research Environment (University of Bayreuth)", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/ubt-ai-day-2026-logo.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/ubt-ai-day-2026-logo.webp", "alt": "Logo of UBT AI Day 26, the University of Bayreuth’s AI Day: the letters set in a geometric sans over two lines, “UBT AI” above “DAY”, with the AI and the A of DAY picked out in green and the year 26 stacked sideways at the right." }, "poster": { "pdf": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/files/responsible-ai-access-mcp-server-2026-poster.pdf", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/responsible-ai-access-mcp-server-2026-poster.webp", "alt": "The poster, a portrait sheet set in black and green on white under the RAIS², University of Bayreuth and UBT AI Day logos. Two columns of text sections flank a flow diagram of how AMIRA mediates each tool call, from researcher to AI assistant to the AMIRA MCP server and the AMIRA / Omeka S repository. Below are a radial graph of what co-occurs with Islam, drawn with FindRelated, a table of evaluation results across four queries, and two QR codes for exploring AMIRA and installing the server.", "caption": "Poster as presented, A0 portrait (841 × 1189 mm)" }, "links": [ { "label": "Event Website", "url": "https://www.rais2.uni-bayreuth.de/en/events/ai_day_2026/index.html" }, { "label": "Poster", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/files/responsible-ai-access-mcp-server-2026-poster.pdf" } ] }, { "id": "serveurs-mcp-glam-africains-stias-2026", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/serveurs-mcp-glam-africains-stias-2026", "type": "workshop", "title": "Les serveurs MCP pour les GLAM africains : une voie d'avenir à l'ère de l'IA ?", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "23 September 2026", "dateISO": "2026-09-23", "year": 2026, "language": "French", "abstract": "Depuis trois ans, les collections numériques ouvertes des galeries, bibliothèques, archives et musées (les « GLAM ») subissent une double pression. Des robots les moissonnent pour entraîner des modèles d'IA commerciaux tandis que le public délaisse de plus en plus la recherche par mots-clés et par facettes sur les sites et les bases de données au profit des chatbots.\n\nCette communication présente une troisième voie à partir de deux serveurs Model Context Protocol (MCP), norme ouverte qui expose des outils à tout assistant IA sans céder les données. Le premier dessert la Collection Islam Afrique de l'Ouest (CIAO), près de 15 000 documents. Le second dessert l'Africa Multiple Interactive Research Atlas (AMIRA), la plateforme du Cluster Africa Multiple de l'Université de Bayreuth, et ses quelque 4 000 items (données de recherche, publications, podcasts et vidéos YouTube).\n\nAu-delà de la recherche, ces outils exposent la structure de la base de données : vocabulaires de sujets, de lieux et de personnes, agrégats qui décrivent un ensemble entier, outils relationnels qui remontent depuis une entité tout ce qui lui est associé. Plusieurs d'entre eux peuvent s'afficher sous forme de graphiques. L'assistant IA saisit ainsi l'organisation de la collection et répond de façon contextualisée. Chaque résultat porte le lien vers sa notice ce qui limite fortement les hallucinations et les réponses génériques.\n\nReste la question que l'atelier doit poser. Une telle médiation protège-t-elle la souveraineté des collections africaines ou déplace-t-elle la dépendance vers quelques fournisseurs de modèles ?", "conference": "Humanités numériques et intelligence artificielle en études africaines : vers des pratiques durables et équitables", "location": "Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS), Stellenbosch", "country": "South Africa", "coordinates": { "latitude": -33.9321, "longitude": 18.8602 }, "tags": [ "MCP", "AI", "Digital Humanities", "GLAM", "IWAC", "AMIRA", "Data Sovereignty", "Archives", "STIAS" ], "project": "Digital Humanities and AI in African Studies", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/point-sud-logo.svg", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/point-sud-logo.svg", "alt": "DFG Point Sud programme logo" }, "links": [ { "label": "Workshop Website", "url": "https://fmadore.github.io/stias-dh-ai-workshop-2026/" }, { "label": "Slides", "url": "https://slides.frederickmadore.com/talks/2026-09-23-stellenbosch-mcp-glam-africains/" } ] }, { "id": "stias-dh-ai-african-studies-workshop-2026", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/stias-dh-ai-african-studies-workshop-2026", "type": "event", "title": "Digital Humanities and Artificial Intelligence in African Studies: Towards Sustainable and Equitable Practices", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore", "Vincent Hiribarren", "Emmanuel Ngue Um", "Menno van Zaanen" ], "date": "21-24 September 2026", "dateISO": "2026-09-21", "year": 2026, "language": [ "English", "French" ], "abstract": "The integration of digital humanities (DH) and artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the production of knowledge in African Studies, offering new opportunities for innovative analysis, dynamic visualisation and cross-cultural research. This shift has the potential to reimagine cultural heritage, widen access to diverse narratives, and amplify marginalised voices. However, it also raises urgent questions regarding equitable access, the representation of African languages, and the suitability of methodologies. In order to navigate this rapidly evolving landscape and influence the future of the field, a targeted scoping exercise is crucial.\n\nThe workshop, \"Digital Humanities and Artificial Intelligence in African Studies: Towards Sustainable and Equitable Practices\", will address these developments. While recent initiatives on digital sovereignty in Africa have centred on policy, regulation, and digital rights, this workshop shifts attention to methodological practice. It asks how DH methods and AI transform research in African Studies, and how we can design, evaluate, and sustain these methods under African conditions. We move from governance about AI to practice with AI. Researchers across the continent already prototype multilingual, multimodal, and community-responsive workflows that change how we study African languages, texts, material culture, and place. To address these transformations systematically, our discussions are organised around three interconnected thematic axes that capture both technical innovations and epistemic shifts.\n\nTransforming Research Methods through AI and Digital Tools in African Studies: This axis asks a fundamental question: how are AI and DH methods changing the study of African cultures, languages, and histories? Participants will present concrete uses of AI to analyse multilingual texts, employ computer vision to study visual culture and historical artefacts, and develop digital mapping to trace cultural movements and connections. We will evaluate what works for different kinds of African cultural materials, identify adaptations required for local contexts, and specify where computational approaches can complement—rather than replace—interpretive scholarship. The goal is clear: practical guidance for integrating these methods while preserving the interpretive richness that defines the humanities.\n\nBuilding Sustainable Research Infrastructures from African Perspectives: Moving beyond policy discourse, this axis asks what it takes to build and sustain digital research capacity within African institutions and communities. We will examine practical obstacles—limited connectivity, unstable funding, and scarce training data for local languages—and showcase South–South collaboration models that have navigated these constraints. Participants will share strategies for developing tools that utilise available resources rather than assuming high-end infrastructure. Key questions include how to keep research outputs accessible to the communities being studied, how to train the next generation of African DH scholars, and how to secure sustainable funding that does not depend solely on institutions in the Global North. The focus is on concrete, scalable approaches to durable capacity.\n\nCentring African Knowledge Systems in Digital Research Design: This axis poses a methodological challenge: how can digital research tools respect and incorporate African ways of knowing? Rather than retrofitting existing techniques to African materials, we explore how African epistemologies can shape the tools themselves. Case studies will show community knowledge informing database structures, oral traditions testing text-centred analytical frameworks, and local classification systems improving standard metadata schemas. We will consider protocols for culturally sensitive materials, interface design that does not privilege European languages, and criteria to ensure that AI systems trained on African data primarily serve African research needs. Here, decolonisation moves from critique to construction.", "conference": "Digital Humanities and Artificial Intelligence in African Studies: Towards Sustainable and Equitable Practices", "location": "Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS), Stellenbosch", "country": "South Africa", "coordinates": { "latitude": -33.9321, "longitude": 18.8602 }, "participants": [ { "name": "Frédérick Madore", "role": "Organiser", "affiliation": "University of Bayreuth" }, { "name": "Vincent Hiribarren", "personId": "vincent-hiribarren", "role": "Organiser", "affiliation": "King's College London" }, { "name": "Emmanuel Ngue Um", "personId": "emmanuel-ngue-um", "role": "Organiser", "affiliation": "University of Yaoundé 1" }, { "name": "Menno van Zaanen", "personId": "menno-van-zaanen", "role": "Organiser", "affiliation": "South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR)" }, { "name": "Aminata Kane", "personId": "aminata-kane", "affiliation": "Cheikh Anta Diop University" }, { "name": "Augustin Ndione", "personId": "augustin-ndione", "affiliation": "Cheikh Anta Diop University" }, { "name": "Augustine A. Farinola", "personId": "augustine-a-farinola", "affiliation": "University of Alberta" }, { "name": "Benito Trollip", "personId": "benito-trollip", "affiliation": "South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR)" }, { "name": "Bruno Allahissem", "personId": "bruno-allahissem", "affiliation": "Leiden University" }, { "name": "Christine Mataranyika", "personId": "christine-mataranyika", "affiliation": "University of the Witwatersrand" }, { "name": "Durgesh Nandini", "personId": "durgesh-nandini", "affiliation": "University of Bayreuth" }, { "name": "Eliette Ngo Tjomb Assembe", "personId": "eliette-ngo-tjomb-assembe", "affiliation": "University of Yaoundé 1" }, { "name": "Evelyne Amana", "personId": "evelyne-amana", "affiliation": "University of Yaoundé I" }, { "name": "Falimatou Pemgbou", "personId": "falimatou-pemgbou", "affiliation": "University of Ebolowa" }, { "name": "Friederike Lüpke", "personId": "friederike-lupke", "affiliation": "University of Helsinki" }, { "name": "Hammed Olalekan Lawal", "personId": "hammed-olalekan-lawal", "affiliation": "University of Bayreuth" }, { "name": "Iginio Gagliardone", "personId": "iginio-gagliardone", "affiliation": "University of the Witwatersrand" }, { "name": "Jelena Prokic", "personId": "jelena-prokic", "affiliation": "Leiden University" }, { "name": "Jiayu Yang", "personId": "jiayu-yang", "affiliation": "University of Bayreuth" }, { "name": "John Oluwafemi Daniel", "personId": "john-oluwafemi-daniel", "affiliation": "University of Ibadan" }, { "name": "Jules Mansaly", "personId": "jules-mansaly", "affiliation": "University of the Gambia" }, { "name": "Karabo Mohapeloa", "personId": "karabo-mohapeloa", "affiliation": "University of the Witwatersrand" }, { "name": "Khaoula Stiti", "personId": "khaoula-stiti", "affiliation": "Unaffiliated scholar" }, { "name": "Lauren Coetzee", "personId": "lauren-coetzee", "affiliation": "University of Luxembourg" }, { "name": "Leonard Kibet Kirui", "personId": "leonard-kibet-kirui", "affiliation": "Moi University" }, { "name": "Luca Bruls", "personId": "luca-bruls", "affiliation": "Leiden University" }, { "name": "Lydia Kila Taban", "personId": "lydia-kila-taban", "affiliation": "Masakhane" }, { "name": "Matthew Sung", "personId": "matthew-sung", "affiliation": "Leiden University" }, { "name": "Max Milella", "personId": "max-milella", "affiliation": "University of the Witwatersrand" }, { "name": "Mirjam de Bruijn", "personId": "mirjam-de-bruijn", "affiliation": "Leiden University" }, { "name": "Mohamadou Konaté", "personId": "mohamadou-konate", "affiliation": "Joseph Ki-Zerbo University" }, { "name": "Oreen Yousuf", "personId": "oreen-yousuf", "affiliation": "Uppsala University" }, { "name": "Rachel Maina", "personId": "rachel-maina", "affiliation": "University of Wisconsin–Madison" }, { "name": "Sanjin Muftić", "personId": "sanjin-muftic", "affiliation": "University of Cape Town Libraries" }, { "name": "Sarah Oberbichler", "personId": "sarah-oberbichler", "affiliation": "University of Luxembourg" }, { "name": "Tajuddeen Gwadabe", "personId": "tajuddeen-gwadabe", "affiliation": "Masakhane" } ], "tags": [ "Digital Humanities", "AI", "African Studies", "Sustainability", "Equity", "Workshop", "STIAS" ], "project": "Digital Humanities and AI in African Studies", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/point-sud-logo.svg", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/point-sud-logo.svg", "alt": "DFG Point Sud programme logo" }, "links": [ { "label": "Workshop Website", "url": "https://fmadore.github.io/stias-dh-ai-workshop-2026/" } ] }, { "id": "ai-africa-symposium-kansas-2026", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/ai-africa-symposium-kansas-2026", "type": "lecture", "title": "University of Kansas AI and Africa Symposium", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "17 September 2026", "dateISO": "2026-09-17", "year": 2026, "language": "English", "abstract": "Building upon our 2026 Connecting Codes Conference in Nairobi and previous African DH symposia, this virtual event features panels dedicated to African history and literature. Speakers will examine how AI systems and discourses shape scholarly production, emphasizing the contributions of active developers, writers, and scholars in the field. The discussions will highlight how AI methodologies and tools invigorate digital humanities research within African studies, reinforcing our commitment to critical and postcolonial approaches to digital technologies at the University of Kansas.", "conference": "AI and Africa Symposium", "panelTitle": "Panel I: African History", "location": "University of Kansas, Lawrence", "country": "United States", "coordinates": { "latitude": 38.9543, "longitude": -95.2558 }, "participants": [ { "name": "Rahina Muazu", "personId": "rahina-muazu", "role": "Moderator, Panel I: African History" }, { "name": "Frédérick Madore", "role": "Panellist, Panel I: African History", "affiliation": "University of Bayreuth" }, { "name": "Karen Ijumba", "personId": "karen-byera-ijumba", "role": "Panellist, Panel I: African History", "affiliation": "Open Restitution" }, { "name": "Fu’ad Lawal", "personId": "fuad-lawal", "role": "Panellist, Panel I: African History", "affiliation": "Founder, Archivi.ng" }, { "name": "Martha Ndakalako", "personId": "martha-ndakalako", "role": "Moderator, Panel II: African Writers Discuss AI" }, { "name": "Mubanga Kalimamukwento", "personId": "mubanga-kalimamukwento", "role": "Panellist, Panel II: African Writers Discuss AI", "affiliation": "Author of The Shipikisha Club" }, { "name": "Ukamaka Olisakwe", "personId": "ukamaka-olisakwe", "role": "Panellist, Panel II: African Writers Discuss AI", "affiliation": "Author of Don’t Answer When They Call Your Name" }, { "name": "Munyao Kilolo", "personId": "munyao-kilolo", "role": "Panellist, Panel II: African Writers Discuss AI", "affiliation": "Translator and Editor at Ituĩka" } ], "tags": [ "AI", "Digital Humanities", "African Studies", "African History", "African Literature", "Archives" ], "project": "Digital Humanities and AI in African Studies", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/ai-africa-symposium-kansas-2026.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/ai-africa-symposium-kansas-2026-hero.webp", "alt": "Flyer for the AI and Africa Symposium, held on Zoom on 17 September 2026 from 10am to 1pm, organised by AAAS | KASC and African Digital Humanities at the University of Kansas. Panel I: African History with Frédérick Madore, Karen Ijumba and Fu’ad Lawal, moderated by Dr. Rahina Muazu. Panel II: African Writers Discuss AI with Mubanga Kalimamukwento, Ukamaka Olisakwe and Munyao Kilolo, moderated by Dr. Martha Ndakalako." }, "links": [ { "label": "Event Website", "url": "https://calendar.ku.edu/event/ai-and-africa-symposium" }, { "label": "Slides", "url": "https://slides.frederickmadore.com/talks/2026-09-17-kansas-ai-and-the-work-of/" } ] }, { "id": "reconfiguring-archive-amira-2026", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/reconfiguring-archive-amira-2026", "type": "conference", "title": "Reconfiguring the Archive: Relationality and Discovery in the Africa Multiple Interactive Research Atlas (AMIRA)", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "1 July 2026", "dateISO": "2026-07-01", "year": 2026, "language": "English", "abstract": "The Africa Multiple Interactive Research Atlas (AMIRA, https://data.africamultiple.uni-bayreuth.de/) is the public access point for the research (meta)data of the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bayreuth (Germany). Built on Omeka S by the Cluster's Digital Research Environment (DRE), it brings together nearly 4,000 research items, more than 90 projects, some 1,600 people, and close to 600 organisations across 39 countries and 28 languages. The collections come from the five Africa Multiple Research Centres — University of Bayreuth, University Joseph Ki-Zerbo, University of Lagos, Moi University, and Rhodes University — and their partners. Curation is shared: each centre describes the data it knows best, while Bayreuth maintains a metadata layer that points to data held locally rather than relocating it, following the FAIR and CARE principles.\n\nThis paper presents AMIRA as a case study in what it means to reimagine a digital collection built on relationality. Rather than discrete records, the atlas foregrounds connections between entities: knowledge graphs linking people, projects, places, and publications; collaboration networks; and \"discursive communities\" that cluster the subjects co-occurring across the collections. These views are designed to surface discoveries that no single catalogue record makes visible.\n\nThese ambitions also expose where the work is hardest. An atlas built on relationality depends on metadata that researchers often supply sparingly, subject description most of all: where terms exist, they tend to derive from Library of Congress Subject Headings, a vocabulary often poorly suited to African sources and knowledge systems. Here our thinking is still exploratory: drawing on Wikidata, and creating the African entities and concepts it lacks. Connections and keywords alike raise one question: who holds authority over how knowledge is described, and therefore found. In an era of contested truth, that is what reimagining the archive must confront.", "conference": "Reimagining the Archive in the Post-Truth Era: An International Interdisciplinary Conference", "location": "Cory Library for Historical Research, Makhanda", "country": "South Africa", "coordinates": { "latitude": -33.3131, "longitude": 26.5194 }, "tags": [ "AMIRA", "Africa Multiple", "Digital Humanities", "Archives", "Metadata", "Linked Data", "Wikidata", "Omeka S" ], "project": "Digital Research Environment (University of Bayreuth)", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/reconfiguring-archive-amira-2026.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/reconfiguring-archive-amira-2026.webp", "alt": "Vintage-style cover of the programme for the conference 'Reimagining the Archive in the Post-Truth Era: An International Interdisciplinary Conference,' hosted by Cory Library & Archives at Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa, from 29 June to 2 July 2026. The aged-paper design features ornamental borders and antique pointing-hand engravings, with the Rhodes University crest at top left and the International Library of African Music (ILAM) logo at top right." }, "links": [ { "label": "Conference Website", "url": "https://ru.za.libguides.com/ilamcoryconf" }, { "label": "Slides", "url": "https://slides.frederickmadore.com/talks/2026-07-01-rhodes-reconfiguring-archive/" } ] }, { "id": "humanites-numeriques-dh-ia-etudes-africaines-reaf-2026", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/humanites-numeriques-dh-ia-etudes-africaines-reaf-2026", "type": "panel", "title": "Humanités numériques (DH) et IA dans les études africaines", "authors": [ "Vincent Hiribarren", "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "30 juin 2026", "dateISO": "2026-06-30", "year": 2026, "language": "French", "abstract": "Alors que le « tournant numérique » dans les études africaines prend de l'ampleur, ce panel explore le potentiel de transformation et les défis critiques des humanités numériques (DH) et de l'intelligence artificielle (IA) dans ce domaine. Nous examinons leur impact sur la production, la diffusion et l'interprétation des connaissances sur l'Afrique, en abordant tout particulièrement l'anglocentrisme persistant et la « fracture numérique ».\n\nNous invitons les auteurs à présenter des applications innovantes des méthodes numériques dans les études africaines. \n\nLes sujets peuvent inclure :\n\n1.\tInnovations méthodologiques\n\n- Approches numériques pour explorer les appartenances africaines, afropolitaines et afropéennes à travers l'analyse textuelle et visuelle;\n- Analyse par l'IA de contenus africains numérisés (par exemple, traitement du langage naturel, reconnaissance des entités nommées);\n- Enseignement de l'histoire africaine à l'aide d'outils numériques.\n\n2.\tPerspectives critiques\n\n- Aborder l'« impérialisme numérique » (Breckenridge 2014) et le « complexe du sauveur numérique » (Shringarpure 2020) en relation avec la positionalité et la construction des connaissances;\n- Considérations éthiques dans l'application des méthodes de DH à des contextes culturellement sensibles.\n\n3.\tProduction et diffusion des connaissances\n\n- Plates-formes numériques pour la production de connaissances alternatives et publiques axée sur les perspectives africaines;\n- Stratégies pour surmonter la numérisation sélective et les hiérarchies coloniales dans l'archivage numérique;\n- Projets numériques collaboratifs transnationaux et transcontinentaux qui remettent en question les paradigmes établis dans le Nord.\n\nCe panel organisé par Frédérick Madore et Vincent Hiribarren fait suite à la réflexion entamée a l'ECAS2025. Il vise à présenter des recherches transdisciplinaires de pointe dans le monde francophone qui utilisent des méthodes numériques pour explorer les complexités des réalités, des identités et des systèmes de connaissance africains. En encourageant le dialogue sur le potentiel et les pièges des approches numériques, nous souhaitons contribuer à un paysage numérique plus inclusif, plus diversifié et plus critique dans les études africaines.", "conference": "9èmes Rencontres des études africaines en France (REAF)", "location": "Paris", "country": "France", "coordinates": { "latitude": 48.911008116361714, "longitude": 2.366853761147573 }, "papers": [ { "title": "Intelligence artificielle et patrimonialisation : entre indexation automatisée et perte de sens", "authors": [ { "name": "Mbaye Diouf", "personId": "mbaye-diouf", "affiliation": "Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar" } ], "abstract": "Dans un contexte de multiplication et de numérisation des archives audiovisuelles, l'intelligence artificielle (IA) s'affirme comme un levier incontournable dans les processus d'indexation et de mise en valeur du patrimoine.\n\nCette communication interroge les effets de l'automatisation sur la construction du sens, en particulier dans le cadre du traitement des patrimoines immatériels africains. À partir d'une étude de cas centrée sur le Xooy, cérémonie divinatoire sérère reconnue comme patrimoine immatériel au Sénégal, l'analyse met en évidence les limites des systèmes algorithmiques face à la complexité des savoirs rituels, des langues vernaculaires et des contextes d'énonciation. L'indexation automatisée, bien qu'efficace, peut également engendrer des réductions sémantiques, des ruptures contextuelles et une occultation des logiques culturelles sous-jacentes de ce réservoir complexe de savoirs oraux, de pratiques symboliques et de cosmologies locales.\n\nEn mobilisant les apports de l'histoire culturelle, les études critiques sur les données et de l'anthropologie du numérique, cette communication plaide pour une patrimonialisation hybride, combinant intelligence artificielle et médiation humaine, afin de préserver la pluralité interprétative et la mémoire située des pratiques culturelles." }, { "title": "Du terrain aux algorithmes : l'intelligence artificielle au service de la linguistique historique africaine", "authors": [ { "name": "Promise Dodzi Kpoglu", "personId": "promise-dodzi-kpoglu", "affiliation": "LLACAN, Centre national de la recherche scientifique" } ], "abstract": "La linguistique africaine a longtemps intégré les innovations technologiques dans la documentation et la description. Toutefois, les avancées récentes en intelligence artificielle ouvrent la voie à ce que celles-ci dépassent leurs fonctions traditionnelles pour devenir des outils d'analyse et de la théorisation. Cette étude explore cette question à partir des langues dogons, dont la documentation est riche, mais dont l'étude historique reste limitée par la rareté des données adéquates et l'inaccessibilité du terrain.\n\nJe montre comment des corpus initialement destinés à la description peuvent être mobilisés dans un cadre computationnel afin d'aborder des problématiques historiques. Ainsi, en combinant un modèle de simulation bayésienne et un modèle d'apprentissage profond, l'étude examine la trajectoire diachronique d'un sous-groupe de langues dogon. L'idée est de modéliser les dynamiques d'innovation lexicale, d'emprunt et d'héritage afin d'identifier les processus responsables de la diversité actuelle.\n\nLes résultats suggèrent que, contre l'hypothèse existante, la diversité s'explique moins par des emprunts massifs que par un processus interne de changement. Au-delà du cas dogon, les résultats démontrent le potentiel de l'intelligence artificielle à renouveler la linguistique africaine, en permettant d'explorer des questions autrefois limitées par les contraintes de terrain et la rareté des données appropriées. Cette étude invite donc à repenser, de manière générale, la place du numérique dans la linguistique africaine, non plus seulement comme un instrument de traitement et de documentation, mais comme un véritable vecteur de renouvellement analytique et théorique." }, { "title": "Quels impacts de l'IA sur les sciences humaines ?", "authors": [ { "name": "Racine Oumar N'Diaye", "personId": "racine-oumar-n-diaye", "affiliation": "Université de Nouadhibou" } ], "abstract": "L'Intelligence Artificielle (IA) est l'ensemble des théories et techniques mises en œuvre en vue de réaliser des machines capables de simuler l'intelligence humaine. L'IA, classée dans le domaine des sciences dites cognitives peut-elle être utile aux humanités, plus précisément à l'Histoire ?\n\nCertes, l'IA favorise considérablement l'individualisation des parcours. Elle permet de travailler sur le tutorat intelligent et au plus près des besoins de l'apprenant, de son rythme, etc. Mieux, elle prend en compte le profil au plus près de son évolution, elle permet ainsi d'aller vers « l'educational data mining ». Cet ensemble permet de faire évoluer le scénario même de l'apprentissage.\n\nEst-ce suffisant ? Nous pensons que non ! La limite opérationnelle ne se situerait pas sur les représentations d'ordres gestuels et de postures ? Les techniques du métier par exemple, les savoirs faire, les savoirs-être et les savoirs faire-faire qui relèvent de l'intelligence adaptative, les apprentissages comportemental et situationnel sont-ils bien pris en compte ? Qui plus est, une dimension émotionnelle, inconsciente s'invite dans l'histoire. L'histoire est à la recherche de l'homme et des pistes de son évolution. Les IA s'occupent-elles de l'HOMME ? Mettent-elles l'humain au centre de leurs préoccupations ? Leur gestion de cette donne demeure complexe. Cet état de fait expliquerait, en partie, que toutes les technologies disruptives aient eu leur part de peur et d'inconnu.\n\nD'autre part, les études ont démontré que l'on pouvait réellement apprendre à travers les environnements fournis et dédiés par les IA. Ils permettent une intégration de tuteurs dits intelligents et des scénarios. Des essais très manichéens comme la « guerre des intelligences », « Intelligence Unleashed » et « The Impact of AI on Learning, Teaching, and Education » ont vu jour. Mais cet imbroglio scientifique et technique peut-il remplacer l'historien ? Non ! C'est une technologie de rupture où on doit mettre de l'éthique. L'IA, outil complémentaire des humanités, doit entretenir des interactions avec celles-ci : d'une part, l'intelligence artificielle doit permettre d'élargir le champ d'étude des disciplines en question en y apportant de nouveaux outils, et, d'autre part, les humanités doivent pouvoir concevoir des paradigmes et méthodes permettant de mieux analyser les impacts sociétaux de celle-ci. Nous devons nous orienter vers des approches qui stipulent une hypothèse de bonne entente, et qui favorisent une cohabitation efficiente et pacifique entre cette intelligence dite artificielle et celle du cerveau car l'intelligence naturelle demeure, de nos jours, irremplaçable encore." }, { "title": "Retrouver la révolte malgache de 1947. Le deep learning appliqué aux inventaires de destruction.", "authors": [ { "name": "Naomi Bell", "personId": "naomi-bell", "affiliation": "Institut des Mondes Africains (IMAF)" }, { "name": "Stéphane Lamassé", "personId": "stephane-lamasse", "affiliation": "LAMOP, PIREH, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne" } ], "abstract": "Dans cette communication, nous allons montrer quelques résultats d'un projet de recherche en cours, mené dans le cadre d'une thèse de doctorat, qui vise à réexaminer la révolte malgache de 1947 par le prisme des dégâts matériels, recensés dans des inventaires de pertes, grâce à l'usage du deep learning. L'objectif est double : mieux comprendre l'ampleur des destructions matérielles et interroger ce que le deep learning, en tant que méthodologie, permet de voir dans un contexte colonial marqué par les rapports de domination.\n\nLe contexte colonial malgache constitue un terrain d'expérience privilégié pour expérimenter les apports du deep learning. D'une part, les dossiers d'indemnisation produits par l'administration coloniale une documentation abondante, normative et fortement structurée, qui se prête à un traitement sériel. D'autre part, l'hétérogénéité de ces archives, mélangeant formulaires, structures tabulaires, imprimés et manuscrites, offre un cas d'étude pour tester l'efficacité du deep learning. À cela s'ajoutent les enjeux linguistiques liés à la coexistence du français et du malgache.\n\nComment l'entrainement d'un modèle de deep learning pour affronter cette documentation peut être envisagé pour relire la révolte malgache de 1947 ? D'abord, j'analyserai comment cette documentation, produite selon des logiques administratives propres, a façonné une représentation particulière des destructions imputées aux insurgés. Cette première partie permettra de parler aussi de la mise en sens de la donnée au sein des inventaires de pertes. Je présenterai ensuite, les différentes stratégies de traitement appliquées à cette documentation. J'exposerai à la fois les avancées et les limites rencontrées. Enfin, deux ou trois études de cas permettront d'illustrer concrètement la manière dont cette approche transdisciplinaire reconfigurer l'analyse de la révolte malgache de 1947 et ouvre de nouvelles perspectives d'interprétation." }, { "title": "Retour sur une note de synthèse analysant la relation entre Humanités Numériques, l'IA et les Études Africaines (Hanovre, février 2025)", "authors": [ { "name": "Frédérick Madore", "affiliation": "Université de Bayreuth" }, { "name": "Vincent Hiribarren", "personId": "vincent-hiribarren", "affiliation": "King's College London" } ], "abstract": "Dans ce papier, Frédérick Madore et Vincent Hiribarren analysent le contenu d'une note de synthèse préparée par une équipe de trente chercheur.es et praticien·nes en Humanités numériques sur le rapport entre Humanités numériques, l'IA et études africaines (financement Fondation Volkswagen) en février 2025. Cette note de synthèse s'attarde principalement sur les trois points suivants 1) Intégration méthodologique et préservation numérique 2) Favoriser une collaboration équitable 3) Cadre éthique et souveraineté numérique." } ], "tags": [ "Digital Humanities", "AI", "African Studies", "REAF", "Methodology" ], "project": "Digital Humanities and AI in African Studies", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/reaf-2026.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/reaf-2026-hero.webp", "alt": "9ème édition Rencontres des Études Africaines en France" }, "links": [ { "label": "Presentation", "url": "https://reaf2026.sciencesconf.org/data/pages/A33.pdf" } ] }, { "id": "retour-note-synthese-dh-ia-reaf-2026", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/retour-note-synthese-dh-ia-reaf-2026", "type": "conference", "title": "Retour sur une note de synthèse analysant la relation entre Humanités Numériques, l’IA et les Études Africaines (Hanovre, février 2026)", "authors": [ "Vincent Hiribarren", "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "30 June 2026", "dateISO": "2026-06-30", "year": 2026, "language": "French", "abstract": "Dans ce papier, Frédérick Madore et Vincent Hiribarren analysent le contenu d'une note de synthèse préparée par une équipe de trente chercheur.es et praticien·nes en Humanités numériques sur le rapport entre Humanités numériques, l'IA et études africaines (financement Fondation Volkswagen) en février 2026. Cette note de synthèse s'attarde principalement sur les trois points suivants 1) Intégration méthodologique et préservation numérique 2) Favoriser une collaboration équitable 3) Cadre éthique et souveraineté numérique.", "conference": "9èmes Rencontres des études africaines en France (REAF)", "panelTitle": "Humanités numériques (DH) et IA dans les études africaines", "location": "Paris", "country": "France", "coordinates": { "latitude": 48.908553, "longitude": 2.366288 }, "tags": [ "Digital Humanities", "AI", "African Studies", "REAF", "Volkswagen Foundation" ], "project": "Digital Humanities and AI in African Studies", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/reaf-2026.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/reaf-2026-hero.webp", "alt": "9ème édition Rencontres des Études Africaines en France" }, "links": [ { "label": "Slides", "url": "https://slides.frederickmadore.com/talks/2026-06-30-paris-reaf-dh-ia-afrique/" } ] }, { "id": "islam-peripheries-dh-ai-west-africa-central-asia-2026", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/islam-peripheries-dh-ai-west-africa-central-asia-2026", "type": "lecture", "title": "Islam's \"Peripheries\": Digital Humanities, Algorithmic Analysis, and AI in West Africa and Central Asia", "authors": [ "Aksana Ismailbekova", "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "29 June 2026", "dateISO": "2026-06-29", "year": 2026, "language": "English", "abstract": "In Islamic studies, sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia are often treated as marginal, yet these regions may share underexplored parallels around modernity, governance, secularism, and Islamic intellectual production that this project seeks to examine. This presentation introduces a new VolkswagenStiftung-funded project that will use AI to unlock two unique multilingual collections at the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO): the Islam West Africa Collection (14,500+ items, six countries, 1960s–present) and the Reinhard Eisener Collection (1,546 documents on the Emirate of Bukhara, early Soviet governance, and the Tajik civil war). Together, these ~16,000 documents in over ten languages remain largely inaccessible due to their volume, linguistic diversity, and partial cataloguing. We outline three planned approaches: (1) multimodal large language models for text extraction, transcription, metadata attribution, and named entity extraction across low-resource languages and scripts; (2) a cross-regional chatbot enabling semantic queries across both collections; and (3) open-source, replicable AI-powered workflows with human-in-the-loop validation. The pipeline is designed to be modular and replicable for other multilingual, under-resourced archival collections.", "conference": "Seminar series 'Digital History in/of Central Asia and the South Caucasus'", "location": "Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg", "country": "Germany", "coordinates": { "latitude": 49.598, "longitude": 11.0042 }, "tags": [ "AI", "Digital Humanities", "IWAC", "Large Language Models", "Islam", "West Africa", "Central Asia", "Archives", "NLP" ], "project": "Islam's 'Peripheries': Digital Humanities, Algorithmic Analysis, and AI in West Africa and Central Asia", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/islam-peripheries-dh-ai-west-africa-central-asia-2026.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/islam-peripheries-dh-ai-west-africa-central-asia-2026-hero.webp", "alt": "Poster for the seminar series “Digital History in/of Central Asia and the South Caucasus,” advertising the talk “Islam's ‘Peripheries’: Digital Humanities, Algorithmic Analysis, and AI in West Africa and Central Asia” by Dr. Aksana Ismailbekova (Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient, Berlin) and Dr. Frédérick Madore (University of Bayreuth) on 29 June at 14:00 CET. Portraits of the two speakers appear on the right, with the Max Weber Stiftung and Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) logos along the top." }, "links": [ { "label": "Seminar Series Website", "url": "https://www.osteuropa.phil.fau.de/digital-history-seminars/" }, { "label": "Slides", "url": "https://slides.frederickmadore.com/talks/2026-06-29-erlangen-islam-peripheries/" } ] }, { "id": "beyond-keywords-ai-iwac-mcp-2026", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/beyond-keywords-ai-iwac-mcp-2026", "type": "conference", "title": "Beyond Keywords: AI-Mediated Access to the Islam West Africa Collection through an MCP Server and Agent Skill", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "15 June 2026", "dateISO": "2026-06-15", "year": 2026, "language": "English", "abstract": "Over the past two years, AI has transformed the development of the Islam West Africa Collection (IWAC), an open-access database of over 14,500 documents covering Muslim public life in six West African countries. Built and maintained by a single researcher without dedicated staff, IWAC now relies on LLMs for tasks that would otherwise require a full team: from OCR on degraded scans to named entity recognition. This paper turns to the next challenge: using AI not only to help process the collection, but to mediate access to it.\n\nKeyword search, the default entry point, falters with a corpus of this kind. The term \"hadj\" retrieves both articles about the pilgrimage to Mecca and those mentioning individuals bearing the honorific \"El Hadj.\" A single imam appears under more than twenty spelling variants. Searches miss synonyms and conceptual relationships: a query for \"hajj\" will not surface documents discussing \"pilgrimage to Mecca\" unless those exact words appear. OCR noise from newspapers further obscures the corpus.\n\nIWAC's audience extends well beyond specialists: journalists, students, civil society actors, and diaspora communities all stand to benefit. Yet these keyword-dependent barriers demand domain expertise to navigate. Democratising the archive means building entry points that meet users where they are. This paper presents two complementary, experimental AI-mediated approaches developed to open IWAC to broader publics.\n\n1. A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, an open standard for connecting AI assistants to external data sources, provides structured, read-only access through sixteen tools for searching articles, querying authority records, and retrieving sentiment analysis from three AI models. Following Cohen's (2025) analogy, MCP does for AI what IIIF does for images: a decentralised standard that preserves institutional data sovereignty while enabling discovery.\n\n2. An agent skill, a modular instruction set written in Markdown, encodes the domain knowledge that transforms raw tool access into methodical research. The skill structures the AI's reasoning into a five-phase workflow inspired by archival research practice: scoping coverage; systematic searching with French-language variants and Arabic-Islamic transliteration alternatives; deep reading of individual sources; triangulating across subsets; and synthesising findings with confidence grading. It also documents collection bias. If the MCP server provides the plumbing, the skill provides the intelligence: the curator's methodological expertise made transferable, versionable, and inspectable.\n\nThis architecture offers an ethical framework for connecting commercial LLMs to open-access digital collections. Whereas initiatives such as \"Small Models for GLAM\" pursue specialised models fine-tuned on cultural heritage data, MCP offers a complementary path: a standardised interface that lets any LLM — commercial or open-source — query a collection without retraining. Rather than surrendering data to extractive training pipelines, MCP keeps the collection on its own infrastructure while the AI queries it through defined tools, and the skill layer makes every assumption transparent. For African digital collections, historically subject to extractive knowledge practices, this preserves sovereignty while enabling AI-enhanced access. The planned next step is a conversational assistant on the IWAC website, powered by an open-source LLM and these same tools. The paper speaks to Topic 1 (methods for analysing historical sources) and Topic 2 (transforming everyday research workflows).", "conference": "Eighth Conference on Digital Humanities and Digital History", "location": "University of Luxembourg", "country": "Luxembourg", "coordinates": { "latitude": 49.5018, "longitude": 5.9485 }, "tags": [ "AI", "Digital Humanities", "IWAC", "MCP", "Large Language Models", "Archives", "Islam", "West Africa" ], "project": "Islam's 'Peripheries': Digital Humanities, Algorithmic Analysis, and AI in West Africa and Central Asia", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/c2dh.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/c2dh-hero.webp", "alt": "AI through History, History through AI" }, "links": [ { "label": "Slides", "url": "https://slides.frederickmadore.com/talks/2026-06-15-luxembourg-beyond-keywords/" } ] }, { "id": "dormant-digital-collections-ai-triage-dga-2026", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/dormant-digital-collections-ai-triage-dga-2026", "type": "lecture", "title": "Dormant Digital Collections, AI Triage: Lessons from the Islam West Africa Collection and Beyond", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "6 May 2026", "dateISO": "2026-05-06", "year": 2026, "language": "English", "abstract": "Recent advances in large language models (LLMs) have significantly improved AI capabilities for non-Western languages and scripts. Drawing on my experience building and curating the Islam West Africa Collection (IWAC), a digital repository of over 14,500 newspaper articles and archival documents in French, English, Arabic, Hausa, and Ewe, I present a practical walkthrough of an AI-assisted research pipeline: from raw scans to interactive visualisation. The challenges I encountered with West African sources have direct parallels for scholars working with Asian languages and scripts.\n\nI outline three stages of a \"datafication\" workflow: (1) text extraction through OCR and HTR, where multimodal LLMs increasingly outperform traditional engines on degraded documents in non-Western scripts; (2) data enrichment, including named entity recognition; and (3) data visualisation, where scholars without programming expertise can use AI-assisted coding to build interactive dashboards and explore their data.\n\nI demonstrate this workflow through a sentiment analysis dashboard analysing how 12,000+ IWAC newspaper articles portray Islam across five West African countries. Featuring temporal trends, cross-country comparisons, and multi-model agreement metrics, the dashboard was developed without writing manually a single line of code, through iterative dialogue with AI assistants. I also introduce Google's NotebookLM for source analysis and synthesis.\n\nWhere Arlette Farge (2013) located the \"allure\" of the archive in the slow, tactile encounter with the document, AI offers a pragmatic complement: rapid triage of the ever-growing personal collections of scans that scholars accumulate, serving as an intuition pump for thinking with sources rather than automating their consumption. Rather than a theoretical discussion, this talk is an invitation to experiment, turning dormant digital collections into active research instruments.", "conference": "Deutsche Gesellschaft für Asienforschung (DGA)", "panelTitle": "DGA-Roundtable-Reihe Sommersemester 2026", "location": "Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient", "country": "Germany", "coordinates": { "latitude": 52.42814222811816, "longitude": 13.202338657893593 }, "tags": [ "AI", "Digital Humanities", "IWAC", "Large Language Models", "OCR", "Named Entity Recognition", "Sentiment Analysis", "West Africa", "Archives" ], "project": "Islam's 'Peripheries': Digital Humanities, Algorithmic Analysis, and AI in West Africa and Central Asia", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/dormant-digital-collections-ai-triage-dga-2026.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/dormant-digital-collections-ai-triage-dga-2026-hero.webp", "alt": "Announcement card for DGA Roundtable 2: \"Digital Humanities und Künstliche Intelligenz in den Regionalwissenschaften\", scheduled for 6 May 2026. The DGA logo, two horizontal teal bars beneath the letters, sits centred on a pale teal background." }, "links": [ { "label": "Presentation", "url": "https://asienforschung.de/events/roundtable-2-digital-humanities-und-kuenstliche-intelligenz-in-den-regionalwissenschaften/" }, { "label": "Slides", "url": "https://slides.frederickmadore.com/talks/2026-05-06-dga-dormant-collections/" } ] }, { "id": "digital-hoarding-open-archives-warsaw-2026", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/digital-hoarding-open-archives-warsaw-2026", "type": "workshop", "title": "From Digital Hoarding to Open Archives: Using AI Agents to Unlock West African Newspaper Collections", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "16 April 2026", "dateISO": "2026-04-16", "year": 2026, "language": "English", "abstract": "Arlette Farge's celebrated model of archival research — the slow, tactile encounter with documents in a silent reading room — presupposes well-ordered European institutions. For historians of West Africa, the reality is different: newspaper archives scattered across countries and continents, poorly catalogued, physically deteriorating, and sometimes easier to find in Berlin or Washington than in their countries of origin. Fieldwork often becomes a race to photograph as much as possible, leaving thousands of images unprocessed on hard drives for years. The gap between digitisation (capturing documents) and datafication (transforming them into searchable, structured data) is one of the most significant unacknowledged obstacles in contemporary historical research. This presentation draws on the Islam West Africa Collection (IWAC), an open-access database of over 14,500 newspaper articles, to show how AI can address this bottleneck. It discusses multimodal OCR for complex layouts, named entity recognition adapted to West African contexts, and corpus-level triage through sentiment analysis. It then introduces agentic AI pipelines — systems where specialised sub-agents autonomously handle image processing, text extraction, and metadata enrichment under human supervision — as a way to make these methods accessible to researchers without programming expertise. The talk concludes by reflecting on the stakes of using Western-built tools to make non-European knowledge visible.", "conference": "Non-European Approaches in European Academia: Strategies for De-Europeanizing Research", "location": "Tadeusz Manteuffel Institute of History, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw", "country": "Poland", "coordinates": { "latitude": 52.24973261398244, "longitude": 21.011357126938524 }, "tags": [ "Digital Humanities", "AI", "AI Agents", "West Africa", "Archives", "IWAC", "OCR", "Large Language Models", "Sentiment Analysis" ], "project": "Islam's 'Peripheries': Digital Humanities, Algorithmic Analysis, and AI in West Africa and Central Asia", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/digital-hoarding-open-archives-warsaw-2026.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/digital-hoarding-open-archives-warsaw-2026-hero.webp", "alt": "Poster for the workshop \"Non-European Approaches in European Academia: Strategies for De-Europeanizing Research in Academia\"" } }, { "id": "islam-peripheries-open-up-2026", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/islam-peripheries-open-up-2026", "type": "conference", "title": "Islam's \"Peripheries\": Digital Humanities, Algorithmic Analysis, and AI in West Africa and Central Asia", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore", "Aksana Ismailbekova" ], "date": "4 March 2026", "dateISO": "2026-03-04", "year": 2026, "language": "English", "abstract": "This presentation introduced the project \"Islam's 'Peripheries'\" to the other funded projects at the VolkswagenStiftung \"Open Up\" kick-off event. In Islamic studies, sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia are often treated as marginal, yet these so-called peripheries share striking parallels and were historically connected through transregional Muslim exchanges that scholarship has largely overlooked. The project seeks to explore these connections. The project draws on two unique multilingual digital collections housed at the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO) in Berlin: the Islam West Africa Collection (IWAC), with over 14,500 items across six countries since the 1960s, and the Reinhard Eisener Collection, comprising 1,612 documents on the Emirate of Bukhara and early Soviet governance of Muslim communities. Together, these archives contain approximately 16,000 documents in over ten languages, yet remain largely inaccessible due to their volume, linguistic diversity, and partial cataloguing. The presentation outlined three AI-driven innovations: (1) using multimodal large language models for text extraction and audio transcription across low-resource languages and scripts; (2) building a cross-regional research chatbot using the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to enable semantic search across both collections simultaneously; and (3) a methodological commitment to open-source AI, local infrastructure designed for Global South accessibility, and human-in-the-loop validation at every stage.", "conference": "Kick-off 'Open Up'", "location": "Xplanatorium Herrenhausen, Hanover", "country": "Germany", "coordinates": { "latitude": 52.395, "longitude": 9.7036 }, "tags": [ "Islam", "Large Language Models", "Digital Humanities", "Volkswagen Foundation", "AI", "West Africa", "Central Asia", "IWAC", "Archives" ], "project": "Islam's 'Peripheries': Digital Humanities, Algorithmic Analysis, and AI in West Africa and Central Asia", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/islam-peripheries-open-up-2026.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/islam-peripheries-open-up-2026-hero.webp", "alt": "VolkswagenStiftung Kick Off \"Open Up\" event poster, 4–5 March 2026" }, "links": [ { "label": "Presentation", "url": "https://www.volkswagenstiftung.de/sites/default/files/documents/Entwurf%20Programm_KickOff%20OpenUp_2026.pdf" } ] }, { "id": "volkswagenstiftung-dh-ai-african-studies-workshop-2026", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/volkswagenstiftung-dh-ai-african-studies-workshop-2026", "type": "event", "title": "Charting New Territory: Digital Humanities and AI in African Studies", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore", "Vincent Hiribarren" ], "date": "18-20 February 2026", "dateISO": "2026-02-18", "year": 2026, "language": "English", "abstract": "This scoping workshop addresses the critical convergence of digital humanities (DH) and artificial intelligence (AI) within African studies. While this intersection offers transformative potential, it also poses pressing challenges in terms of equity, linguistic diversity and methodology. This three-day working meeting will provide a dedicated space for international experts from Africa, Europe, and other regions to assess the current state of the field and collaboratively shape its future. Through intensive exchange—prioritising discussion over presentations—participants will explore methodological integration, equitable North-South/South-South collaboration and ethical frameworks in structured work streams. The aim is to develop actionable strategies for the ethical and sustainable advancement of DH/AI in African studies. A key outcome to ensure lasting impact will be a co-authored position paper outlining key findings and strategic recommendations to guide future research, policy and funding and thereby consolidate this emerging field.", "conference": "Charting New Territory: Digital Humanities and AI in African Studies", "location": "Xplanatorium Herrenhausen, Hanover", "country": "Germany", "coordinates": { "latitude": 52.395, "longitude": 9.7036 }, "participants": [ { "name": "Frédérick Madore", "role": "Co-organiser", "affiliation": "University of Bayreuth" }, { "name": "Vincent Hiribarren", "personId": "vincent-hiribarren", "role": "Co-organiser", "affiliation": "King's College London" }, { "name": "Nuraddin Aman", "personId": "nuraddin-aman", "role": "Participant", "affiliation": "Addis Ababa University, Institute of Ethiopian Studies" }, { "name": "Agata Błoch", "personId": "agata-bloch", "role": "Participant", "affiliation": "Institute of History, Polish Academy of Sciences" }, { "name": "Vera Breitner", "personId": "vera-breitner", "role": "Participant", "affiliation": "Bielefeld University" }, { "name": "Erika Melek Delgado", "personId": "erika-melek-delgado", "role": "Participant", "affiliation": "King's College London" }, { "name": "Britta Frede", "personId": "britta-frede", "role": "Participant", "affiliation": "University of Bayreuth" }, { "name": "Susan Elizabeth Gagliardi", "personId": "susan-elizabeth-gagliardi", "role": "Participant", "affiliation": "Emory University" }, { "name": "Thompson Gyedu Kwarkye", "personId": "thompson-gyedu-kwarkye", "role": "Participant", "affiliation": "University of Galway" }, { "name": "Ashleigh Harris", "personId": "ashleigh-harris", "role": "Participant", "affiliation": "African Literary Metadata (ALMEDA)" }, { "name": "Albrecht Hofheinz", "personId": "albrecht-hofheinz", "role": "Participant", "affiliation": "University of Oslo" }, { "name": "Karen Byera Ijumba", "personId": "karen-byera-ijumba", "role": "Participant", "affiliation": "Open Restitution Africa" }, { "name": "Leah Junck", "personId": "leah-junck", "role": "Participant", "affiliation": "Global Center on AI Governance" }, { "name": "Fu'ad Lawal", "personId": "fuad-lawal", "role": "Participant", "affiliation": "Archivi.ng" }, { "name": "Cassandra Mark-Thiesen", "personId": "cassandra-mark-thiesen", "role": "Participant", "affiliation": "University of Regensburg" }, { "name": "Duncan Money", "personId": "duncan-money", "role": "Participant", "affiliation": "Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) project" }, { "name": "Irene Mwendwa", "personId": "irene-mwendwa", "role": "Participant", "affiliation": "Sulwe Labs" }, { "name": "Augustin Ndione", "personId": "augustin-ndione", "role": "Participant", "affiliation": "Cheikh Anta Diop University" }, { "name": "Fallou Ngom", "personId": "fallou-ngom", "role": "Participant", "affiliation": "Boston University" }, { "name": "Emmanuel Ngue Um", "personId": "emmanuel-ngue-um", "role": "Participant", "affiliation": "University of Yaounde 1" }, { "name": "Janeth David Nzenga", "personId": "janeth-david-nzenga", "role": "Participant", "affiliation": "Ardhi University" }, { "name": "Johannes Sibeko", "personId": "johannes-sibeko", "role": "Participant", "affiliation": "Nelson Mandela University" }, { "name": "Oumou Sidibe", "personId": "oumou-sidibe", "role": "Participant", "affiliation": "Projet Archives des Femmes du Mali" }, { "name": "Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún", "personId": "kola-tubosun", "role": "Participant", "affiliation": "www.OlongoAfrica.com" }, { "name": "Menno van Zaanen", "personId": "menno-van-zaanen", "role": "Participant", "affiliation": "South African Centre for Digital Language Resources" }, { "name": "James Yékú", "personId": "james-yeku", "role": "Participant", "affiliation": "University of Kansas" } ], "tags": [ "Digital Humanities", "AI", "African Studies", "Decolonisation", "Workshop", "Volkswagen Foundation" ], "project": "Digital Humanities and AI in African Studies", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/VWST-logo.webp", "links": [ { "label": "Workshop Website", "url": "https://fmadore.github.io/dh-ai-african-studies-2026/" } ] }, { "id": "zmo-kitchen-talks-ai-islamic-african-studies", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/zmo-kitchen-talks-ai-islamic-african-studies", "type": "podcast", "title": "Artificial Intelligence (AI) in African and Islamic Studies", "authors": [ "Elisa Nobel-Dilaty", "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "11 December 2025", "dateISO": "2025-12-11", "year": 2025, "language": "English", "abstract": "Dr. Frédérick Madore, postdoctoral research fellow at ZMO Berlin, works at the intersection of African Studies, Islamic Studies, and the digital humanities. Building on fieldwork and archival research conducted since 2013, he is developing the Islam West Africa Collection—an open-access digital archive of more than 14,500 documents on Islamic print culture and Muslim life in West Africa. In this episode, we explore how artificial intelligence is transforming research practices: How can AI support historical and anthropological research—and where are its limits? And how might AI change the future of the humanities—opening up new possibilities while also raising pressing questions about language equity, digitisation gaps, and academic responsibility?", "conference": "ZMO Kitchen Talks", "location": "Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient", "country": "Germany", "coordinates": { "latitude": 52.42814222811816, "longitude": 13.202338657893593 }, "episode": 14, "tags": [ "Podcast", "AI", "African Studies", "Islamic Studies", "Digital Humanities", "IWAC", "West Africa", "Islam", "ZMO" ], "project": "Digital Humanities and AI in African Studies", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/zmo-kitchen-talks-logo.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/zmo-kitchen-talks-logo.webp", "alt": "ZMO Kitchen Talks podcast logo." }, "links": [ { "label": "Presentation", "url": "https://www.zmo.de/en/kitchen-talks" }, { "label": "Spotify", "url": "https://open.spotify.com/episode/3zScd0lM8ecPYnlV8wInDu?si=POACrwM7SlCB7HvRU1zEDg" }, { "label": "Podigee", "url": "https://zmo-kitchen-talks.podigee.io/14-neue-episode" }, { "label": "Apple Podcasts", "url": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/artificial-intelligence-ai-in-african-and-islamic-studies/id1854423734?i=1000740827248" }, { "label": "Pocket Casts", "url": "https://pca.st/episode/dd8e2cc4-a1e4-4121-8b0b-2bdbf7e714d7" }, { "label": "Deezer", "url": "https://link.deezer.com/s/31RQUHFM3mhYI88kbzEW9" } ] }, { "id": "uppsala-university-2025", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/uppsala-university-2025", "type": "lecture", "title": "Building AI Pipelines for African Digital Collections: Lessons from the Islam West Africa Collection", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "5 December 2025", "dateISO": "2025-12-05", "year": 2025, "language": "English", "conference": "Work talk ALMEDA project", "location": "Uppsala University", "country": "Sweden", "coordinates": { "latitude": 59.8585638, "longitude": 17.6389267 }, "tags": [ "IWAC", "AI", "Digital Humanities", "West Africa", "Islam", "Archives" ], "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/ALMEDA-logo.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/ALMEDA-logo-hero.webp", "alt": "African Literary Metadata (ALMEDA) logo with African geometric pattern in red, gold, green and brown colors" } }, { "id": "presentation-discussion-religious-activism-campuses-ciram-2025", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/presentation-discussion-religious-activism-campuses-ciram-2025", "type": "lecture", "title": "Présentation-discussion de l'ouvrage Religious Activism on Campuses in Togo and Benin", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "6 November 2025", "dateISO": "2025-11-06", "year": 2025, "language": "French", "abstract": "Cette présentation-discussion de l'ouvrage Religious Activism on Campuses in Togo and Benin met en lumière l'histoire négligée des associations chrétiennes et musulmanes à l'Université de Lomé et à l'Université d'Abomey-Calavi. Alors que la production scientifique s'est surtout concentrée sur les mobilisations étudiantes ayant conduit aux conférences nationales du début des années 1990, le livre restitue la place du religieux sur des campus longtemps marqués par des héritages gauchistes et laïcs. Basé sur des entretiens avec plusieurs générations de militant.e.s et la presse, il retrace l'essor de ces associations à partir des années 1970, sous le parti unique au Togo et le régime marxiste-léniniste au Bénin, et met en évidence le rôle des circulations translocales. Le livre examine enfin les effets d'une religiosité croissante dans des universités publiques officiellement laïques, où ces associations, face à la massification et au chômage des diplômés, proposent un « curriculum social ».", "conference": "Conférences midi du CIRAM", "location": "Université Laval", "country": "Canada", "coordinates": { "latitude": 46.7793, "longitude": -71.2825 }, "tags": [ "Religious Activism", "Universities", "Togo", "Benin", "Student Organisations", "Book Presentation", "CIRAM", "Islam", "Christianity", "West Africa" ], "project": "Religious Activism on Campuses in Togo and Benin", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/ciram-2025.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/ciram-2025-hero.webp", "alt": "Poster for an online book talk with Frédérick Madore on “Religious Activism on Campuses in Togo and Benin”, 6 Nov 2025" }, "links": [ { "label": "Presentation", "url": "https://www.ciram.hei.ulaval.ca/activite/discussion-autour-du-livre-religious-activism-on-campuses-in-togo-and-benin/" } ] }, { "id": "archives-algorithms-iwac-2025", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/archives-algorithms-iwac-2025", "type": "conference", "title": "From Archives to Algorithms: Uncovering Transregional Islamic Connections through the Islam West Africa Collection (IWAC)", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "11 September 2025", "dateISO": "2025-09-11", "year": 2025, "language": "English", "abstract": "The Islam West Africa Collection (IWAC) enhances transregional historical research, particularly in the study of Islamic networks and translocal entanglements across francophone West Africa. This open-access digital archive of over 8,800 documents from six countries fills gaps in the preservation and accessibility of post-colonial archives. Unlike well-organised European colonial archives, many West African national archives face budgetary constraints, resulting in fragmentary holdings and ineffective classification. The IWAC mitigates these challenges by digitising and organising diverse materials, in particular the rich (Islamic) print culture, providing insights into an “Islamic Francophonie”. Using optical character recognition, natural language processing, and artificial intelligence, the IWAC enables researchers to uncover patterns of interaction and exchange across national boundaries. However, it also serves as a case study for critical reflection on digital approaches to global history. This paper will address concerns about the selectivity of digitisation programmes, including their potential to reinforce archival silences and biases. It will consider how algorithmic discovery and keyword searching can lead to the neglect of non-digitised or hard-to-access materials. It will also address criticisms of “digital imperialism” and the “digital saviour complex” in the context of projects funded by Western institutions. This paper will contribute to discussions on how digital approaches impact our conceptualisation of historical connections, reflecting on the types of connections that digital methods can effectively uncover and those that may remain elusive. It will also explore how projects like the IWAC can address the challenges of the “digital divide” while avoiding the pitfalls of digital imperialism in global and transregional historical research.", "conference": "Eighth European Congress on World and Global History", "panelTitle": "Global and Transregional Histories: Digitally Connected?", "location": "Linnaeus University", "country": "Sweden", "coordinates": { "latitude": 56.879, "longitude": 14.8059 }, "tags": [ "ENIUGH", "Digital Humanities", "Algorithms", "Transregional Connections", "IWAC", "Islam", "West Africa" ], "project": "Digital Humanities and AI in African Studies", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/ENIUGH.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/ENIUGH-hero.webp", "alt": "ENIUGH Conference" }, "links": [ { "label": "Presentation", "url": "https://eniugh.org/events/global-and-transregional-histories-digtally-connected/" } ] }, { "id": "when-ai-meets-the-archive-2025", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/when-ai-meets-the-archive-2025", "type": "lecture", "title": "When AI Meets the Archive: Transforming the Islam West Africa Collection with Large Language Models", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "20 August 2025", "dateISO": "2025-08-20", "year": 2025, "language": "English", "abstract": "The Islam West Africa Collection (IWAC) comprises over 14,000 documents spanning six countries and containing 25 million words. This talk explores how large language models (LLMs) can transform vast collections into more navigable resources through three practical applications: enhancing OCR accuracy and entity recognition for African materials; conducting experimental sentiment analysis across over 10,000 newspaper articles on the representation of Islam; and developing a conversational AI chatbot that transcends traditional keyword searching. Drawing on my experience, I will present practical solutions for managing digital abundance while maintaining a critical awareness of AI's inherent limitations.", "conference": "SADiLaR Digital Humanities colloquia", "location": "North-West University", "country": "South Africa", "coordinates": { "latitude": -26.693492, "longitude": 27.093062 }, "tags": [ "AI", "Digital Humanities", "IWAC", "Large Language Models", "Islam", "West Africa", "Archives" ], "project": "Digital Humanities and AI in African Studies", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/SADILAR.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/SADILAR-hero.webp", "alt": "Poster for the SADiLaR DH Colloquium on 20 August 2025 at 10:00 SAST. Title reads: “When AI Meets the Archive: Transforming the Islam West Africa Collection with Large Language Models.” Speaker: Frédérick Madore. The right side features a digital illustration of binary code with document icons connected by lines and a large magnifying glass." }, "links": [ { "label": "Presentation", "url": "https://sadilar.org/en/dh-colloquium/" }, { "label": "Video Recording", "url": "https://youtu.be/OhbPYA4_URo" } ] }, { "id": "dh-ai-african-studies-2025", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/dh-ai-african-studies-2025", "type": "panel", "title": "Digital Humanities (DH) and AI in African Studies: Opportunities, Challenges, and Decolonial Perspectives", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore", "Vincent Hiribarren" ], "date": "26 June 2025", "dateISO": "2025-06-26", "year": 2025, "language": "English", "abstract": "As the \"digital turn\" in African studies gains momentum, this panel explores the transformative potential and critical challenges of digital humanities (DH) and artificial intelligence (AI) in the field. We examine their impact on the production, dissemination, and interpretation of knowledge about Africa, addressing the persistent Anglocentricity and \"digital divide\".\n\nWe invite papers that present innovative applications of computational methods in African studies and/or critical reflections on decolonising DH practices. Topics may include:\n\n1. Methodological innovations:\n\tDigital approaches to exploring African, Afropolitan, and Afropean belongings through textual and visual analysis;\n\tAI-driven analysis of digitised African content (e.g., natural language processing, named entity recognition);\n\tTeaching African history with digital tools\n2. Critical perspectives:\n\tDecolonising DH methodologies and epistemologies;\n\tAddressing \"digital imperialism\" (Breckenridge 2014) and the \"digital saviour complex\" (Shringarpure 2020) in relation to positionality and knowledge construction;\n\tEthical considerations in applying DH methods to culturally sensitive contexts\n3. Knowledge production and dissemination:\n\tDigital platforms for alternative knowledge production and public scholarship centred on African perspectives;\n\tStrategies for overcoming selective digitisation and colonial hierarchies in digital archiving;\n\tTransnational and cross-continental collaborative digital projects that challenge established Global North paradigms\n\nThe panel aims to showcase cutting-edge transdisciplinary research that uses digital methods to explore the complexities of African realities, identities, and knowledge systems. By fostering dialogue on the potential and pitfalls of digital approaches, we aim to contribute to a more inclusive, diverse, and critically aware digital landscape in African studies.", "conference": "10th European Conference of African Studies (ECAS)", "location": "Prague", "country": "Czech Republic", "coordinates": { "latitude": 50.08896481219099, "longitude": 14.416024062407818 }, "papers": [ { "title": "Linking African Cultural Metadata for Visibility, Searchability, and Sustainability: the African Literary Metadata (ALMEDA) project", "authors": [ { "name": "Ashleigh Harris", "personId": "ashleigh-harris", "affiliation": "Uppsala University" } ], "abstract": "The ALMEDA project is comprised of three interrelated work packages: the first investigates the history of literary metadata on the African continent in order to understand how colonial cataloguing systems came to construct the idea of the 'literary work' as book-based and thus dismissive of Africa's oral cultures. Secondly, and as a corrective to this history, ALMEDA is developing a metadata ontology specifically designed for African genres in African languages. Not only does this knowledge structure enable data entry and searchability in multiple languages, but it also involves a unique descriptive model that allows African-language genres to inhabit their own categories, rather than having to be forced into European literary ontologies. Thirdly, the project is creating a linked open metadata repository, run as a Wikibase instance, which will – when launched – be the means through which users can search for and enter data. In this presentation of the project, I aim to show some of the challenges and potentials we face in the area of African Studies when working with Linked Open Data and to present ALMEDA's emerging methods of addressing those problems. The project seeks feedback from as wide a range of stakeholders and Africanists as possible, and the paper encourages feedback on our ontology and our tentative resolutions to the challenges of addressing multilingual needs in a database of this scale." }, { "title": "The Islamic Cultural Archive (ICA): Enabling New Digital Modes of Knowledge Production Through Cross-Lingual Ontologies", "authors": [ { "name": "Britta Frede", "personId": "britta-frede", "affiliation": "University of Bayreuth" }, { "name": "Rüdiger Seesemann", "personId": "rudiger-seesemann", "affiliation": "University of Bayreuth" } ], "abstract": "This paper presents the Islamic Cultural Archive (ICA), a database at the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bayreuth (Germany) designed to digitally enhance collaborative research on Islam in Africa in English, French and Arabic. The ICA is a digital platform to handle data through an ontology-based digital research environment building on WissKI, a set of modules that combines the Drupal content management system with semantic web technology. Connecting diverse languages and data from various digital and digitized media, the research team members generate metadata through a shared ontology to create synergies between various research foci and interests, ranging from the nexus of Islamic knowledge production, dissemination, and acquisition to the socio-religious, political-economic, and cultural dimensions of Islamic learning in Africa. There are plans to expand the thematic scope of the data collection in the future. What makes the project especially significant for decolonial methodologies and epistemologies is the joint development of cross-lingual ontologies with mainly African academic partners, enabling the ICA to reflect the relational and reflexive knowledge production involved in its creation and thus setting new standards for transcontinental and transdisciplinary research." }, { "title": "Re-imagining Africa's Past in Digital Age: Using Linked Open Data to revolutionise Archive Connectivity and Accessibility", "authors": [ { "name": "Jessica R. Holland", "personId": "jessica-r-holland", "affiliation": "British School at Athens" }, { "name": "David Maina", "personId": "david-maina", "affiliation": "British Institute of Eastern Africa" } ], "abstract": "This project will develop Linked Open Data methodologies connecting multidisciplinary archival collections for the first time, revolutionizing accessibility to materials from different regions in Africa. We will demonstrate how data from different regions is interlinked, using examples from the British Institute of Eastern Africa (BIEA) archive and the British Institute of Libya and Northern Africa Studies (BILNAS). This project's use of Linked Open Data will have an impact on knowledge production by creating an avenue where African researchers can re-interpret data collected in the colonial and postcolonial period through an indigenous lens, using Afrocentric frameworks to deconstruct and reconstruct identities which were often misrepresented by Eurocentric research in the past. For example, the portal will create an avenue where pre-colonial African trade links and exchanges within the continent and beyond can be illuminated. An early focus on the connections between Islamic architecture collections across different institutions - including those outside of Africa in the Levant and Italy, representing Roman, Byzantine and Islamic civilisations - has raised the profile of these archives and provided archivists with leverage to advocate for increased time and resources spent on improving metadata and digitising these collections. We are demonstrating the potential of these methods through digital storytelling and map-based data visualizations, showing how Linked Open Data can facilitate answers to new and complex research questions. We will also comment on the limitations of the Anglocentric collection descriptions, and of reinterpretation of the materials when they remain under the control of organisations in the Global North." }, { "title": "Taking the ESCALATOR from Humanities to Digital Humanities", "authors": [ { "name": "Menno van Zaanen", "personId": "menno-van-zaanen", "affiliation": "South African Centre for Digital Language Resources" }, { "name": "Jessica Mabaso", "personId": "jessica-mabaso", "affiliation": "South African Centre for Digital Language Resources" } ], "abstract": "The South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR) is a research infrastructure that, among others, aims to build research capacity in Digital Humanities across South Africa. While SADiLaR has successfully conducted training activities to familiarize participants with Digital Humanities tools, these efforts in the past have been ad hoc, lacking both follow-up support and dedicated channels for on-going assistance. The ESCALATOR project was conceived to address these limitations. Following a needs assessment that identified demand for a Digital Humanities community of practice, the project implements several strategic initiatives. Training activities have been restructured into a progressive curriculum designed to develop champions who can provide direct support to researchers at their respective universities. A Slack platform has been established to facilitate information sharing about funding opportunities and events, while also serving as a forum for questions and answers. The project organizes regional DH-IGNITE in-person events to foster networking and showcase research possibilities across universities. Additionally, a stakeholder mapping tool enables researchers to position themselves within the broader Digital Humanities landscape, facilitating collaboration among scholars working on similar topics. These coordinated efforts create a model that may benefit others seeking to develop similar communities of practice in Digital Humanities." }, { "title": "AI-Powered Analysis of Arabic Manuscripts: Accelerating Access to Sudan's Endangered Archives", "authors": [ { "name": "Albrecht Hofheinz", "personId": "albrecht-hofheinz", "affiliation": "University of Oslo" } ], "abstract": "Sudan's public and private archives face existential threats from ongoing civil war, risking the loss of historical sources before their voices can challenge dominant narratives still shaped by colonial accounts and the weight of metropolitan perspectives in the Global North. The Sudan Collection at the University of Bergen, containing copies of approximately 5000 documents from Sudanese archives, has become increasingly vital given the precarious state of the originals, particularly land documents that may inform post-war settlements. The Universities of Bergen, Oslo, and Khartoum are collaborating to digitize and catalogue this collection for UNESCO World Heritage List nomination. While digitization provides unprecedented access, traditional textual scholarship struggles to keep pace, and Arabic HTR (handwritten text recognition) remains limited by extensive pre-training requirements. This paper presents an innovative method to unlock large Arabic manuscript collections using Google's Document AI, accessed through a simple programming interface. Despite imperfect HTR output, this tool, combined with large language models, enables effective automated content analysis and summarization. By reducing the time required to identify materials warranting detailed examination, this workflow frees valuable resources for in-depth textual analysis. This methodology has been validated by comparing results against conventionally studied samples. The presentation will demonstrate both the technical workflow and its application to a unique corpus of 600+ manuscript pages from 18th-20th century Sudan in the Bergen collection. This approach not only expedites research but also amplifies local voices preserved within these manuscripts, contributing to a more inclusive and representative understanding of Sudanese history." }, { "title": "Data Riddles: Mapping Senufo as a Case Study", "authors": [ { "name": "Susan Elizabeth Gagliardi", "personId": "susan-elizabeth-gagliardi", "affiliation": "Emory University" } ], "abstract": "Mapping Senufo: Art, Evidence, and the Production of Knowledge—a collaborative, iterative, born-digital publication project—focuses on arts recognized as Senufo, one of the most celebrated and documented styles of so-called historical, traditional, or classical arts of Africa since the early twentieth century. Senufo also names a language family and a cultural or ethnic group spanning the borders of present-day Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, and Mali. Recent generations of local knowledge experts in this region report transmission of insights through riddles that invite each learner to arrive at their own conclusions based on careful observation, reflection, and experimentation. This form of knowledge dissemination encourages slow thinking and processing of information that the digital realm tends to thwart through its promise of fast facts accessible in an instant to anyone with a data connection. For instance, when they consult museum websites, users might assume the details presented to them rest on solid evidence. However, available data often constitute riddles more than indisputable details. In this presentation, Susan Elizabeth Gagliardi draws on her work with the Mapping Senufo project team to demonstrate possibilities for slowing down engagement in the digital realm and recuperating processes of observation, reflection, and experimentation. She reflects on what the project team has learned along the way and examines possible next steps." }, { "title": "Historian vs AI: who reads and analyses archives best?", "authors": [ { "name": "Vincent Hiribarren", "personId": "vincent-hiribarren", "affiliation": "King's College London" }, { "name": "Frédérick Madore", "affiliation": "Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient" } ], "abstract": "This paper evaluates the potential of large language models in relation to human source criticism, examining two contrasting cases. First, we revisit the British Colonial Office files on the Cameroon War (1957–63), comparing a historian's interpretations with the summaries and targeted answers on chronology, agency and motive provided by Gemini 2.5 Pro. Secondly, we scale up to the Islam West Africa Collection, comprising 24 million words from 15,000 newspaper clippings and 1,500 Islamic publications. This collection is processed through custom pipelines that repair OCR errors, reconstruct layout, tag entities and measure sentiment. While AI excels at scale and pattern detection, it also perpetuates colonial framings, highlighting the necessity of human oversight and contextual judgement. Rather than victory for one side, the evidence points to a collaborative model in which historians design prompts, audit outputs, and ensure that interpretation remains accountable, while machines handle routine, corpus-wide tasks." } ], "tags": [ "ECAS", "Digital Humanities", "AI", "African Studies", "Decolonial", "Linked Open Data", "Metadata" ], "project": "Digital Humanities and AI in African Studies", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/ecas-2025.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/ecas-2025-hero.webp", "alt": "Digital Humanities (DH) and AI in African Studies: Opportunities, Challenges, and Decolonial Perspectives" } }, { "id": "historian-vs-ai-ecas-2025", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/historian-vs-ai-ecas-2025", "type": "conference", "title": "Historian vs AI: who reads and analyses archives best?", "authors": [ "Vincent Hiribarren", "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "26 June 2025", "dateISO": "2025-06-26", "year": 2025, "language": "English", "abstract": "This paper evaluates the potential of large language models in relation to human source criticism, examining two contrasting cases. First, we revisit the British Colonial Office files on the Cameroon War (1957–63), comparing a historian's interpretations with the summaries and targeted answers on chronology, agency and motive provided by Gemini 2.5 Pro. Secondly, we scale up to the Islam West Africa Collection, comprising 24 million words from 15,000 newspaper clippings and 1,500 Islamic publications. This collection is processed through custom pipelines that repair OCR errors, reconstruct layout, tag entities and measure sentiment. While AI excels at scale and pattern detection, it also perpetuates colonial framings, highlighting the necessity of human oversight and contextual judgement. Rather than victory for one side, the evidence points to a collaborative model in which historians design prompts, audit outputs, and ensure that interpretation remains accountable, while machines handle routine, corpus-wide tasks.", "conference": "10th European Conference of African Studies (ECAS)", "panelTitle": "Digital Humanities (DH) and AI in African Studies: Opportunities, Challenges, and Decolonial Perspectives", "location": "Prague", "country": "Czech Republic", "coordinates": { "latitude": 50.08896481219099, "longitude": 14.416024062407818 }, "tags": [ "ECAS", "AI", "Archives", "Digital Humanities", "History", "Cameroon", "IWAC", "West Africa" ], "project": "Digital Humanities and AI in African Studies", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/ecas-2025.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/ecas-2025-hero.webp", "alt": "10th European Conference of African Studies (ECAS)" } }, { "id": "militantisme-religieux-campus-benin-togo-2025", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/militantisme-religieux-campus-benin-togo-2025", "type": "lecture", "title": "Militantisme religieux sur les campus universitaires : le cas du Bénin et du Togo", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "28 May 2025", "dateISO": "2025-05-28", "year": 2025, "language": "French", "abstract": "Cette conférence examine l'évolution des associations religieuses étudiantes dans les universités d'Abomey-Calavi et de Lomé depuis 1970. Malgré un contexte initialement marqué par l'autoritarisme et dominé par des idéologies laïques et marxistes, ces organisations chrétiennes et musulmanes ont transformé la vie universitaire en proposant aux étudiants un 'curriculum social' alliant guidance spirituelle et soutien pratique.", "conference": "Séminaire 'Histoire et anthropologie comparées du fait religieux en Afrique' animé par Marie Miran", "location": "Humathèque Condorcet", "country": "France", "coordinates": { "latitude": 48.911008116361714, "longitude": 2.366853761147573 }, "tags": [ "Religious Activism", "University Campuses", "Benin", "Togo", "West Africa", "Islam", "Christianity" ], "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/EHESS-2025.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/EHESS-2025-hero.webp", "alt": "Flyer announcing Frédérick Madore's lecture series at EHESS in May 2025" }, "links": [ { "label": "Presentation", "url": "https://doi.org/10.58079/13pmz" } ] }, { "id": "humanites-numeriques-ia-ecole-chartes-2025", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/humanites-numeriques-ia-ecole-chartes-2025", "type": "lecture", "title": "Humanités numériques et flux de recherche augmentés par l'IA pour la Collection islam Afrique de l'Ouest", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "22 May 2025", "dateISO": "2025-05-22", "year": 2025, "language": "French", "abstract": "Une présentation sur l'application des humanités numériques et de l'intelligence artificielle pour enrichir les flux de recherche dans la Collection islam Afrique de l'Ouest.", "conference": "Work talk", "location": "École nationale des chartes", "country": "France", "coordinates": { "latitude": 48.8489, "longitude": 2.3536 }, "tags": [ "Digital Humanities", "AI", "IWAC", "Islam", "West Africa", "Computational Methods" ], "project": "Digital Humanities and AI in African Studies", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/activities/ecole-nationale-des-chartes.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/activities/ecole-nationale-des-chartes.webp", "alt": "École nationale des chartes" } }, { "id": "rencontre-chretiens-musulmans-2025", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/rencontre-chretiens-musulmans-2025", "type": "lecture", "title": "Rencontre entre chrétiens et musulmans: au-delà du binaire coexistence pacifique/conflits religieux", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "21 May 2025", "dateISO": "2025-05-21", "year": 2025, "language": "French", "abstract": "Les paysages religieux pluralistes du Togo, Bénin, Côte d'Ivoire et Burkina Faso offrent une perspective intéressante sur la coexistence religieuse, dépassant la simple dichotomie entre conflit et harmonie. La longue histoire de coexistence et de compétition entre chrétiens et musulmans a façonné des pratiques religieuses qui se reflètent mutuellement, créant des modèles alternatifs de cohabitation où intimité et rivalité s'entrelacent.", "conference": "Séminaire 'Histoire et anthropologie comparées du fait religieux en Afrique' animé par Marie Miran", "location": "Humathèque Condorcet", "country": "France", "coordinates": { "latitude": 48.911008116361714, "longitude": 2.366853761147573 }, "tags": [ "Christianity", "Islam", "Interreligious Relations", "West Africa", "Togo", "Benin", "Burkina Faso", "Côte d'Ivoire" ], "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/EHESS-2025.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/EHESS-2025-hero.webp", "alt": "Flyer announcing Frédérick Madore's lecture series at EHESS in May 2025" }, "links": [ { "label": "Presentation", "url": "https://doi.org/10.58079/13pmz" } ] }, { "id": "histoire-communautes-musulmanes-ouest-africaines-2025", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/histoire-communautes-musulmanes-ouest-africaines-2025", "type": "lecture", "title": "L'histoire des communautés musulmanes ouest-africaines : approches et perspectives des humanités numériques", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "20 May 2025", "dateISO": "2025-05-20", "year": 2025, "language": "French", "abstract": "À travers la Collection Islam Afrique de l'Ouest, nous explorons comment les approches des humanités numériques telles que le distant reading peuvent révéler des tendances intéressantes dans la couverture médiatique de l’islam depuis 65 ans, tandis que diverses visualisations (réseaux, cartes, chronologies) mettent en lumière les interconnexions transnationales entre acteurs islamiques.", "conference": "Séminaire 'Actualité de la recherche en anthropologie sociale en Afrique' animé par Sophie Bava, Alice Degorce et Marie Miran", "location": "École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS)", "country": "France", "coordinates": { "latitude": 48.9077666570092, "longitude": 2.3673775647314854 }, "tags": [ "Islam", "West Africa", "History", "Digital Humanities", "IWAC", "Muslim Communities" ], "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/EHESS-2025.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/EHESS-2025-hero.webp", "alt": "Flyer announcing Frédérick Madore's lecture series at EHESS in May 2025" }, "links": [ { "label": "Presentation", "url": "https://doi.org/10.58079/13pmz" } ] }, { "id": "questions-islam-afrique-ouest-2025", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/questions-islam-afrique-ouest-2025", "type": "lecture", "title": "Questions d'islam en Afrique de l'Ouest. Les enjeux et défis de la recherche avec les archives physiques et numériques", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "12 May 2025", "dateISO": "2025-05-12", "year": 2025, "language": "French", "abstract": "Cette conférence explore les enjeux méthodologiques de la recherche sur l'islam en Afrique de l'Ouest face à la fragmentation des archives postcoloniales. J'analyserai les défis et opportunités que représente l'exploitation d'un corpus d'articles de presse et de publications islamiques pour documenter l'histoire des communautés musulmanes depuis les indépendances, tout en montrant l'apport potentiel des sources nativement numériques.", "conference": "Séminaire de formation à la recherche en Afrique (SéFRA) animé par Fabienne Samson", "location": "École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS)", "country": "France", "coordinates": { "latitude": 48.9077666570092, "longitude": 2.3673775647314854 }, "tags": [ "Islam", "West Africa", "Archives", "Research Methods", "Digital Humanities", "IWAC" ], "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/EHESS-2025.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/EHESS-2025-hero.webp", "alt": "Flyer announcing Frédérick Madore's lecture series at EHESS in May 2025" }, "links": [ { "label": "Presentation", "url": "https://doi.org/10.58079/13pmz" } ] }, { "id": "ai-archives-humanistica-2025", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/ai-archives-humanistica-2025", "type": "conference", "title": "Intelligence artificielle et traitement des archives numériques : applications et enjeux dans la Collection Islam Afrique de l'Ouest", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "24 April 2025", "dateISO": "2025-04-24", "year": 2025, "language": "French", "abstract": "La démocratisation récente des technologies d'intelligence artificielle (IA), caractérisée par une baisse spectaculaire des coûts et l'émergence de modèles open-source performants tels que Llama, transforme profondément les pratiques d'analyse des archives numériques. Cette communication propose d'examiner les applications concrètes et les enjeux de ces outils dans le cadre de la Collection Islam Afrique de l'Ouest (https://islam.zmo.de/s/afrique_ouest/), une base de données en libre accès regroupant plus de 10 000 documents sur l'islam et les musulmans dans six pays d'Afrique de l'Ouest.\n\nFace à l'augmentation considérable du corpus au cours des dernières années (20 millions de mots), le traitement et l'indexation auparavant effectués manuellement sont désormais impossibles pour un projet piloté par une seule personne, ce qui nécessite une transformation profonde des façons de procéder. Les modèles \"standards\" de traitement du langage naturel, conçus principalement pour des contextes occidentaux, présentent des performances limitées pour la reconnaissance des entités africaines, ce qui compromet la fiabilité des analyses. Cette communication présentera des solutions innovantes basées sur l'IA et développées pour répondre à ces défis.\n\nLa présentation s'articulera autour de trois axes principaux :\n\n1. L'élaboration de pipelines Python combinant différentes API de modèles d'IA pour automatiser le traitement des documents, notamment la reconnaissance optique de caractères (ROC), l'analyse des mises en page complexes d'articles de presse, qui est souvent problématique pour les outils traditionnels de ROC, ainsi que la reconnaissance d'entités nommées. Cette étape est cruciale pour toute analyse computationnelle en humanités numériques, car la qualité et la fiabilité des résultats dépendent directement de la précision de ces traitements initiaux. Un accent particulier sera mis sur l'optimisation des \"prompts\" pour chaque tâche spécifique, démontrant comment l'ajustement minutieux des paramètres permet d'obtenir des données structurées de meilleure qualité, qui sont essentielles pour les analyses ultérieures.\n\n2. Les implications méthodologiques et éthiques de l'automatisation seront abordées, notamment les stratégies de validation, l'importance de la supervision humaine et les considérations éthiques liées au traitement d'archives sensibles. La discussion abordera également les défis techniques rencontrés et les solutions mises en place.\n\n3. Le développement d'un chatbot basé sur une architecture de Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) peut transformer radicalement l'accès aux archives numériques. Alors que les recherches traditionnelles par mots-clés nécessitent une connaissance préalable du vocabulaire exact et limitent l'exploration aux correspondances strictes, ce système permet aux utilisateurs de formuler des questions complexes en langage naturel. L'architecture RAG ne se contente pas de rechercher des occurrences : elle analyse le contexte sémantique, établit des connexions entre les documents et génère des réponses synthétiques et documentées. Cette approche facilite la découverte de relations thématiques subtiles et de tendances historiques qui échapperaient aux méthodes de recherche conventionnelles, tout en maintenant une rigueur scientifique grâce à la référence systématique aux sources primaires.\n\nCette approche ouvre la voie à des analyses computationnelles à grande échelle permettant d'identifier des tendances et des relations qui seraient difficilement détectables manuellement. S'inscrivant dans l'axe \"Intelligence artificielle (IA) : pratiques et cas d'usages en SHS\" du colloque, elle propose un retour d'expérience concret sur l'utilisation de l'IA pour le traitement d'archives numériques dans un contexte africain.", "conference": "Colloque annuel Humanistica 2025", "panelTitle": "Archives et patrimoines", "location": "Cheikh Anta Diop University", "country": "Senegal", "coordinates": { "latitude": 14.6937, "longitude": -17.4665 }, "tags": [ "AI", "Digital Humanities", "Islam", "IWAC", "Humanistica", "West Africa", "Archives" ], "project": "Digital Humanities and AI in African Studies", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/humanistica-2025.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/humanistica-2025-hero.webp", "alt": "Intelligence artificielle et traitement des archives numériques : applications et enjeux dans la Collection Islam Afrique de l'Ouest" } }, { "id": "digital-history-exe", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/digital-history-exe", "type": "lecture", "title": "DigitalHistory.Exe: Running New Programs on Old Files", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "8 April 2025", "dateISO": "2025-04-08", "year": 2025, "language": "English", "abstract": "This masterclass will explore how computational approaches - from text mining and digital mapping to AI - are reshaping historical research. Through analysis of existing projects and collaborative hands-on exercises, we will examine key digital methodologies and critically assess both the potential and limitations of these tools. The Master Class will go beyond a focus on Western contexts to include the application of digital approaches to African history, where unique challenges and opportunities exist.", "conference": "Master Class", "location": "Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History Potsdam (ZZF)", "country": "Germany", "coordinates": { "latitude": 52.39576849534208, "longitude": 13.05789249482127 }, "tags": [ "Digital History", "Computational Methods", "Archives", "Digital Humanities", "Historical Research", "AI" ], "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/zzf-logo.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/zzf-logo-hero.webp", "alt": "Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History Potsdam (ZZF) Logo" }, "links": [ { "label": "Presentation", "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20250411145918/https://zzf-potsdam.de/forschung/doktorand_innen/master-class" } ] }, { "id": "etablir-faitiere-islamique", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/etablir-faitiere-islamique", "type": "workshop", "title": "L'ambition fédératrice à l'épreuve de la diversité : étude comparative des faîtières islamiques au Burkina Faso, Togo, Bénin et Côte d'Ivoire", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "4 March 2025", "dateISO": "2025-03-04", "year": 2025, "language": "French", "conference": "Workshop Religiosités et vies associatives en Afrique: entre stratégies d'organisation et vies en mouvement", "location": "Puidoux", "country": "Switzerland", "coordinates": { "latitude": 46.494026160672135, "longitude": 6.779523450902999 }, "tags": [ "Islam", "West Africa", "Religious Organisations", "Francophone", "Umbrella Organisations", "Burkina Faso", "Togo", "Benin", "Côte d'Ivoire" ], "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/puidoux.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/puidoux-hero.webp", "alt": "Puidoux" } }, { "id": "author-meets-critic-faith-activism-2024", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/author-meets-critic-faith-activism-2024", "type": "panel", "title": "Author Meets Critic. Faith-based Student Activism in Togo and Benin: Muslims and Christians on University Campuses", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "12 December 2024", "dateISO": "2024-12-12", "year": 2024, "language": "English", "abstract": "Book Title: Religious Activism on Campuses in Togo and Benin: Christian and Muslim Students Navigating Authoritarianism and Laïcité, 1970–2023", "conference": "67th Meeting of the African Studies Association (ASA)", "location": "Chicago", "country": "United States", "coordinates": { "latitude": 41.892233577101, "longitude": -87.62496755899927 }, "participants": [ { "name": "Frédérick Madore", "role": "Author", "affiliation": "Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient" }, { "name": "Ebenezer Obadare", "personId": "ebenezer-obadare", "role": "Critic", "affiliation": "Council on Foreign Relations" }, { "name": "Marius Kothor", "personId": "marius-kothor", "role": "Critic", "affiliation": "Harvard University" }, { "name": "Benjamin N. Lawrance", "personId": "benjamin-n-lawrance", "role": "Critic", "affiliation": "University of Arizona" }, { "name": "Leonardo A. Villalón", "personId": "leonardo-a-villalon", "role": "Critic", "affiliation": "University of Florida" }, { "name": "K. D. Thompson", "personId": "k-d-thompson", "role": "Chair", "affiliation": "University of Wisconsin-Madison" } ], "tags": [ "ASA", "Student Activism", "Faith", "Togo", "Benin", "University", "Religion", "Islam", "Christianity", "Religious Activism" ], "project": "Religious Activism on Campuses in Togo and Benin", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/ASA-Logo.svg" }, { "id": "repenser-categorisation-religieuse-benin", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/repenser-categorisation-religieuse-benin", "type": "workshop", "title": "Repenser la catégorisation religieuse à partir du Bénin, terre du vodun", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore", "Fiacre Anato" ], "date": "5 December 2024", "dateISO": "2024-12-05", "year": 2024, "language": "French", "conference": "Workshop L'Afrique des religions à l'épreuve des chiffres et des catégorisations", "location": "Université Paris Cité", "country": "France", "coordinates": { "latitude": 48.85569290213881, "longitude": 2.331850397015674 }, "tags": [ "Benin", "Religious Categorisation", "Vodun", "West Africa", "Religion", "Islam" ], "project": "Muslim Minorities in Southern Cities of Benin and Togo", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/paris-cite.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/paris-cite-hero.webp", "alt": "Université Paris Cité logo" } }, { "id": "tracing-islamic-knowledge-production", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/tracing-islamic-knowledge-production", "type": "workshop", "title": "Tracing Islamic Knowledge Production in Francophone West African Newspapers (1990-Present)", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "2 December 2024", "dateISO": "2024-12-02", "year": 2024, "language": "English", "abstract": "This paper examines how Francophone Muslim intellectuals in West Africa develop autonomous conceptual fields through Islamic publications. Drawing on a corpus of 1,500 Islamic periodicals from Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, and Togo (1990-present), we analyse how Western-educated Muslim writers navigate multiple epistemological traditions to generate new theoretical frameworks that transcend simple categorisations as ‘Western’, ‘African’ or traditionally ‘Islamic.’ The concept of ‘intégrisme’ (integrism), originally used to describe Catholic fundamentalism, illustrates this complex dynamic. In the 1990s, while state authorities and Western-educated Christian elites often weaponised the term to stir up fears of ‘Muslim integrism’ and ‘fundamentalism’ by drawing parallels with the Algerian civil war, Francophone Muslim intellectuals developed sophisticated counter-narratives. Their writings show how they navigated between Western-derived secular discourses, Islamic theological concepts and local African political frameworks to produce new understandings of religious commitment and political engagement. Using computational methods such as topic modelling and word embeddings, combined with close reading, we extend this analysis to trace broader conceptual transformations in Francophone Islamic discourse. We examine how concepts such as laïcité and democracy are reinterpreted by Muslim intellectuals, who draw on both their Western secular education and Islamic knowledge to develop hybrid interpretive frameworks. Similarly, concepts such as ummah, Islamism, jihadism, Wahhabism and bid’ah take on new meanings as they are reframed through this dual intellectual heritage and local context. These semantic shifts reveal complex processes of conceptual translation and adaptation resulting from the authors’ ability to navigate multiple epistemological traditions, challenging both Western secular frameworks and traditional religious authorities. The study also maps South-South knowledge circulation networks between West African countries, the Arab-Islamic world, and other Muslim communities in the Francophone world. By examining how writers engage with multiple centres of Islamic thought - from Al-Azhar and France to local institutions - we show how these media outlets create autonomous spaces for intellectual exchange and conceptual development. This research contributes to the understanding of ‘concepts, theories, philosophies, and theologies are produced in the postcolonial world’ by providing empirical evidence of how francophone Muslim intellectuals in West Africa create new conceptual fields that engage with, but are not determined by, hegemonic frameworks. It shows how religious discourse can contribute to decolonial knowledge production by offering alternative epistemological systems.", "conference": "Workshop Perspectives in Motion: Conceptual Fields from the Global South", "location": "Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient", "country": "Germany", "coordinates": { "latitude": 52.42814222811816, "longitude": 13.202338657893593 }, "tags": [ "Islamic Knowledge", "West Africa", "Newspapers", "Francophone", "Media", "Islam", "IWAC", "Digital Humanities" ], "project": "Digital Humanities and AI in African Studies", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/perspectives-in-motion.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/perspectives-in-motion-hero.webp", "alt": "Workshop poster" } }, { "id": "islam-algorithms-ai", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/islam-algorithms-ai", "type": "lecture", "title": "Islam, Algorithms and AI", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "18 July 2024", "dateISO": "2024-07-18", "year": 2024, "language": "English", "conference": "ZMO Sommerfest", "location": "Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient", "country": "Germany", "coordinates": { "latitude": 52.42814222811816, "longitude": 13.202338657893593 }, "tags": [ "Islam", "Algorithms", "AI", "Digital Religion", "Technology", "Digital Humanities", "IWAC", "West Africa" ], "project": "Digital Humanities and AI in African Studies", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/islam-algorithms-ai.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/islam-algorithms-ai-hero.webp", "alt": "Islam, Algorithms and AI" } }, { "id": "collection-islam-humanites-2024", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/collection-islam-humanites-2024", "type": "conference", "title": "La Collection Islam Afrique de l'Ouest: enjeux éthiques et décolonisation des humanités numériques", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "28 June 2024", "dateISO": "2024-06-28", "year": 2024, "language": "French", "abstract": "Cette communication vise à explorer les défis éthiques liés à la numérisation et à la diffusion en ligne de sources primaires ainsi qu’à discuter de la décolonisation des humanités numériques, en prenant pour exemple la Collection Islam Afrique de l’Ouest (https://islam.zmo.de/s/afrique_ouest). Ce projet, hébergé par le Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO), est une base de données numériques collaborative et en libre accès qui contient plus de 5000 documents d’archives, articles de presse, publications islamiques de toutes sortes, enregistrements audio et vidéo et photographies sur l’islam et les musulmans au Burkina Faso, au Bénin, au Niger, au Nigéria, au Togo et en Côte d’Ivoire. Le site inclut également plus de 800 références sur le sujet. Ce projet s’inscrit dans le prolongement de la Collection Islam Burkina Faso, qui a été créée en 2021 en partenariat avec l’Université de Floride, et souligne l’importance de repenser les pratiques dans les humanités numériques sous un angle décolonial. Depuis les années 2000, un nombre croissant d’initiatives de numérisation se concentrant sur l’Afrique ont été entreprises par des bibliothèques, centres d’archives et musées. La disponibilité croissante de ressources en ligne, qu’elles soient gratuites ou payantes, a ouvert des perspectives de recherche sans précédent. Dans ce contexte, certains ont souligné la montée d’un « tournant numérique » dans les études africanistes (Chamelot, Hiribarren et Rodet 2020). Néanmoins, une récente évolution critique en humanités numériques (Zaagsma 2022), appelle à une évaluation approfondie des implications méthodologiques et épistémologiques de ces approches en sciences humaines. La sélectivité inhérente aux programmes de numérisation soulève des préoccupations, particulièrement en termes de renforcement des silences et biais archivistiques. La prédominance de la recherche par mots clés peut conduire à négliger les documents non numérisés ou difficilement accessibles (Hitchcock 2013; Daly 2017). La « fracture numérique », caractérisée par un accès inégal à Internet, demeure un obstacle majeur (Barringer et Wallace 2014). De plus, l’archivage numérique tend souvent à reproduire les hiérarchies coloniales, car la plupart des programmes sont financés par des institutions occidentales ou des entreprises privées qui privilégient le profit à la libre diffusion des connaissances (Chamelot, Hiribarren et Rodet 2020; Fouéré, Rillon et Pommerolle 2020). Cela a donné lieu à des critiques d’« impérialisme numérique » (Breckenridge 2014) et de « complexe du sauveur numérique » (Shringarpure 2020), faisant écho à l’observation de Limb selon laquelle « les missionnaires du XXIe siècle ne portent pas de bibles, mais des scanners » (2007, 23). Répondant aux appels à la décolonisation des connaissances sur l’Afrique, la Collection Islam Afrique de l’Ouest s’inscrit dans le cadre des principes FAIR, visant à rendre les données de recherche trouvables, accessibles, interopérables et réutilisables. Ce projet s’aligne également sur l’éthique de la science ouverte, promue par l’UNESCO (2021), favorisant la libre disponibilité et l’accessibilité des connaissances scientifiques. En adhérant aux principes FAIR et aux CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance, nous mettons l’accent sur la collectivité, la responsabilité et l’éthique, tout en privilégiant le partage et la durabilité des connaissances. Concernant l’éthique de la numérisation des archives, nous prenons en compte les sensibilités culturelles et les préoccupations liées à l’« extractivisme numérique ». Notre approche vise à équilibrer respect et intégrité financière des institutions locales. Là où la numérisation n’est pas possible, nous nous concentrons sur le catalogage, respectant l’autonomie des dépositaires locaux dans la gestion de leur patrimoine culturel. Lorsque la numérisation est autorisée, nous adhérons à des pratiques éthiques, créditant les sources et identifiant les détenteurs des droits. Enfin, la Collection Islam Afrique de l’Ouest comporte majoritairement des documents en français, reflétant une perspective orientée sur les musulmans francophones éduqués à l’occidentale, au détriment des arabisants et non-francophones formés dans les madrasas et universités islamiques, qui utilisent l’arabe et des langues nationales pour communiquer avec un public plus large. Pour contrer cette prédominance francophone, la Collection, dans la prochaine phase du projet, intégrera des témoignages oraux en langues locales, recueillis auprès d’érudits et de personnalités musulmanes. Cette initiative, en collaboration avec des chercheurs et universités ouest-africaines, vise non seulement à offrir une représentation plus nuancée et complète de l’histoire et de l’évolution de l’islam en Afrique de l’Ouest, mais s’inscrit aussi dans un effort plus large pour dépasser la tendance anglocentrique et occidentale en humanités numériques.", "conference": "12th International Conference on Mande Studies", "panelTitle": "Décoloniser l'organisation et les systèmes de connaissance", "location": "Institut des Sciences Humaines", "country": "Mali", "coordinates": { "latitude": 12.65281204482263, "longitude": -7.929792400856658 }, "tags": [ "MANSA", "Digital Humanities", "Decolonisation", "Ethics", "Islam", "IWAC", "West Africa" ], "project": "Digital Humanities and AI in African Studies", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/MANSA-logo.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/MANSA-logo-hero.webp", "alt": "MANSA Logo" } }, { "id": "collection-islam-afrique-ouest", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/collection-islam-afrique-ouest", "type": "workshop", "title": "La Collection Islam Afrique de l'Ouest: nouvelles perspectives sur l'histoire des communautés musulmanes via la presse et les humanités numériques", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "25 March 2024", "dateISO": "2024-03-25", "year": 2024, "language": "French", "abstract": "A presentation of the West African Islam Collection, offering new perspectives on the history of Muslim communities through press and digital humanities.", "conference": "Enjeux éthiques et juridiques au diapason des données de la recherche en études aréales", "location": "Aix-en-Provence, Maison méditerranéenne des sciences de l'Homme", "country": "France", "coordinates": { "latitude": 43.52854733305117, "longitude": 5.418119777598703 }, "tags": [ "West Africa", "Islam", "Digital Humanities", "Press", "Muslim Communities", "IWAC", "Archives" ], "project": "Digital Humanities and AI in African Studies", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/distam-2024.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/distam-2024-hero.webp", "alt": "DISTAM logo" } }, { "id": "formation-recherche-en-ligne-niamey", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/formation-recherche-en-ligne-niamey", "type": "lecture", "title": "Formation en recherche en ligne", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "23 March 2024", "dateISO": "2024-03-23", "year": 2024, "language": "French", "conference": "Atelier", "location": "Laboratoire d'Etudes et de Recherches sur les Dynamiques Sociales et le Développement Local (LASDEL)", "country": "Niger", "coordinates": { "latitude": 13.51766342197132, "longitude": 2.101838007060417 }, "tags": [ "Research Methods", "Online Research", "Training", "Niger" ], "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/lasdel-logo.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/lasdel-logo-hero.webp", "alt": "Laboratoire d'Etudes et de Recherches sur les Dynamiques Sociales et le Développement Local (LASDEL) Logo" } }, { "id": "launch-islam-west-africa-collection", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/launch-islam-west-africa-collection", "type": "event", "title": "Launch of the Islam West Africa Collection", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "9 November 2023", "dateISO": "2023-11-09", "year": 2023, "language": "English", "abstract": "Launch event for the Islam West Africa Collection hosted by Media in Cooperation and Transition (MiCT) in Berlin.", "conference": "Launch of the Islam West Africa Collection", "location": "Media in Cooperation and Transition (MiCT)", "country": "Germany", "coordinates": { "latitude": 52.53113443481993, "longitude": 13.400499597613717 }, "participants": [ { "name": "Frédérick Madore", "role": "Speaker and Organiser", "affiliation": "Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient" }, { "name": "Ulrike Freitag", "personId": "ulrike-freitag", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient" }, { "name": "Mauro Nobili", "personId": "mauro-nobili", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, USA" }, { "name": "Issouf Binaté", "personId": "issouf-binate", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Université Alassane Ouattara, Côte d'Ivoire" }, { "name": "Kai Kresse", "personId": "kai-kresse", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient" } ], "tags": [ "IWAC", "West Africa", "Collection", "Launch", "Islam", "Digital Humanities", "Archives" ], "project": "Digital Humanities and AI in African Studies", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/poster-launch-IWAC.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/poster-launch-IWAC-hero.webp", "alt": "Poster for the launch of the Islam West Africa Collection" }, "links": [ { "label": "Presentation", "url": "https://islam.zmo.de/s/westafrica/item/244" } ] }, { "id": "university-campuses-africa-beyond", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/university-campuses-africa-beyond", "type": "event", "title": "University Campuses in Africa and Beyond: Training Grounds, Moral Spaces and Political Arenas", "authors": [ "Abdoulaye Sounaye", "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "6-8 September 2023", "dateISO": "2023-09-06", "year": 2023, "language": "English", "abstract": "Thanks to a generous grant from the Fritz Thyssen Foundation, our Remoboko research group organised its final conference entitled 'University Campuses in Africa and Beyond: Training Grounds, Moral Spaces and Political Arenas' at Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO) in Berlin on 6-8 September.", "conference": "University Campuses in Africa and Beyond", "location": "Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient", "country": "Germany", "coordinates": { "latitude": 52.42814222811816, "longitude": 13.202338657893593 }, "participants": [ { "name": "Abdoulaye Sounaye", "personId": "abdoulaye-sounaye", "role": "Convenor and Speaker", "affiliation": "Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient" }, { "name": "Frédérick Madore", "role": "Convenor and Speaker", "affiliation": "Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient" }, { "name": "Stefan Kirmse", "personId": "stefan-kirmse", "role": "Discussant", "affiliation": "Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient" }, { "name": "Mahamadou Bello Adamou", "personId": "mahamadou-bello-adamou", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Université Abdou Moumouni, Niger" }, { "name": "Vincent Favier", "personId": "vincent-favier", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "ZMO / Freie Universität, Germany" }, { "name": "Daniele Cantini", "personId": "daniele-cantini", "role": "Discussant", "affiliation": "Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Germany" }, { "name": "Rebecca Babirye", "personId": "rebecca-babirye", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Tokyo Christian University, Japan" }, { "name": "Lucie Revilla", "personId": "lucie-revilla", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, France" }, { "name": "Laure Assaf", "personId": "laure-assaf", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "NYU Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates" }, { "name": "Amanda tho Seeth", "personId": "amanda-tho-seeth", "role": "Discussant", "affiliation": "German Institute for Global and Area Studies, Germany" }, { "name": "Muhammad Wildan", "personId": "muhammad-wildan", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, Indonesia" }, { "name": "Dr. Afdawaiza", "personId": "afdawaiza", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, Indonesia" }, { "name": "Robby Habiba Abror", "personId": "robby-habiba-abror", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, Indonesia" }, { "name": "Shofiyullah Muzammil", "personId": "shofiyullah-muzammil", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, Indonesia" }, { "name": "Adéjọkẹ Rafiat Adétòrò", "personId": "adejoke-rafiat-adetoro", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "University of Ibadan, Nigeria" }, { "name": "Sana Chavoshian", "personId": "sana-chavoshian", "role": "Discussant", "affiliation": "Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient" }, { "name": "Inayah Rohmaniyah", "personId": "inayah-rohmaniyah", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, Indonesia" }, { "name": "Yekatit Tsehayu", "personId": "yekatit-tsehayu", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "University of Florida, United States" }, { "name": "Eva Spies", "personId": "eva-spies", "role": "Discussant", "affiliation": "Universität Bayreuth, Germany" }, { "name": "Olutayo C. Adesina", "personId": "olutayo-c-adesina", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "University of Ibadan, Nigeria" }, { "name": "Bruno Reinhardt", "personId": "bruno-reinhardt", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil" }, { "name": "John Schmalzbauer", "personId": "john-schmalzbauer", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Missouri State University, United States" }, { "name": "Yunus Dumbe", "personId": "yunus-dumbe", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Ghana" }, { "name": "Sadia Mahmood", "personId": "sadia-mahmood", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan" }, { "name": "Anandita Bajpai", "personId": "anandita-bajpai", "role": "Discussant", "affiliation": "ZMO, Berlin" }, { "name": "Sadia Bajwa", "personId": "sadia-bajwa", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany" }, { "name": "Adeyemi Balogun", "personId": "adeyemi-balogun", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Osun State University, Nigeria" }, { "name": "Anna Schnieder-Krüger", "personId": "anna-schnieder-kruger", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany" } ], "tags": [ "Remoboko", "University", "Campus", "Africa", "Education", "Politics", "Religion", "ZMO", "Conference" ], "project": "Religious Activism on Campuses in Togo and Benin", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/REMOBOKO-final-conference.webp", "links": [ { "label": "Presentation", "url": "https://remoboko.hypotheses.org/4854" } ] }, { "id": "formation-recherches-en-ligne-ouagadougou", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/formation-recherches-en-ligne-ouagadougou", "type": "lecture", "title": "Formation en recherche en ligne", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "19 July 2023", "dateISO": "2023-07-19", "year": 2023, "language": "French", "conference": "Atelier", "location": "Université Joseph Ki-Zerbo", "country": "Burkina Faso", "coordinates": { "latitude": 12.37676356958207, "longitude": -1.503981368946586 }, "tags": [ "Research Methods", "Online Research", "Training", "Burkina Faso" ], "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/formation-recherche-en-ligne-ouagadougou.jpeg", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/formation-recherche-en-ligne-ouagadougou.jpeg", "alt": "Screenshot of the Zoom meeting" } }, { "id": "interfaith-coexistence-campuses", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/interfaith-coexistence-campuses", "type": "workshop", "title": "Interfaith coexistence on the campuses of the University of Lomé (Togo) and the University of Abomey-Calavi (Benin) since the 1970s", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "6 June 2023", "dateISO": "2023-06-06", "year": 2023, "language": "English", "abstract": "In recent years, researchers have become increasingly interested in the issue of religious extremism on university campuses in West Africa, given the rise of jihadist movements in the Sahel. In Togo and Benin, two multi-religious countries with significant Muslim minorities, faith-based student associations, which have been present at the University of Lomé and the University of Abomey-Calavi for over fifty years, have generally maintained good relations. This is despite two decades of military dictatorship in the 1970s and 1980s and frequent and sometimes violent student protests on campus since the 1990s. From a historical perspective, this contribution will examine the conditions and mechanisms that have fostered interfaith peace on these two campuses since 1970. The study draws on a combination of sources, including interviews and focus groups with activists from the main Christian and Islamic associations, religious leaders serving student populations on campus, and faculty and university administrators, as well as a collection of written sources. It highlights the importance of interfaith dialogue and mediation, the establishment of shared spaces for prayer and religious activities, and the institutional support, particularly with regard to the fair application of laïcité.", "conference": "Workshop Religion for Peace? Identifying Conditions and Mechanisms of Interfaith Peace", "location": "Berlin, German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA)", "country": "Germany", "coordinates": { "latitude": 52.507471922094396, "longitude": 13.390146758300627 }, "tags": [ "Interfaith Relations", "Togo", "Benin", "Universities", "Peace Studies", "Islam", "Christianity", "West Africa" ], "project": "Religious Activism on Campuses in Togo and Benin", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/interfaith-coexistence-campuses.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/interfaith-coexistence-campuses.webp", "alt": "Interfaith coexistence on the campuses of the University of Lomé (Togo) and the University of Abomey-Calavi (Benin) since the 1970s" } }, { "id": "faith-based-student-organizations-2023", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/faith-based-student-organizations-2023", "type": "conference", "title": "'Too Young,' 'Immature,' and not Committed Enough: The Decline of Faith-Based Student Organizations in Togo and Benin?", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "2 June 2023", "dateISO": "2023-06-02", "year": 2023, "language": "English", "abstract": "Although religious student movements have been present at the University of Lomé (Togo) and the University of Abomey-Calavi (Benin) since the creation of these two public institutions in 1970, these organizations are at a crossroads according to many former activists. This paper offers an assessment of the current situation of Islamic and Christian activism on these campuses by placing the narratives of the former and current actors at the center of the analysis. The paper is divided into three sections. The first one discusses the disengagement from activism and the problem of maturity that is central to the narratives of elders who critically assess the current state of faith-based associations on campus. The second part presents more nuanced analyses from other former activists, but also from students themselves, who point out that these new dynamics characterizing activism today are a testimony to the significant transformations of the university and the exacerbation of the difficulties faced by students in recent years. Finally, the last part deals with university authorities, who are less receptive to the demands of faith-based organizations. This leads to the question of the application of secularism, but also the place occupied by Freemasonry, the competition of endogenous religions, which is particularly noticeable in Benin, as well as the strategies adopted by the associations. This research is based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Togo (2019, 2021, 2022) and Benin (2019, 2022) as well as the reading of the mainstream and Islamic press in both countries.", "conference": "9th European Conference on African Studies (ECAS)", "panelTitle": "Training for good life or a good society? Religious students' individual and collective aspirations in public universities in sub-Saharan Africa", "location": "University of Cologne", "country": "Germany", "coordinates": { "latitude": 50.928, "longitude": 6.929 }, "tags": [ "ECAS", "Religious Activism", "Student Organisations", "Togo", "Benin", "Youth", "Islam", "Christianity", "Universities" ], "project": "Religious Activism on Campuses in Togo and Benin", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/ecas-2023.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/ecas-2023-hero.webp", "alt": "9th European Conference on African Studies (ECAS)" } }, { "id": "workshop-religions-on-campus-2022", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/workshop-religions-on-campus-2022", "type": "event", "title": "Workshop “Religions on Campus: Coexisting Traditions, Reformulating the Secular and Life Projects”", "authors": [ "Abdoulaye Sounaye", "Frédérick Madore", "Vincent Favier", "Mahamadou Bello Adamou", "Rakiya El Matine" ], "date": "31 October - 4 November 2022", "dateISO": "2022-10-31", "year": 2022, "language": [ "English", "French" ], "abstract": "The history of the university in Africa - in both colonial and postcolonial contexts - is intricately linked to political projects and societal transformation processes. As such, this institution of higher education has not only served state-building initiatives; it has also nurtured aspirations of individuals and communities in search for better livelihood and wellbeing. This is particularly acute at the creation of most of the universities across the continent. While state centered on the university to devise development policies, visions of societal progress and public service, individuals and collectivities have also found in the institution an opportunity to build life projects, invest in social becoming and secure status. Thus, from its inception, and as an institution expected to train administrative cadres and offer public service, the university was shaped by political agendas and societal dynamics. However, while universities fed promises of independence and development, precisely because of the relevance of higher education to social life and becoming, their campuses offered to many activists, both students and instructors, not only their first experience of ideological and political training, but also a site of contestations of established social norms, political regimes and orders. These contestations and the activism they inspired usually necessitated ideological formation and the acquisition and deployment of social organization skills. This is the case in times of political repression, but also when state policies, as is the case in the 1990s, failed to keep their promises of public education and employment. Within this context, in more recent years, university campuses have also turned into major sites of religious encounter, entrepreneurship, activism and competition. The cultivation of religious identities - resulting in religion feeding activism and social organization – has become a major feature of campus life. A challenge to both the prevailing ideas of university and the organization of campus life, these developments offer a reformulation of the secular roots of higher education while repositioning the experience of being student in individual and social life projects. How do we make sense of these processes? What allows for such developments? What are the narratives, aspirations and hopes that drive the actors at the center of these dynamics? How are their activism affecting the expectations, experiences and governance of the university? How to characterize the experience of being student in that context? More broadly, how are the attempts to reshape the campus as a moral space, rethink its curriculum as an instrument of life project, and reappropriate the main institution of higher education relate to the calls to decolonize it? How are students reconciling the appeal of religion and the calls to reform the university as they train to become social actors? How does the resort to religious discourse, identities and practices relate to current decolonial and social becoming aspirations? What is the moral regime and order that emerges in that context? The papers to be presented in this workshop are expected to take on one or several of these questions, focusing on Islam, Christianity and Traditional African religions. Papers discussing Salafi and Pentecostal presence, encounter and coexistence on campus will be given priority.", "conference": "Religions on Campus: Coexisting Traditions, Reformulating the Secular and Life Projects", "location": "Laboratoire d'Etudes et de Recherches sur les Dynamiques Sociales et le Développement Local (LASDEL)", "country": "Niger", "coordinates": { "latitude": 13.51766342197132, "longitude": 2.101838007060417 }, "participants": [ { "name": "Abdoulaye Sounaye", "personId": "abdoulaye-sounaye", "role": "Convenor and Speaker", "affiliation": "Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient" }, { "name": "Frédérick Madore", "role": "Convenor and Speaker", "affiliation": "Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient" }, { "name": "Vincent Favier", "personId": "vincent-favier", "role": "Convenor and Speaker", "affiliation": "Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient" }, { "name": "Mahamadou Bello Adamou", "personId": "mahamadou-bello-adamou", "role": "Convenor and Speaker", "affiliation": "Université Abdou Moumouni, Niger" }, { "name": "Thomas Veret", "personId": "thomas-veret", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Université Paris 3 Sorbonne Nouvelle" }, { "name": "Agnès Badou", "personId": "agnes-badou", "role": "Discussant", "affiliation": "LASDEL Parakou, Benin" }, { "name": "Mounkaila Abdou", "personId": "mounkaila-abdou", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Université Abdou Moumouni, Niger" }, { "name": "Abdoulbaki Djibo", "personId": "abdoulbaki-djibo", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Université Abdou Moumouni, Niger" }, { "name": "Jean Pierre Olivier de Sardan", "personId": "jean-pierre-olivier-de-sardan", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "LASDEL, Niger" }, { "name": "Amadou Issoufou", "personId": "amadou-issoufou", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Université Abdou Moumouni, Niger" }, { "name": "Muhammad Yakasai", "personId": "muhammad-yakasai", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Humboldt University, Germany" }, { "name": "Nadir A. Nasidi", "personId": "nadir-abdulhadi-nasidi", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria" }, { "name": "Oumarou Moussa", "personId": "oumarou-moussa", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Université Abdou Moumouni, Niger" }, { "name": "Sekou Sala Timbely", "personId": "sekou-sala-timbely", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Université de Ségou, Mali" }, { "name": "Katrin Bromber", "personId": "katrin-bromber", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient" } ], "tags": [ "Remoboko", "Religion", "Campus", "Secularism", "University", "Workshop", "Niger" ], "project": "Religious Activism on Campuses in Togo and Benin", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/workshop-religions-on-campus-2022.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/workshop-religions-on-campus-2022-hero.webp", "alt": "Group photo of the participants of the workshop" }, "links": [ { "label": "Workshop Website", "url": "https://remoboko.hypotheses.org/religions-on-campus-coexisting-traditions-reformulating-the-secular-and-life-projects" } ] }, { "id": "digital-humanities-islam-burkina-faso", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/digital-humanities-islam-burkina-faso", "type": "lecture", "title": "Digital Humanities in the Making: The Islam Burkina Faso Collection", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "16 September 2022", "dateISO": "2022-09-16", "year": 2022, "language": "English", "abstract": "Presentation on the development and implementation of the Islam Burkina Faso Collection digital humanities project.", "conference": "Open Day at ZMO", "location": "Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient", "country": "Germany", "coordinates": { "latitude": 52.42814222811816, "longitude": 13.202338657893593 }, "tags": [ "Islam", "Burkina Faso", "Digital Humanities", "Collections", "West Africa", "IWAC" ], "project": "Digital Humanities and AI in African Studies", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/DH-islam-burkina-faso.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/DH-islam-burkina-faso-hero.webp", "alt": "Digital Humanities in the Making: The Islam Burkina Faso Collection" } }, { "id": "publishing-islam-burkina-faso-collection-2022", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/publishing-islam-burkina-faso-collection-2022", "type": "conference", "title": "Publishing the Islam Burkina Faso Collection: Collaboration for Digital Scholarship", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore", "Perry Collins" ], "date": "15 September 2022", "dateISO": "2022-09-15", "year": 2022, "language": "English", "abstract": "Despite the growing popularity of digital humanities, a limited number of initiatives related to Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa have attempted to mobilize digital tools to analyze and disseminate research data. Launched in 2021, the Islam Burkina Faso Collection (https://islam.domains.uflib.ufl.edu/s/bf/) is an open-access digital database containing more than 2,700 archival materials, newspaper articles, Islamic publications, photographs and bibliographical references related to Islam and Muslims in Burkina Faso. 'Digital exhibits' with interactive timelines, which include a selection of documents from the database, contextual information for approaching this material and a selective bibliography, serve as entry points for the larger collection. This project is one of the first digital humanities initiatives to be published under a new University of Florida Libraries program, LibraryPress@UF. This program, an imprint of the Libraries and the University of Florida Press, seeks to develop public scholarship across formats that extend and complement the work of traditional academic publishing. Alongside its value as a scholarly and educational resource, Islam Burkina Faso Collection has benefited LibraryPress as a case study to explore and refine three major areas: (1) publishing workflows and human resources, including evaluation of digital publications and multi-expert collaboration; (2) technical infrastructure and expertise, including defining services for web hosting and design; and (3) sustainability, including feasible expectations for maintenance and archiving. Throughout all of these areas, the project has modeled an approach to digital scholarship and library publishing that balances experimentation and ambition with realistic goals and an eye toward replicability in future work.", "conference": "34th Deutscher Orientalistentag (DOT)", "location": "Free University of Berlin", "country": "Germany", "coordinates": { "latitude": 52.4537, "longitude": 13.2879 }, "tags": [ "DOT", "Digital Scholarship", "Islamic Studies", "Burkina Faso", "Digital Collections", "Islam", "IWAC", "Digital Humanities", "West Africa" ], "project": "Digital Humanities and AI in African Studies", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/publishing-islam-burkina-faso-collection-2022.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/publishing-islam-burkina-faso-collection-2022-hero.webp", "alt": "Publishing the Islam Burkina Faso Collection: Collaboration for Digital Scholarship" } }, { "id": "islam-burkina-faso-collection-omeka-2022", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/islam-burkina-faso-collection-omeka-2022", "type": "conference", "title": "Publishing the Islam Burkina Faso Collection with Omeka S", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "8 July 2022", "dateISO": "2022-07-08", "year": 2022, "language": "English", "abstract": "Despite the growing popularity of digital humanities, a limited number of initiatives related to Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa have attempted to mobilize digital tools to analyze and disseminate research data. Launched in 2021, the Islam Burkina Faso Collection (https://islam.domains.uflib.ufl.edu/s/bf/) is an open-access digital database published by the LibraryPress@UF, which contains more than 3,100 archival materials, newspaper articles, Islamic publications, photographs and bibliographical references related to Islam and Muslims in Burkina Faso. “Digital exhibits” with interactive timelines, which include a selection of documents from the database, contextual information for approaching this material and a selective bibliography, serve as entry points for the larger collection. In the medium to long term, the Islam Burkina Faso Collection will be part of a larger collaborative digital database on Islam in West Africa, which will include material that Frédérick Madore has already digitized as part of his research on Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, and Togo.", "conference": "3rd Annual conference of the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence \"Medialities\"", "panelTitle": "The Digital - a challenging solution or solvable challenge?", "location": "University of Bayreuth", "country": "Germany", "coordinates": { "latitude": 49.9427, "longitude": 11.5674 }, "tags": [ "IWAC", "Omeka S", "Digital Collections", "Islam", "Burkina Faso", "Digital Humanities", "West Africa", "Archives" ], "project": "Digital Humanities and AI in African Studies", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/islam-burkina-faso-collection-omeka-2022.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/islam-burkina-faso-collection-omeka-2022-hero.webp", "alt": "Islam Burkina Faso Collection Omeka 2022" } }, { "id": "yovo-historian-benin-togo", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/yovo-historian-benin-togo", "type": "workshop", "title": "A 'Yovo' Historian in Benin and Togo: Conducting Fieldwork in Times of Pandemic and Fears of Jihadism Spreading", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "14 June 2022", "dateISO": "2022-06-14", "year": 2022, "language": "English", "conference": "Workshop Researching Religion, Morality and Boko in West Africa", "location": "Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg", "country": "Germany", "coordinates": { "latitude": 51.4861519467266, "longitude": 11.969523822453674 }, "tags": [ "Fieldwork", "Benin", "Togo", "Research Methodology", "Pandemic", "West Africa" ], "project": "Religious Activism on Campuses in Togo and Benin", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/yovo-historian-benin-togo.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/yovo-historian-benin-togo-hero.webp", "alt": "A 'Yovo' Historian in Benin and Togo: Conducting Fieldwork in Times of Pandemic and Fears of Jihadism Spreading" } }, { "id": "point-de-passage-frontieres-religieuses", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/point-de-passage-frontieres-religieuses", "type": "workshop", "title": "Point de passage et frontières religieuses", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "3 June 2022", "dateISO": "2022-06-03", "year": 2022, "language": "French", "conference": "Workshop Point de passage et frontières religieuses", "location": "Laboratoire d'Etudes et de Recherches sur les Dynamiques Sociales et le Développement Local (LASDEL)", "country": "Niger", "coordinates": { "latitude": 13.51766342197132, "longitude": 2.101838007060417 }, "tags": [ "Religious Boundaries", "Niger", "Interfaith Relations", "Religious Studies", "Islam", "West Africa" ], "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/point-de-passage-frontieres-religieuses.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/point-de-passage-frontieres-religieuses-hero.webp", "alt": "Point de passage et frontières religieuses" } }, { "id": "salafisme-securitisation-benin-togo-2022", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/salafisme-securitisation-benin-togo-2022", "type": "conference", "title": "Salafisme et sécuritisation de l'islam au Bénin et au Togo: instrumentalisations diverses d'une 'menace étrangère'", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "2 June 2022", "dateISO": "2022-06-02", "year": 2022, "language": "French", "abstract": "Au cours des dernières années, la détérioration de la situation sécuritaire au Sahel a laissé craindre à une extension du djihadisme aux pays côtiers du Golfe de Guinée. L’arrestation d’une vingtaine de présumés djihadistes sur le territoire togolais en avril 2019 et l’enlèvement de deux touristes français et la mort de leur guide dans le nord du Bénin le mois suivant ont alimenté ces inquiétudes. Bien qu’un nombre croissant de rapports et d’analyses traitent de la menace du salafisme et d’une « contagion » du djihadisme, les communautés musulmanes du Togo et du Bénin demeurent largement méconnues. Cette communication se penchera sur les conséquences de la sécuritisation de l’islam et plus particulièrement du salafisme sur les minorités musulmanes de ces deux pays. Elle s’appuie sur des enquêtes de terrain menés à Cotonou, Porto-Novo et Lomé (2019 et 2021) au cours desquels des entretiens ont été effectués auprès d’imams et de responsables des principales associations islamiques ainsi que sur le dépouillement de la presse généraliste. J’avance, d’une part, que l’État peut invoquer la menace du « radicalisme islamique » pour justifier la répression envers des populations musulmanes et attirer la sympathie des pays occidentaux pour limiter leur pression pour des réformes démocratiques comme ce fut le cas au Togo durant la crise sociopolitique de 2017-2018. Cette méfiance envers l’islam n’est toutefois pas nouvelle alors que la crainte de l’« intégrisme islamique » dans les années 1990 avec les actions du Front Islamique du Salut en Algérie avait conduit le pouvoir en place à surveiller étroitement la Jeunesse Estudiantine Islamique de l’Université du Bénin à Lomé. D’autre part, je montre comment des élites musulmanes à la tête des organisations faîtières des deux pays – l’Union Musulmane du Togo et l’Union Islamique du Bénin – cherchent à utiliser la popularité des prêcheurs « salafi » formés dans les pays arabes ou venant des pays voisins auprès des jeunes comme épouvantail pour discréditer la « nouvelle » génération, qui critique de plus en plus ouvertement le leadership exercé par leurs ainés.", "conference": "Islamist Protest, Terrorism and (In)Security in Africa Conference", "location": "University of Maroua", "country": "Cameroon", "coordinates": { "latitude": 10.6124, "longitude": 14.3244 }, "tags": [ "Salafism", "Securitization", "Benin", "Togo", "Political Islam", "Islam", "West Africa" ], "project": "Muslim Minorities in Southern Cities of Benin and Togo", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/salafisme-securitisation-benin-togo-2022.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/salafisme-securitisation-benin-togo-2022-hero.webp", "alt": "Salafisme et sécuritisation de l'islam au Bénin et au Togo: instrumentalisations diverses d'une 'menace étrangère'" } }, { "id": "emancipation-feminine-militantisme-islamique", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/emancipation-feminine-militantisme-islamique", "type": "workshop", "title": "Émancipation féminine et militantisme islamique en Afrique de l'Ouest depuis 1980: quelques enseignements du Burkina Faso, de la Côte d'Ivoire, du Togo et du Bénin", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "22 March 2022", "dateISO": "2022-03-22", "year": 2022, "language": "French", "abstract": "Encore aujourd’hui, nombre de féministes, d’organisations de défense des droits de l’homme et de médias occidentaux tendent à présenter les femmes musulmanes comme étant passives, opprimées et « ayant besoin d’être sauvées » (Abu-Lughod 2013). En Afrique de l’Ouest, les musulmanes sont pourtant engagées dans leurs propres luttes depuis des générations. Cette communication propose une analyse sur l’émancipation féminine et le militantisme islamique depuis les années 1980 à partir des cas du Burkina Faso, de la Côte d’Ivoire, du Togo et du Bénin. Si l’engagement militant des femmes peut contribuer à la reproduction des normes sociales dominantes, l’activisme de différentes générations de musulmanes au sein d’associations islamiques de la région met toutefois à mal l’image caricaturale de la « femme musulmane » présentée comme un sujet subalterne recevant passivement des enseignements religieux patriarcaux. Dès les années 1980 et 1990, les « pionnières » du mouvement associatif abordèrent principalement les relations de genre en termes de complémentarité des sexes. Elles s’appuyèrent sur les textes coraniques pour défendre leurs droits face aux « coutumes ancestrales » et « traditions locales » ne relevant pas de l’islam ainsi qu’à l’influence négative de la modernité occidentale. Des militantes surent aussi saisir les nouvelles opportunités offertes par la place prépondérante occupée par le genre dans la rhétorique des organisations de coopération internationale dans les années 1990 pour devenir des partenaires privilégiées des programmes de promotion féminine des bailleurs de fonds internationaux. Plus récemment, une nouvelle génération de militantes a adopté des positions plus critiques en dénonçant les interprétations patriarcales de l’islam. Bien que la plupart rejette l’étiquette de « féministes (islamiques) » en raison de la connotation occidentale et laïque de ce terme, nombre d’entre elles combinent néanmoins des cadres religieux et laïques pour aborder les questions de droits et d’émancipation des femmes.", "conference": "Atelier international Femmes africaines dans une société d'hommes: espaces contraints, habilité sociale et formes d'émancipation", "location": "Université de Kabala", "country": "Mali", "coordinates": { "latitude": 12.485158567864516, "longitude": -8.052197170497216 }, "tags": [ "Female Emancipation", "Islamic Activism", "West Africa", "Gender Studies", "Islam", "Burkina Faso", "Côte d'Ivoire", "Togo", "Benin" ], "project": "Youth and Women's Islamic Activism in Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/emancipation-feminine-militantisme-islamique.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/emancipation-feminine-militantisme-islamique-hero.webp", "alt": "Émancipation féminine et militantisme islamique en Afrique de l'Ouest depuis 1980: quelques enseignements du Burkina Faso, de la Côte d'Ivoire, du Togo et du Bénin" } }, { "id": "associations-chretiennes-islamiques-campus", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/associations-chretiennes-islamiques-campus", "type": "lecture", "title": "Les associations chrétiennes et islamiques sur les campus de l'Université d'Abomey-Calavi et de l'Université de Lomé depuis 1970: la laïcité à l'université face à l'activisme religieux", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "8 March 2022", "dateISO": "2022-03-08", "year": 2022, "language": "French", "abstract": "A study of Christian and Islamic associations on the campuses of the University of Abomey-Calavi and the University of Lomé since 1970, examining secularism in universities in the face of religious activism.", "conference": "Laboratoire d'Analyse et de Recherche, Religions, Espaces et Développement (LARRED)", "location": "Université d'Abomey-Calavi", "country": "Benin", "coordinates": { "latitude": 6.414542574575833, "longitude": 2.3407357046550015 }, "tags": [ "Religious Associations", "Universities", "Benin", "Togo", "Secularism", "Islam", "Christianity", "West Africa" ], "project": "Religious Activism on Campuses in Togo and Benin", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/associations-chretiennes-islamiques-campus.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/associations-chretiennes-islamiques-campus-hero.webp", "alt": "Associations Chrétiennes et Islamiques sur les Campus de l'Université d'Abomey-Calavi et de l'Université de Lomé depuis 1970: la laïcité à l'université face à l'activisme religieux" } }, { "id": "militantisme-islamique-campus-lome", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/militantisme-islamique-campus-lome", "type": "lecture", "title": "Militantisme islamique sur le campus de l'Université de Lomé (Togo) depuis les années 1980: être musulman en contexte minoritaire, laïc et (semi-)autoritaire", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "22 February 2022", "dateISO": "2022-02-22", "year": 2022, "language": "French", "abstract": "Si l'Université de Lomé, auparavant sous l'emprise du parti unique du Rassemblement du peuple togolais, est souvent perçue comme un haut lieu de la contestation parfois violente du pouvoir depuis le tournant des années 1990, elle est aussi caractérisée par une multiplication d'associations religieuses de différentes confessions. Cette communication propose de retracer l'histoire du militantisme islamique dans cet établissement d'enseignement supérieur laïc depuis la création de la Jeunesse estudiantine islamique de l'Université du Bénin dans les années 1980. L'engagement militant sur ce campus reflète, d'une part, les mutations plus larges qui ont caractérisé l'islam au Togo au cours des dernières décennies, dont le rôle joué par cette élite musulmane dans les débats politiques. D'autre part, il met en relief les défis auxquels font face les jeunes étudiant.e.s musulmans en contexte minoritaire et autoritaire, qui sont exacerbés par la méfiance de l'État envers l'islam 'politique' et les craintes plus récentes de l'extension du djihadisme aux pays côtiers du Golfe de Guinée.", "conference": "Chaire de recherche sur l'islam contemporain en Afrique de l'Ouest", "location": "Université du Québec à Montréal", "country": "Canada", "coordinates": { "latitude": 45.513161245085065, "longitude": -73.56029863019006 }, "tags": [ "Islamic Activism", "Togo", "Universities", "Religious Minorities", "Secularism", "Islam", "West Africa" ], "project": "Religious Activism on Campuses in Togo and Benin", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/militantisme-islamique-campus-lome.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/militantisme-islamique-campus-lome-hero.webp", "alt": "Militantisme islamique sur le campus de l'Université de Lomé (Togo) depuis les années 1980: être musulman en contexte minoritaire, laïc et (semi-)autoritaire" } }, { "id": "workshop-religion-in-higher-educational-institutions-2021", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/workshop-religion-in-higher-educational-institutions-2021", "type": "event", "title": "Workshop “Religion in Higher Educational Institutions in Africa and Beyond: (Re)Conversion, Power, and Authority from a Comparative Perspective”", "authors": [ "Abdoulaye Sounaye", "Frédérick Madore", "Vincent Favier", "Mahamadou Bello Adamou", "Adéjoké Rafiat Adétòrò" ], "date": "16-17 November 2021", "dateISO": "2021-11-16", "year": 2021, "language": "English", "abstract": "Religious diversity is a feature of contemporary Sub-Saharan Africa and the outcome of many dynamic socio-historical processes. Over the past centuries, Christianity and Islam in particular, claimed a significant influence on social, political and even economic inter actions across the continent. While trade, missions, migrations, and demographic growth imposed new forms of religious cohabitation, being religious and displaying it has become prevalent in many parts of the continent. This has affected the status of religiosity in pri vate and public domains, has shaped modes of belonging, power relations, and ultimately how people interact, especially in multi-religious settings. \n\nOrganised by the Remoboko research group, this workshop focuses on conversion and power/authority in religious interactions, and aims to offer insights into (re)conversion (as a social and spiritual process) and power/authority (emanating from individuals, reli gious leaders or institutions) on university campuses. Prioritising a comparative approach, it seeks to bring together various analytical and methodological approaches and disci plinary perspectives to examine the dynamic of conversion and construction of authority in higher educational institutions. \n\nStudents' social background, gender, religious belonging, academic status (undergradu ate, postgraduate, doctor, professor...) are conceptual lenses that could be used to frame contributions. We acknowledge that power is relational and multidimensional; hence we include alternative concepts such as authority, agency, domination, and influence, which may help understand conversion in relation to authority in social interactions and religious experiences. What drives conversion at the individual or the group level? To what extent does conversion occur through personal choice, external persuasion or coercion? How au thoritative are the power structures — scriptures, theologies and interpretations — that religion produces in the processes of (re)conversion? What narratives are mobilised to establish authority, and build outreach strategies? How are identities and belonging re configured? What boundaries emerge and are challenged in this process? What power relations ensue? How does (re)conversion shape religious interactions and experience on campus? These are some of the issues we would like to engage. Therefore, we welcome contributions that rely on detailed empirical case studies in higher education contexts.", "conference": "Religion in Higher Educational Institutions in Africa and Beyond: (Re)Conversion, Power, and Authority from a Comparative Perspective", "location": "Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient", "country": "Germany", "coordinates": { "latitude": 52.42814222811816, "longitude": 13.202338657893593 }, "participants": [ { "name": "Abdoulaye Sounaye", "personId": "abdoulaye-sounaye", "role": "Convenor and Speaker", "affiliation": "Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient" }, { "name": "Frédérick Madore", "role": "Convenor and Speaker", "affiliation": "Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient" }, { "name": "Vincent Favier", "personId": "vincent-favier", "role": "Convenor and Speaker", "affiliation": "Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient" }, { "name": "Mahamadou Bello Adamou", "personId": "mahamadou-bello-adamou", "role": "Convenor and Speaker", "affiliation": "Université Abdou Moumouni, Niger" }, { "name": "Adéjoké Rafiat Adétòrò", "personId": "adejoke-rafiat-adetoro", "role": "Convenor and Speaker", "affiliation": "Université Laval, Canada" }, { "name": "Olubunmi Olowookere", "personId": "olubunmi-olowookere", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "University of Ibadan, Nigeria" }, { "name": "Sekou Sala Timbely", "personId": "sekou-sala-timbely", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Université Abdou Moumouni, Niger" }, { "name": "Ahmadou Hamage Issa", "personId": "ahmadou-hamage-issa", "role": "Chair", "affiliation": "Université Abdou Moumouni, Niger" }, { "name": "Gerd Spittler", "personId": "gerd-spittler", "role": "Discussant", "affiliation": "University of Bayreuth, Germany" }, { "name": "June Temitope Gbadamosi", "personId": "june-temitope-gbadamosi", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "University of Ibadan, Nigeria" }, { "name": "Ibrahim Bachir Abdoulaye", "personId": "ibrahim-bachir-abdoulaye", "role": "Chair", "affiliation": "University of Bayreuth, Germany" }, { "name": "Dorothea E. Schulz", "personId": "dorothea-schulz", "role": "Discussant", "affiliation": "University of Münster, Germany" }, { "name": "Mara Leichtman", "personId": "mara-leichtman", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Michigan State University, USA" }, { "name": "Ameen Kasim", "personId": "ameen-kasim", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Islamic University College, Ghana" }, { "name": "Guy Bucumi", "personId": "guy-bucumi", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Université de Sherbrooke, Canada" }, { "name": "Mbaye Lo", "personId": "mbaye-lo", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Duke University, USA" }, { "name": "Karen Lauterbach", "personId": "karen-lauterbach", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "University of Copenhagen, Denmark" }, { "name": "Seyni Mamoudou Ibrahim", "personId": "seyni-mamoudou-ibrahim", "role": "Chair", "affiliation": "University of Bayreuth, Germany" }, { "name": "Élodie Apard", "personId": "elodie-apard", "role": "Discussant", "affiliation": "Laboratoire d'Anthropologie Sociale (LAM), France" }, { "name": "Nadir Abdulhadi Nasidi", "personId": "nadir-abdulhadi-nasidi", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria" }, { "name": "Youssoufou Bakayoko", "personId": "youssoufou-bakayoko", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Université Alassane Ouattara, Côte d'Ivoire" }, { "name": "Hamissou Rhissa Achaffert", "personId": "hamissou-rhissa-achaffert", "role": "Chair", "affiliation": "University of Bayreuth, Germany" }, { "name": "Benedikt Pontzen", "personId": "benedikt-pontzen", "role": "Discussant", "affiliation": "Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient" }, { "name": "Abdoulbaki Djibo", "personId": "abdoulbaki-djibo", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Université Abdou Moumouni, Niger" }, { "name": "Simbarashe Gukurume", "personId": "simbarashe-gukurume", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Sol Plaatje University, South Africa" }, { "name": "Mamadou Yéro Baldé", "personId": "mamadou-yero-balde", "role": "Speaker", "affiliation": "Université Cheikh Anta Diop, Senegal" } ], "tags": [ "Remoboko", "Higher Education", "Power", "Authority", "Conversion", "University", "Religion", "Workshop", "ZMO" ], "project": "Religious Activism on Campuses in Togo and Benin", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/workshop-religion-in-higher-educational-institutions-2021.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/workshop-religion-in-higher-educational-institutions-2021-hero.webp", "alt": "Group photo of the participants of the workshop" }, "links": [ { "label": "Workshop Website", "url": "https://remoboko.hypotheses.org/activities/workshops/workshop-2021" } ] }, { "id": "generations-imam-benin-2021", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/generations-imam-benin-2021", "type": "conference", "title": "Generations at Odds: The Controversial Political Candidacy of an Imam in Benin (2019)", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "18 June 2021", "dateISO": "2021-06-18", "year": 2021, "language": "English", "abstract": "With the alarming deterioration of the security situation in Burkina Faso, recent reports have warned about the risk of the spread of jihadism in coastal West Africa. The kidnapping of two French tourists and the killing of their guide in northern Benin in May 2019 have confirmed these fears. However, Islam in the Christian-majority and Francophone areas of the Gulf of Guinea remain mostly unknown apart from Côte d’Ivoire. In Benin, despite the rise of Pentecostal and evangelical movements and the advent of the Catholic Charismatic renewal since the 1990s, Islam has nonetheless seen considerable progress in the religious landscape. This religion, now accounting for 28% of the population, has recently attracted attention for an apparent Islamic “awakening.” Following the major mobilization of the Muslim community in 2017, the government had to reverse a ban on occupying public streets for prayers. In April 2019, the imam of one the main mosque of Cotonou, who is also the vice-president of the Union Islamique du Bénin (UIB)—an umbrella organization considered as the official interlocutor of Muslims with the state—was elected to the National Assembly. In this paper, I use this affair as a starting point to reflect on the ways in which Benin Muslim minorities have engaged with politics in a secular state. I will analyze how perceptions of marginalization have shaped their participation in the public sphere. Special attention will also be paid on the capacity of Muslim youth to publicly express divergent opinions in relation to the discourses of the “official” or “self-proclaimed” representatives of their community. The research is based on recent fieldwork in Cotonou and Porto-Novo in spring 2019. I conducted interviews with imams as well as leaders and activists from most of the main Islamic associations. I also draw on national newspapers and various Islamic publications. I argue that the heated controversy that arose regarding the imam’s candidacy has exacerbated the existing intergenerational tensions within the Muslim community. As pointed out by Masquelier and Soares (2016), positioning oneself as a “young” Muslim can be a way of challenging established hierarchies by claiming leadership and a moral and intellectual superiority over the “old” generation. Beninese Muslims of widely varying age ranges put forward their generational differences by presenting themselves as being more able than the other “generation” to defend the concerns of their community. Beyond these intergenerational and personal rivalries that even led to a split within the UIB, these disagreements reflect more largely the desire of a growing number of Muslim elites to become more actively engaged with politics over issues related to citizenship, secularism, religious pluralism, and economic development. While the surge of interest in the “radicalization” of Muslims in West Africa has helped fuel concerns about Islam and politics in the region, the increased participation of Muslims in the political arena should not be understood as the rise of “Islamism” in Benin, but as a sign that the historical political subordination of Muslim elites may well be a thing of the past.", "conference": "11th International Conference of the Mande Studies Association (MANSA)", "panelTitle": "Re-Inventing Islam: Muslims as Agents of Change in 20th & 21st Century West Africa", "location": "Uppsala", "country": "Sweden", "coordinates": { "latitude": 59.8586, "longitude": 17.6389 }, "tags": [ "MANSA", "Religious Leadership", "Political Engagement", "Benin", "Generational Conflict", "Islam", "West Africa" ], "project": "Muslim Minorities in Southern Cities of Benin and Togo", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/generations-imam-benin-2021.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/generations-imam-benin-2021-hero.webp", "alt": "Generations at Odds: The Controversial Political Candidacy of an Imam in Benin (2019)" } }, { "id": "salafisme-pentecotisme-campus-benin-togo", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/salafisme-pentecotisme-campus-benin-togo", "type": "lecture", "title": "Salafisme et pentecôtisme sur les campus au Bénin et au Togo: la laïcité à l'université face à l'activisme religieux", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "8 April 2021", "dateISO": "2021-04-08", "year": 2021, "language": "French", "abstract": "Généralement présentées comme étant à l’avant-garde de la lutte contre le (néo) colonialisme, une pépinière d’élites en devenir, un bastion des idéologies révolutionnaires de gauche ou encore un haut lieu de contestation des régimes autoritaires, les universités d’Afrique subsaharienne sont pourtant caractérisées par la forte présence du religieux depuis les années 1990. Ce phénomène, qui demeure sous-étudié, s’est notamment traduit par la multiplication d’associations islamiques et chrétiennes sur les campus. Cette conférence présentera les premiers résultats d’un nouveau projet de recherche sur la concurrence entre les groupes salafistes et (néo) pentecôtistes dans les universités du Bénin et du Togo. L’activisme religieux dans la sphère universitaire amène à s’interroger sur la laïcité dans les établissements d’enseignement supérieur de la région.", "conference": "Conférences midi du CIRAM", "location": "Université Laval", "country": "Canada", "coordinates": { "latitude": 46.7793, "longitude": -71.2825 }, "tags": [ "Salafism", "Pentecostalism", "Universities", "Benin", "Togo", "Secularism", "Islam", "Christianity", "West Africa", "Religious Activism" ], "project": "Religious Activism on Campuses in Togo and Benin", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/salafisme-pentecotisme-campus-benin-togo.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/salafisme-pentecotisme-campus-benin-togo-hero.webp", "alt": "Salafisme et pentecôtisme sur les campus au Bénin et au Togo: la laïcité à l'université face à l'activisme religieux" } }, { "id": "political-mobilizations-burkina-faso", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/political-mobilizations-burkina-faso", "type": "workshop", "title": "Political mobilizations in Burkina Faso", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "27 November 2020", "dateISO": "2020-11-27", "year": 2020, "language": "English", "conference": "Workshop Political mobilizations in Burkina Faso", "location": "University of Ottawa", "country": "Canada", "coordinates": { "latitude": 45.4231, "longitude": -75.6831 }, "tags": [ "Political Mobilisation", "Burkina Faso", "West Africa", "Political Studies" ], "project": "Youth and Women's Islamic Activism in Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso" }, { "id": "representations-islam-muslims-togo", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/representations-islam-muslims-togo", "type": "workshop", "title": "Representations of Islam and Muslims in Togo's State-Owned Newspapers Since the 1960s: From Loyal Religious Minority to Potential Threat", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "9 October 2020", "dateISO": "2020-10-09", "year": 2020, "language": "English", "abstract": "This paper offers a broad overview of the changing representations of Islam and Muslims in Togo’s state-owned newspapers since the 1960s. Surprisingly, the Muslim community—now accounting for around 15 to 20% of the country’s population—received relatively wide media coverage in the postcolonial era. Throughout Gnassingbé Eyadéma’s regime (1967–2005), Muslims have been regularly portrayed as a marginal, but a steadfastly loyal religious minority. For instance, media have contributed significantly to the development of a state-sponsored Islam by showcasing the Muslim Union of Togo (UMT) and its leaders as the sole official representatives of the Muslim community. The UMT has become in practice the mouthpiece of the one-party state. However, since the beginning of the Boko Haram insurgency and, more recently, the deteriorating security situation in Burkina Faso, state-owned newspapers have played a pivotal role in the securitization of Muslims. They have tended to reinforce a dichotomy between the so-called “local” and “peaceful” Togolese Islam, and the threatening “foreign” and “radical” Islam. State-owned newspapers have depicted Muslims critical of the ruling regime as part of a dangerous wave of political Islam using terms such as 'jihadism,' 'Salafism,' 'Islamism,' and 'terrorism' to discredit the opposition.", "conference": "Workshop Islam, Media, and Popular Culture in Africa and Elsewhere", "location": "University of Florida", "country": "United States", "coordinates": { "latitude": 29.649267030531483, "longitude": -82.34204912970114 }, "tags": [ "Islam", "Media Representation", "Togo", "Muslims", "State Media", "West Africa" ], "project": "Muslim Minorities in Southern Cities of Benin and Togo", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/representations-islam-muslims-togo.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/representations-islam-muslims-togo-hero.webp", "alt": "Representations of Islam and Muslims in Togo's State-Owned Newspapers Since the 1960s: From Loyal Religious Minority to Potential Threat" } }, { "id": "muslim-intellectuals-francophone-salafis", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/muslim-intellectuals-francophone-salafis", "type": "lecture", "title": "'Muslim Intellectuals' and 'Francophone Salafis' in West Africa: New Religious Elites?", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "1 October 2020", "dateISO": "2020-10-01", "year": 2020, "language": "English", "abstract": "The recent developments in West Africa echo the diversification in the types and sources of religious authority which can be observed elsewhere in the contemporary Muslim world. More individuals and groups from different segments of society now claim the right to speak in the name of Islam and on behalf of the “Muslim community.” Drawing from extensive fieldwork in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, and Togo, this lecture will examine the emergence of a young Francophone elite claiming the status of “Muslim intellectuals” and the progressive rise of French as a legitimate language to propagate Islam in West Africa. The religious authority claimed by these Francophone Muslim leaders, educated in secular universities and often without formal training in Islamic sciences, stems less from their classical religious knowledge than from their ability to engage in the public sphere to take a stand on socio-political issues. The lecture will also discuss the growing influence of Salafism on public university campuses in the region since the late 1990s.", "conference": "Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies", "location": "Indiana University Bloomington", "country": "United States", "coordinates": { "latitude": 39.16823943506577, "longitude": -86.52300137629928 }, "tags": [ "Muslim Intellectuals", "Salafism", "West Africa", "Francophone", "Religious Elites", "Islam" ], "project": "Youth and Women's Islamic Activism in Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/muslim-intellectuals-francophone-salafis.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/muslim-intellectuals-francophone-salafis-hero.webp", "alt": "'Muslim Intellectuals' and 'Francophone Salafis' in West Africa: New Religious Elites?" } }, { "id": "public-islam-cote-ivoire-burkina-faso", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/public-islam-cote-ivoire-burkina-faso", "type": "workshop", "title": "Public Islam in Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso: a comparative overview of the use of media by Muslims since the 1970s", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "24 January 2020", "dateISO": "2020-01-24", "year": 2020, "language": "English", "abstract": "This paper examines the use of media by Muslims in Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso over the last fifty years. The comparative historical overview of Islamic print media, radio stations, and digital media in the two countries challenges the tendency to assume a linear and evolutionary progression—'technological determinism' (Becker and Cabrita 2018)—between the so-called 'old' and 'new' media. Islamic newspapers and radio stations have contributed to new forms of public Islam just as much as digital media; no teleological narrative could adequately explain how these media are transforming religious authority and practices. As soon as the early 1970s and 80s, Francophone Muslims have used both mainstream and Islamic press to challenge stereotypes of Islam. Even if most Islamic print media has been ephemeral, young Muslims have regularly used it to air their grievances about the leadership of the 'official' representatives of their community and take part in political debates, especially in Côte d’Ivoire. The creation of Islamic radio stations in the 2000s, closely monitored by the state, has rather resulted in a sort of generic Islamic discourse, avoiding political debates and confrontations with divergent religious tendencies. The capacity of digital media to subvert established religious organizations and elites should not be exaggerated. While the growing use of the Internet has opened opportunities for new religious actors, digital media in both countries have tended to preserve or even strengthen the position of well-known figures who studied in prestigious universities in the Arab world.", "conference": "Workshop Media and 'Public' Islam in Africa & Elsewhere", "location": "University of Florida", "country": "United States", "coordinates": { "latitude": 29.649267030531483, "longitude": -82.34204912970114 }, "tags": [ "Public Islam", "Media", "Côte d'Ivoire", "Burkina Faso", "Comparative Studies", "Islam", "West Africa" ], "project": "Youth and Women's Islamic Activism in Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/public-islam-cote-ivoire-burkina-faso.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/public-islam-cote-ivoire-burkina-faso-hero.webp", "alt": "Public Islam in Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso: a comparative overview of the use of media by Muslims since the 1970s" } }, { "id": "muslim-minorities-africa-2019", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/muslim-minorities-africa-2019", "type": "panel", "title": "Muslim Minorities in Africa", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "21 November 2019", "dateISO": "2019-11-21", "year": 2019, "language": "English", "abstract": "Despite increased research about Islam in Africa, Muslim minorities remain relatively understudied. This neglect is particularly striking given the fact that Muslims constitute a significant minority religious group in at least a dozen countries on the continent. This panel, therefore, aims to explore the experience of Muslims in Christian majority contexts, as well as Muslim minority movements such as the Ahmadiyya among majority Sunni communities in Africa. Special attention will be paid to the diversity of ways in which Muslim minorities have engaged with the state and politics. How have perceptions of marginalization influenced struggles for recognition and participation in the public sphere? How has the use of media contributed to shaping alternative counter-publics? The panel will also reflect upon state discourses and the management of issues related to citizenship, national identity, ethnicity, secularism, and religious pluralism, which have contributed to the construction of the identity of Muslim minorities. How has the heightened scrutiny of Muslims in the context of the “global war on terror” affected the status of such minorities? The panel includes ethnographically grounded contributions examining the plurality of ways in which “ordinary” Muslims in minority contexts practice their religion and make their religious identity meaningful in their everyday lives. How does this diversity of religious expression result in divisions among Muslim minorities? In addition to interfaith coexistence, competition, and conflict, it will also interrogate the influence of interactions with Christians and so-called African “traditional” religions on the religiosity of Muslim minorities both through complex processes of borrowing and appropriation as well as in drawing boundaries with religious Others. By engaging these questions from rich empirical case studies and employing multidisciplinary perspectives, this panel aims to contribute to the burgeoning literature on Muslims minorities elsewhere in the world, which has, so far, largely focused on Western contexts.", "conference": "62nd Meeting of the African Studies Association (ASA)", "location": "Boston", "country": "United States", "coordinates": { "latitude": 42.346757140313436, "longitude": -71.07895521140732 }, "papers": [ { "title": "Islam and Politics in the DR Congo", "authors": [ { "name": "Ashley E. Leinweber", "personId": "ashley-e-leinweber", "affiliation": "Missouri State University" } ], "abstract": "The history of the Congolese Muslim minority, estimated at 5-10% of the population, was one of repression and marginalization. Islam arrived in eastern Congo in the pre-colonial period (c. 1860) as Swahili-Arab traders from east Africa penetrated the interior as far as present-day Maniema province in search of ivory and slaves. Congolese Muslims experienced intense repression during the colonial period, resulting in detachment from politics and the state that carried over after independence. In addition, deep internal divisions at the local, provincial, and national levels riddled the community for decades. Surprisingly, in the post-conflict period the Muslim minority became increasingly active, as evidenced by a proliferation of Islamic associations. In particular, there was a concerted effort to establish Muslim public schools throughout the country. In addition, members of the Muslim community have expressed interest in furthering their participation in fledgling democratic institutions. This paper analyzes the history of the Muslim community’s marginalization from the state and recent attempts to overcome internal divisions in order to increase its social and political footprint. It ultimately argues that the Muslim minority has been able to overcome historic state repression to engage in hybrid governance with the weak Congolese state." }, { "title": "Un/making religious difference through auditory practices? Muslims as a religious minority in southwestern Uganda", "authors": [ { "name": "Dorothea E. Schulz", "personId": "dorothea-schulz", "affiliation": "University of Münster" } ], "abstract": "How does a focus on auditory aesthetic practices enhance our understanding of the dynamics of religious coexistence? How do audible constructions of religious difference relate to practices and conventions that circumscribe realms of religious coexistence beyond the “public ear”? In Uganda, Muslims form numerically and politically a religious minority. In the Ankole region in southwestern Uganda, relations between Muslims and Christians are shaped by a shared repertoire of symbolic forms and patterns of sociality, yet also by past violent altercation and, more recently, by religious competition fueled by the activities of transnational actors and funds. In an urban setting characterized by latent and antagonism between specific groups of Muslims and of Christians, efforts to claim public presence through auditory practices have particular political poignancy. The paper explores how select religious leaders, Muslims and Christians, respond to a situation they deplore as a cacophony of public sound, religious argument, and normative positions. In response to this “cacophony”, Christian and Muslim leaders seek to instill in their followers particular modes of sonic (and visual) attentiveness so as to navigate the challenges of a highly heterogeneous religious and normative field. In a critical reassessment of Adorno’s seminal 1938 article on changing modes of perception (“Hörgewohnheiten”), the paper examines how religious leaders conceive of the proper relationship between believers’ (ethical and sensory) “perceptiveness”, religious devotion and dedication to “God’s cause”." }, { "title": "The Challenges of Ahmadiyya Community’s Commitment for Development and Modern Humanitarianism", "authors": [ { "name": "Katrin Langewiesche", "personId": "katrin-langewiesche", "affiliation": "Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz" } ], "abstract": "This paper offers a perspective on how a Muslim minority is engaged with the state and how its marginalization influenced struggles for recognition and participation in the public sphere through the example of the Ahmadiyya Movement and the evolution of their social welfare activities in West Africa, by placing a special emphasis on Burkina Faso. The paper describes the contemporary social welfare activities of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and their NGOs in Burkina Faso and the problems arising in contact with other Islamic Communities and their Faith-based organizations (FBOs) in this country. Finally, the politics of Humanitarianism of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is discussed, and it is argued that humanitarian aid is one of the issues favoring public recognition as well as interreligious dialogue to which the Ahmadis are equally strongly committed." }, { "title": "“Good Muslim, Bad Muslim” in Togo: The Construction of a Religious Minority Amid a Constitutional Crisis (2017-2018)", "authors": [ { "name": "Frédérick Madore", "affiliation": "University of Florida" } ], "abstract": "Historically, Togo’s Muslim minority has played a negligible role in politics. However, the constitutional crisis that erupted in 2017 when unprecedented anti-government protests spread across the country, demanding an end to the fifty-years of rule by the Gnassingbé family, attracted attention as an apparent Islamic “awakening”. Tipki Atchadam, the new opposition figurehead, built a strong popular base in the center and north of the country, especially among Muslims and his Tem ethnic group, in regions that were traditionally strongholds of the ruling regime. This paper will examine the “good/bad Muslim” rhetoric used by the Togolese state which has equated Muslims’ outspoken criticism of the regime with a dangerous rise of political Islam. Atchadam and his Parti National Panafricain (PNP) were regularly accused of links to violent Islamist radicals. Two well-known imams who were close to the PNP, were also imprisoned for issuing calls for jihad against the state. Furthermore, I argue that these events reflect latent intergenerational conflicts within the Muslim community. The tacit support given by Union Musulmane du Togo representatives—the “good Muslims”—to the regime on its management of the crisis has seriously undermined their credibility among youth and have contributed to the emergence of new voices." } ], "participants": [ { "name": "John H. Hanson", "personId": "john-h-hanson", "role": "Discussant", "affiliation": "Indiana University-Bloomington" } ], "tags": [ "ASA", "Islam", "Minorities", "Africa", "Religion", "West Africa", "Muslim Minorities" ], "project": "Muslim Minorities in Southern Cities of Benin and Togo", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/ASA-Logo.svg" }, { "id": "good-muslim-bad-muslim-togo-2019", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/good-muslim-bad-muslim-togo-2019", "type": "conference", "title": "'Good Muslim, Bad Muslim' in Togo: The Construction of a Religious Minority Amid a Constitutional Crisis (2017–2018)", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "21 November 2019", "dateISO": "2019-11-21", "year": 2019, "language": "English", "abstract": "Historically, Togo’s Muslim minority has played a negligible role in politics. However, the constitutional crisis that erupted in 2017 when unprecedented anti-government protests spread across the country, demanding an end to the fifty-years of rule by the Gnassingbé family, attracted attention as an apparent Islamic “awakening”. Tikpi Atchadam, the new opposition figurehead, built a strong popular base in the center and north of the country, especially among Muslims and his Tem ethnic group, in regions that were traditionally strongholds of the ruling regime. This paper will examine the “good/bad Muslim” rhetoric used by the Togolese state which has equated Muslims’ outspoken criticism of the regime with a dangerous rise of political Islam. Atchadam and his Parti National Panafricain (PNP) were regularly accused of links to violent Islamist radicals. Two well-known imams who were close to the PNP, were also imprisoned for issuing calls for jihad against the state. Furthermore, I argue that these events reflect latent intergenerational conflicts within the Muslim community. The tacit support given by Union Musulmane du Togo representatives—the “good Muslims”— to the regime on its management of the crisis has seriously undermined their credibility among youth and have contributed to the emergence of new voices.", "conference": "62nd Meeting of the African Studies Association (ASA)", "panelTitle": "Muslim Minorities in Africa", "location": "Boston", "country": "United States", "coordinates": { "latitude": 42.346757140313436, "longitude": -71.07895521140732 }, "tags": [ "ASA", "Religious Minorities", "Constitutional Crisis", "Togo", "Muslim Identity", "Political Islam", "Islam", "West Africa" ], "project": "Muslim Minorities in Southern Cities of Benin and Togo", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/ASA-Logo.svg" }, { "id": "militantisme-islamique-feminin-burkina-2019", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/militantisme-islamique-feminin-burkina-2019", "type": "conference", "title": "Militantisme islamique féminin au Burkina Faso: des processus sinueux d'émancipation religieuse", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "27 August 2019", "dateISO": "2019-08-27", "year": 2019, "language": "French", "abstract": "L’engagement militant de différentes cohortes de musulmanes impliquées au sein de l’Association des Élèves et Étudiants Musulmans du Burkina (AEEMB) et du Cercle d’Études de Recherches et de Formation Islamiques (CERFI) depuis les années 1980, deux des principales associations islamiques du Burkina Faso, met à mal l’image caricaturale de la « femme musulmane » présentée comme un sujet subalterne recevant passivement des enseignements religieux patriarcaux. En effet, que ce soit en exprimant consciemment un désir de mieux se conformer aux préceptes islamiques, même si cela reproduit des normes sociales dominantes, en utilisant les textes coraniques pour lutter contre les « coutumes traditionnelles » défavorables aux femmes, qui ne relèvent pas de l’islam, en intégrant la dimension du genre dans leurs actions socioéconomiques pour devenir des partenaires privilégiées des bailleurs de fonds internationaux ou en adoptant des postures plus audacieuses quant aux notions d’égalité et d’émancipation, ces militantes font preuve d’agency sous des formes variées pour renégocier leur place dans le champ religieux. Ces différentes formes d’engagement illustrent bien le fait que leur militantisme a le potentiel de simultanément les contraindre et les autonomiser. Si un nombre croissant de figures féminines de ces mouvements investissent la sphère publique pour défendre leurs droits en islam, leur participation demeure néanmoins en demi-teinte.", "conference": "IIe Congrès international de l'Institut du Genre", "location": "University of Angers", "country": "France", "coordinates": { "latitude": 47.4739, "longitude": -0.5515 }, "tags": [ "Women's Activism", "Islam", "Burkina Faso", "Religious Emancipation", "West Africa", "Gender" ], "project": "Youth and Women's Islamic Activism in Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/militantisme-islamique-feminin-burkina-2019.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/militantisme-islamique-feminin-burkina-2019-hero.webp", "alt": "Militantisme islamique féminin au Burkina Faso: des processus sinueux d'émancipation religieuse" } }, { "id": "defense-laicite-musulmans-burkina", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/defense-laicite-musulmans-burkina", "type": "workshop", "title": "La défense de la laïcité de l'État, un outil de revendication politique pour les musulmans au Burkina Faso (depuis 1960)", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "4 July 2019", "dateISO": "2019-07-04", "year": 2019, "language": "French", "conference": "Debating Laïcité in the Sahel: What Future for Secularism?", "location": "West African Research Center", "country": "Senegal", "coordinates": { "latitude": 14.690999882866137, "longitude": -17.471180613754807 }, "tags": [ "Secularism", "Burkina Faso", "Islam", "Political Claims", "State-Religion Relations", "West Africa" ], "project": "Muslim Minorities in Southern Cities of Benin and Togo", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/workshop-Dakar-2019.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/workshop-Dakar-2019-hero.webp", "alt": "Debating Laïcité in the Sahel: What Future for Secularism?" } }, { "id": "islam-university-campuses-cote-divoire-2019", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/islam-university-campuses-cote-divoire-2019", "type": "conference", "title": "Islam on University Campuses in Côte d'Ivoire since the 1970s: 'Muslim Intellectuals' and Francophone Salafism", "authors": [ "Issouf Binaté", "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "12 June 2019", "dateISO": "2019-06-12", "year": 2019, "language": "English", "abstract": "In the 1970s, many Ivorian Muslim students had an 'inferiority complex' regarding their Islamic identity in a space dominated by secular and Christian ideologies. With the support of elders educated in arab countries, young Muslims created the Association des Étudiants et Élèves Musulmans de Côte d'Ivoire (AEEMCI) in 1972. This paper is based on fieldwork conducted on university campuses of Abidjan, Bouaké, Daloa and Korhogo in 2014, 2015, 2018, and 2019. First, we claim that AEEMCI activities have greatly contributed to the progression of French as a legitimate language to spread Islam in Côte d'Ivoire, but also to the emergence of an elite claiming a status of 'Muslim intellectuals'. Secondly, we show that with the rise of Salafism in Côte d'Ivoire from the 1990s, universities have become arenas of competition between rival Islamic organizations with the creation of the Communauté des Élèves et Étudiants Musulmans de Côte d'Ivoire (CEEMUCI) and Al-Mouwahhidoun. Thirdly, although the main objectives of these organizations is still to train its members to better know Islam, religious entrepreneurship involving humanitarian activities and socioeconomic development are now deemed very important for these groups. Islamic organizations on university campus are actively contributing to the recent phenomenon of NGO-ization of Islamic organizations in Côte d'Ivoire.", "conference": "8th European Conference on African Studies (ECAS)", "location": "University of Edinburgh", "country": "Scotland", "coordinates": { "latitude": 55.9445, "longitude": -3.1892 }, "tags": [ "ECAS", "Islamic Activism", "Higher Education", "Côte d'Ivoire", "Salafism", "Muslim Intellectuals", "Islam", "West Africa", "Universities" ], "project": "Youth and Women's Islamic Activism in Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/islam-university-campuses-cote-divoire-2019.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/islam-university-campuses-cote-divoire-2019-hero.webp", "alt": "Islam on University Campuses in Côte d'Ivoire since the 1970s: 'Muslim Intellectuals' and Francophone Salafism" } }, { "id": "recherche-documentaire-zotero", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/recherche-documentaire-zotero", "type": "lecture", "title": "La recherche documentaire en libre accès et la gestion de références bibliographiques avec Zotero", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "7 June 2019", "dateISO": "2019-06-07", "year": 2019, "language": "French", "abstract": "Inspiré par la démarche du Projet SOHA (https://www.projetsoha.org/), cette communication proposera une séance de formation sur la recherche documentaire à partir de bases de données en libre accès. Plusieurs ressources disponibles sur le web permettent de pallier certaines difficultés que rencontrent les chercheurs basés dans les universités africaines pour accéder à de la documentation scientifique. La seconde partie de l'atelier sera consacrée à une initiation au logiciel Zotero qui, outre la gestion des références bibliographiques, permet de formater automatiquement les notes en bas de page et les bibliographies dans un document Word.", "conference": "Université Alassane Ouattara", "location": "Université Alassane Ouattara", "country": "Côte d'Ivoire", "coordinates": { "latitude": 7.686428569920746, "longitude": -5.0666995366353405 }, "tags": [ "Open Access", "Zotero", "Reference Management", "Research Methods", "Digital Tools" ], "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/recherche-documentaire-zotero.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/recherche-documentaire-zotero-hero.webp", "alt": "La recherche documentaire en libre accès et la gestion de références bibliographiques avec Zotero" } }, { "id": "union-islamique-benin-elections", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/union-islamique-benin-elections", "type": "lecture", "title": "L'Union Islamique du Bénin et les élections législatives: comment comprendre la crise interne", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "28 May 2019", "dateISO": "2019-05-28", "year": 2019, "language": "French", "conference": "Université d'Abomey-Calavi", "location": "Université d'Abomey-Calavi", "country": "Benin", "coordinates": { "latitude": 6.414542574575833, "longitude": 2.3407357046550015 }, "tags": [ "Benin", "Islamic Union", "Elections", "Religious Organisations", "Politics", "Islam", "West Africa" ], "project": "Muslim Minorities in Southern Cities of Benin and Togo", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/union-islamique-benin-elections.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/union-islamique-benin-elections-hero.webp", "alt": "L'Union Islamique du Bénin et les élections législatives: comment comprendre la crise interne" } }, { "id": "current-dynamics-islam-burkina-faso", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/current-dynamics-islam-burkina-faso", "type": "lecture", "title": "Current Dynamics of Islam in Burkina Faso", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "16 November 2018", "dateISO": "2018-11-16", "year": 2018, "language": "English", "abstract": "Banting Postdoctoral Fellow Frédérick Madore was the guest of our Sahel Seminar today. He presented his work on the past and current dynamics of Islam in Burkina Faso.", "conference": "Sahel Seminars", "location": "University of Florida", "country": "United States", "coordinates": { "latitude": 29.649267030531483, "longitude": -82.34204912970114 }, "tags": [ "Islam", "Burkina Faso", "Sahel", "West Africa", "Religious Dynamics" ], "project": "Youth and Women's Islamic Activism in Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/current-dynamics-islam-burkina-faso.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/current-dynamics-islam-burkina-faso-hero.webp", "alt": "Current Dynamics of Islam in Burkina Faso" }, "links": [ { "label": "Presentation", "url": "https://sahelresearch.africa.ufl.edu/events-activities/sahel-seminars/" } ] }, { "id": "young-muslims-civic-engagement-burkina", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/young-muslims-civic-engagement-burkina", "type": "workshop", "title": "'Plus rien ne sera jamais comme avant'? Young Muslims' new forms of civic engagement in Burkina Faso (2014-2017)", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "19 October 2018", "dateISO": "2018-10-19", "year": 2018, "language": "English", "abstract": "The growing security threats hanging over Burkina Faso with the surge of jihadi attacks have suggested a recent Islamic radicalization in the country. However, these concerns conveyed by the media and an increasing number of studies have overshadowed the significant changes that have been taking place in the Muslim community since the departure of President Blaise Compaoré in October 2014. While intergenerational tensions have remained latent throughout the 1990s and 2000s, many young Muslims, following the uprising, have openly criticized their elders for their collaboration with the former regime. Youth’s contestation of the established hierarchy and leadership thereby led to major transformations in the Federation of Islamic Associations of Burkina Faso (Fédération des Associations Islamiques du Burkina [FAIB]). Young French-speaking Muslims have been at the forefront by promoting Islam as a civil religion through new forms of civic engagement and entrepreneurial actions.", "conference": "Workshop Muslim Youth and Lived Islam in Africa & Beyond", "location": "University of Florida", "country": "United States", "coordinates": { "latitude": 29.649267030531483, "longitude": -82.34204912970114 }, "tags": [ "Young Muslims", "Civic Engagement", "Burkina Faso", "Political Participation", "Religious Youth", "Islam", "West Africa" ], "project": "Youth and Women's Islamic Activism in Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/young-muslims-civic-engagement-burkina.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/young-muslims-civic-engagement-burkina-hero.webp", "alt": "'Plus rien ne sera jamais comme avant'? Young Muslims' new forms of civic engagement in Burkina Faso (2014-2017)" } }, { "id": "elites-musulmanes-cote-divoire-burkina-faso", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/elites-musulmanes-cote-divoire-burkina-faso", "type": "lecture", "title": "Les élites musulmanes en Côte d'Ivoire et au Burkina Faso depuis 1990 : des mobilisations politiques contrastées", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "25 September 2018", "dateISO": "2018-09-25", "year": 2018, "language": "French", "abstract": "Les importants changements sociopolitiques qu'ont connus la Côte d’Ivoire et le Burkina Faso au cours de la dernière décennie ont eu des conséquences majeures sur les dynamiques internes des communautés musulmanes de ces deux pays historiquement dominés par une élite politique chrétienne. La fin de la crise politico-militaire en Côte d’Ivoire avec l’arrivée au pouvoir d’Alassane Ouattara en avril 2011, le premier président musulman de l’histoire du pays, et la chute du président burkinabè Blaise Compaoré en octobre 2014 après 27 ans de règne ont entrainé une inversion des mobilisations politiques des leaders musulmans. Ce nouveau contexte a également contribué à une reconfiguration des rapports entre cadets et ainés.", "conference": "Conférences midi du CIRAM", "location": "Université Laval", "country": "Canada", "coordinates": { "latitude": 46.7793, "longitude": -71.2825 }, "tags": [ "Islam", "Côte d'Ivoire", "Burkina Faso", "Muslim Elites", "Politics", "West Africa" ], "project": "Youth and Women's Islamic Activism in Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/elites-musulmanes-cote-divoire-burkina-faso.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/elites-musulmanes-cote-divoire-burkina-faso-hero.webp", "alt": "Les élites musulmanes en Côte d'Ivoire et au Burkina Faso depuis 1990 : des mobilisations politiques contrastées" }, "links": [ { "label": "Presentation", "url": "https://www.ciram.hei.ulaval.ca/les-elites-musulmanes-en-cote-divoire-et-au-burkina-faso-depuis-1990-des-mobilisations-politiques-contrastees/" } ] }, { "id": "militantisme-bissap-feminisme-islamique-2018", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/militantisme-bissap-feminisme-islamique-2018", "type": "workshop", "title": "'Militantisme bissap', féminisme islamique et entrepreneuriat religieux en Côte d'Ivoire: Aminata Kane Koné, une figure de la réussite", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "8 September 2018", "dateISO": "2018-09-08", "year": 2018, "language": "French", "abstract": "La trajectoire de l’Ivoirienne Aminata Kane Koné, une véritable « figure de la réussite », met en lumière comment des musulmanes sont parvenues à renégocier les rapports de pouvoir et les modalités hiérarchiques pour revendiquer une place plus importante dans le champ religieux et la sphère publique. En effet, dans les années 1990 et 2000, son parcours militant au sein de l’Association des Élèves et Étudiants Musulmans de Côte d’Ivoire (AEEMCI) a bousculé les pratiques patriarcales ayant cours au sein de cette organisation musulmane parmi les plus importantes et anciennes du pays. En adoptant des postures audacieuses quant aux notions d’égalité et d’émancipation, mais sans se réclamer directement du « féminisme islamique », Aminata Kane Koné fit preuve d’agencéité en contribuant à redéfinir le rôle des femmes dans le militantisme islamique et utiliser l’islam comme facteur de leur émancipation. Cette implication au sein de l’AEEMCI lui servit également de tremplin pour devenir une animatrice vedette à la radio islamique Al Bayane en plus de devenir une entrepreneure impliquée au sein de diverses causes et ONG.", "conference": "Workshop Entrepreneuriat religieux et figures de la réussite en Afrique subsaharienne: terrains et concepts", "location": "Université Laval", "country": "Canada", "coordinates": { "latitude": 46.7793, "longitude": -71.2825 }, "tags": [ "Islamic Feminism", "Côte d'Ivoire", "Religious Entrepreneurship", "Women's Activism", "Islam", "Gender", "West Africa" ], "project": "Youth and Women's Islamic Activism in Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso" }, { "id": "nouveau-dynamisme-salafisme-cote-divoire-2017", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/nouveau-dynamisme-salafisme-cote-divoire-2017", "type": "conference", "title": "Le nouveau dynamisme du salafisme en Côte d'Ivoire: vers une radicalisation de l'islam ivoirien?", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "3 August 2017", "dateISO": "2017-08-03", "year": 2017, "language": "French", "abstract": "En dépit d’un nombre croissant d’études sur l’islam en Côte d’Ivoire, relativement peu de recherches ont porté sur les derniers développements de la mouvance salafiste ou « wahhabite » dans ce pays. Cette communication se propose d’interroger l’évolution récente de cette tendance de l’islam en Côte d’Ivoire depuis les 25 dernières années à travers ses principaux leaders et associations. Les attaques terroristes perpétrées par des groupes djihadistes dans la sous-région et notamment celles à Grand-Bassam en mars 2016 ont considérablement influencé les perceptions liées au « salafisme » en réduisant souvent ce courant à la violence et aux conflits. Or, cette contribution souhaite aller au-delà d’une perspective sécuritaire et contre-terroriste réductrice en présentant un portrait plus nuancé d’une manifestation locale d’un mouvement mondial. Cette recherche s’appuie, d’une part, sur des données empiriques tirées d’une enquête de terrain conduite à Abidjan entre novembre 2014 et avril 2015 et, d’autre part, sur le dépouillement de la presse généraliste et islamique. Suivant une longue période de marasme entre 1981 et 1994, les responsables de l’Association des musulmans orthodoxes de Côte d’Ivoire (AMOCI), forts de la présence d’une nouvelle élite intellectuelle, cherchèrent à repartir sur de nouvelles bases à partir du début des années 1990 ce qui mena à la création de l’Association des musulmans sunnites de Côte d’Ivoire (AMSCI) en 1997. Au cours de cette décennie, le salafisme ivoirien passa de vues exclusivistes et intransigeantes envers les autres tendances de l’islam à des positions plus accommodantes et à un rapprochement avec le reste de la communauté musulmane. Préoccupées par la renaissance de leur mouvement, les élites salafistes restèrent en retrait des débats politiques liés à l’ivoirité au contraire des leaders d’autres associations musulmanes. Au tournant des années 2000, la poursuite du travail de redynamisation de l’islam salafiste passa par la participation accrue des jeunes et des femmes. Après avoir cherché à se rapprocher du reste de la communauté, leurs responsables cherchèrent à se repositionner sur la scène religieuse ivoirienne en affirmant leur leadership face au Conseil national islamique (CNI) et au Conseil supérieur des imams (COSIM). L’arrivée de Fadiga Moussa Al Farouk à la tête de l’AMSCI en 2007 fut déterminante. Elle s’accompagna par une décentralisation de leur action islamique marquée par une forte présence hors des centres urbains. L’émergence de nouvelles figures salafistes, dont des étudiants provenant du milieu francophone laïc, et la plus grande visibilité par le biais des médias illustrent bien leur dynamisme au cours des dix dernières années. Durant la décennie trouble des années 2000, les actions de l’AMSCI en faveur de la paix et de la réconciliation ainsi que son incursion dans l’arène du développement économique, social et éducatif se sont inscrites résolument dans leur volonté de se poser comme interlocuteur privilégié des musulmans avec le pouvoir. Ainsi, loin de s’être radicalisées en dépit de leur activisme croissant, les élites salafistes ivoiriennes et leurs principales associations ont fait preuve d’une participation citoyenne et légaliste dépourvue de violence tout en s’impliquant activement dans la lutte contre le radicalisme islamique.", "conference": "10th International Conference of the Mande Studies Association (MANSA)", "location": "International University of Grand-Bassam", "country": "Côte d'Ivoire", "coordinates": { "latitude": 5.1998, "longitude": -3.734 }, "tags": [ "MANSA", "Salafism", "Radicalisation", "Côte d'Ivoire", "Islam", "Religious Dynamics", "West Africa" ], "project": "Youth and Women's Islamic Activism in Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/MANSA-logo.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/MANSA-logo-hero.webp", "alt": "10th International Conference of the Mande Studies Association (MANSA)" } }, { "id": "islam-burkina-cote-ivoire", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/islam-burkina-cote-ivoire", "type": "lecture", "title": "L'islam au Burkina Faso et en Côte d'Ivoire: éveil et radicalisation?", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "13 February 2017", "dateISO": "2017-02-13", "year": 2017, "language": "French", "abstract": "Les attentats terroristes de janvier et mars 2016 à Ouagadougou et Grand-Bassam ont laissé croire à un éveil, voire à une radicalisation de l’islam au Burkina Faso et en Côte d’Ivoire. Pourtant, outre une présence ancienne de cette religion, les musulmans burkinabés et ivoiriens sont caractérisés par une grande diversité de tendances, de stratégies et de sensibilités. Cette conférence exposera quelques-unes des nombreuses mutations à l’œuvre depuis les indépendances : la progression de l’islam et sa visibilité accrue dans l’espace public; les rapports complexes entre les musulmans et l’État; l’importante participation des jeunes et des femmes au dynamisme de l’islam; et la montée d’un courant salafiste d’inspiration wahhabite.", "conference": "76e conférence Archéopat", "location": "Université du Québec à Rimouski", "country": "Canada", "coordinates": { "latitude": 48.452593849017894, "longitude": -68.5121099219544 }, "tags": [ "Islam", "Burkina Faso", "Côte d'Ivoire", "Radicalisation", "Religious Awakening", "West Africa" ], "project": "Youth and Women's Islamic Activism in Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/islam-burkina-cote-ivoire.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/islam-burkina-cote-ivoire-hero.webp", "alt": "L'islam au Burkina Faso et en Côte d'Ivoire: éveil et radicalisation?" } }, { "id": "hajj-organization-state-cote-divoire-2016", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/hajj-organization-state-cote-divoire-2016", "type": "conference", "title": "The Organization of the Hajj and the State: Cohesion and Rivalries within the Muslim Community of Côte d'Ivoire (1993-2006)", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "3 December 2016", "dateISO": "2016-12-03", "year": 2016, "language": "English", "abstract": "The importance of the hajj for Muslims and the considerable sums of money devoted to it arouse the envy of both religious and political actors. Thus, it is not surprising that since independence many West African states have often played a central role in the organization of the Muslim pilgrimage. In this regard, the case of Côte d'Ivoire is very interesting since the state recognized the Association Musulmane pour l'Organisation du Pèlerinage as the first official pilgrimage organizing association of the country in 1978. The aim of this communication is twofold. On the one hand, it shows how the planning of the hajj has been a vector of unity for Ivorian Islam. At the same time, it has fostered intense rivalries between several associations and Muslim leaders struggling for economic, religious and symbolic resources. On the other hand, the supposedly secular state has played a murky role in this business. The different Ivoirian political regimes from 1993 to 2006 have alternated between a policy of engagement and withdrawal. These strategies have allowed the ruling party to use patronage as an instrument to ensure the loyalty of some Muslim elites and to reduce the influence of other organizations and leaders suspected of being close to the opposition.", "conference": "59th Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association (ASA)", "panelTitle": "New Voices in the Study of Islam in Africa I: The Production and Contestation of Muslim Institutions in Contemporary Africa", "location": "Washington D.C.", "country": "United States", "coordinates": { "latitude": 38.92446346750211, "longitude": -77.05449990304827 }, "tags": [ "ASA", "Hajj", "State-Religion Relations", "Côte d'Ivoire", "Muslim Organisations", "Religious Authority", "Islam", "West Africa" ], "project": "Youth and Women's Islamic Activism in Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/ASA-Logo.svg" }, { "id": "evolutions-nouvelles-formes-islam-afrique-ouest", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/evolutions-nouvelles-formes-islam-afrique-ouest", "type": "event", "title": "Évolutions et nouvelles formes de l'islam en Afrique de l'Ouest: vers une radicalisation?", "authors": [ "CIRAM" ], "date": "24 March 2016", "dateISO": "2016-03-24", "year": 2016, "language": "French", "abstract": "Les évènements de Ouagadougou du 15 janvier dernier ont attiré l’attention du grand public sur l’islam au Burkina Faso. Ces attentats, qui s’ajoutent à celui du 20 novembre 2015 à l’hôtel Radisson Blu de Bamako au Mali et à ceux orchestrés par Boko Haram au Nigeria, au Tchad et au Cameroun, ont rappelé que la pratique de l’islam en Afrique de l’Ouest, souvent oubliée au profit de l’Afrique du Nord et du Moyen-Orient, est loin de n’être que rituelle et produit des imaginaires et des répertoires d’actions politiques. Les intervenants chercheront à démontrer que l’islam dans cette sous-région n’est ni monolithique ni immuable et ne saurait être réduit aux seuls réseaux terroristes ; les musulmans en Afrique de l’Ouest étant caractérisés par une grande diversité de tendances, de stratégies et de sensibilités. Les discussions seront suivies du lancement du livre : La construction d’une sphère publique musulmane en Afrique de l’Ouest par Frédérick Madore.", "conference": "Table-ronde organisée par le Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche sur l'Afrique et le Moyen-Orient (CIRAM)", "location": "Université Laval", "country": "Canada", "coordinates": { "latitude": 46.7793, "longitude": -71.2825 }, "participants": [ { "name": "Adib Bencherif", "personId": "adib-bencherif", "role": "Panelist", "affiliation": "Université d'Ottawa" }, { "name": "Marie Brossier", "personId": "marie-brossier", "role": "Panelist", "affiliation": "Université Laval" }, { "name": "Aurélie Campana", "personId": "aurelie-campana", "role": "Panelist", "affiliation": "Université Laval" }, { "name": "Muriel Gomez-Perez", "personId": "muriel-gomez-perez", "role": "Panelist", "affiliation": "Université Laval" }, { "name": "Cédric Jourde", "personId": "cedric-jourde", "role": "Panelist", "affiliation": "Université d'Ottawa" }, { "name": "Frédérick Madore", "role": "Panelist", "affiliation": "Université Laval" }, { "name": "Olivier Pelletier", "personId": "olivier-pelletier", "role": "Panelist", "affiliation": "Université Laval" } ], "tags": [ "Islam", "West Africa", "Radicalisation", "CIRAM", "Roundtable", "Burkina Faso", "Book Launch" ], "project": "Youth and Women's Islamic Activism in Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/evolutions-nouvelles-formes-islam-afrique-ouest.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/evolutions-nouvelles-formes-islam-afrique-ouest-hero.webp", "alt": "Évolutions et nouvelles formes de l'islam en Afrique de l'Ouest: vers une radicalisation?" }, "links": [ { "label": "Presentation", "url": "https://www.ciram.hei.ulaval.ca/evolutions-et-nouvelles-formes-de-lislam-en-afrique-de-louest-vers-une-radicalisation/" } ] }, { "id": "islam-ivoirien-burkinabe-numerique-2016", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/islam-ivoirien-burkinabe-numerique-2016", "type": "conference", "title": "L'islam ivoirien et burkinabé à l'ère du numérique: des communautés musulmanes 2.0?", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "14 January 2016", "dateISO": "2016-01-14", "year": 2016, "language": "French", "abstract": "Plusieurs études ont récemment été publiées sur la médiatisation de l’islam subsaharien par le biais de cassettes audio, de la presse, de la radio et de la télévision. Ces travaux, essentiels pour comprendre les nouvelles dynamiques qui caractérisent cette religion, ont cependant mis l’accent sur les médias plus « traditionnels ». Ils ont tout au plus traité de façon superficielle de la présence de l’islam subsaharien dans le cyberespace (sites internet, blogues, réseaux sociaux, forums) et des répercussions sur la façon dont les gens pratiquent leur religion. Bien que le degré de pénétration et l’accessibilité d’internet dans cette région demeurent un des plus faibles dans le monde, son usage est cependant en forte augmentation. Cette communication se veut une réflexion sur l’islam à l’ère du web 2.0 et de la révolution internet à partir des cas ivoirien et burkinabé afin de voir quelles sont les conséquences sur l’identité, l’appartenance à la communauté, la diffusion du message religieux et l’autorité spirituelle. Il s’agira de se pencher sur les nouvelles formes de religiosité qui sont apparues sur le web, mais aussi de voir comment celles-ci influencent la pratique « hors ligne » des fidèles. Les associations islamiques nationales des deux pays considèrent les nouveaux médias, dont l’internet, comme étant une interface majeure pour interagir avec leurs membres et se poser en concurrence avec les autres groupes religieux comme en témoigne la tenue de séances de formation sur les NTIC depuis le milieu des années 2000. Toutefois, en réalité, elles ont fait preuve d’inertie pour la plupart. Bien que certaines soient sur la toile, les sites web islamiques les plus actifs sont surtout l’œuvre d’initiatives individuelles alors que sur les réseaux sociaux, ce sont les sections locales plutôt que nationales qui se montrent les plus dynamiques. La présence récente de l’islam ivoirien et burkinabé sur internet permet la contestation des autorités religieuses établies et l’émergence de nouvelles tout en offrant des possibilités pour les figures d’autorité plus traditionnelles de réaffirmer leur influence. À cela s’ajoute la prolifération de réseaux de partage de connaissances collaboratifs tels que les forums islamiques où les utilisateurs sont invités à fournir des contributions défiant ainsi les modèles verticaux et traditionnels de l’autorité religieuse. Cette nouvelle dynamique favorise une expérience « hybride » caractérisée à la fois par une individualisation du sentiment religieux et par une plus grande appartenance à la umma planétaire. D’une part, à travers les sites web et les blogues, la nature du débat dans l’islam est passée d’un discours doctrinaire à une discussion pratique qui se concentre sur la quête spirituelle individuelle et qui met généralement de côté la critique de l’État ou tout autre projet politique. D’autre part, les médias numériques ont amplifié le phénomène de transnationalisation de l’identité islamique locale et de déterritorialisation du discours religieux. Depuis la maison ou le cybercafé, les musulmans ivoiriens ou burkinabés branchés opèrent une forme de bricolage idéologique qui consiste à composer un discours islamique par la juxtaposition d’informations provenant du monde entier. Même si les productions islamiques ivoirienne et burkinabè sur le web sont loin d’être aussi nombreuses et développées qu’ailleurs dans le monde musulman et que les moyens plus classiques tels que les SMS et la radio demeurent très utilisés, il n’en demeure pas moins que l’internet attire de plus en plus les jeunes ainsi qu’une classe moyenne et supérieure.", "conference": "3ème rencontre des Jeunes Chercheur.e.s en Études Africaines", "panelTitle": "Le religieux et ses réseaux", "location": "Paris Diderot University", "country": "France", "coordinates": { "latitude": 48.829, "longitude": 2.382 }, "tags": [ "Digital Islam", "Social Media", "Côte d'Ivoire", "Burkina Faso", "Information Technology", "Islam", "West Africa", "Digital Religion" ], "project": "Youth and Women's Islamic Activism in Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/islam-ivoirien-burkinabe-numerique-2016.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/islam-ivoirien-burkinabe-numerique-2016-hero.webp", "alt": "L'islam ivoirien et burkinabé à l'ère du numérique: des communautés musulmanes 2.0?" } }, { "id": "rue-islam-associatif-enjeux-citoyens-2014", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/rue-islam-associatif-enjeux-citoyens-2014", "type": "conference", "title": "Rue, islam associatif et enjeux citoyens: retour sur des orientations récentes au Sénégal, au Burkina Faso et en Côte d'Ivoire", "authors": [ "Muriel Gomez-Perez", "Frédérick Madore", "Mathias Boukary Savadogo" ], "date": "29 October 2014", "dateISO": "2014-10-29", "year": 2014, "language": "French", "abstract": "Entre le milieu des années 1970 et la fin des années 1980, des associations islamiques telles que la Jamaatou Ibadou Rahmane (JIR) au Sénégal, le Mouvement Sunnite du Burkina Faso (MSBF) et l’Association des Musulmans Sunnites de Côte d’Ivoire (AMSCI) ont commencé à investir fortement l’espace public et urbain en prônant une nouvelle moralisation des fidèles et une affirmation de marqueurs identitaires. La JIR s’est notamment opposée avec virulence à la laïcité de l’État en organisant des forums-débats à la mosquée inachevée de Yoff alors que le MSBF a remis en question le leadership de la Communauté Musulmane du Burkina Faso (CMBF) en la concurrençant notamment à travers la construction de mosquées et de médersas dans l’espace urbain. L’AMSCI, quant à elle, a investi les espaces autour des marchés et des centres commerciaux des quartiers populaires et rejoint les fidèles sur leurs lieux de travail (universités, administrations publiques). Or, à partir des années 1990 et surtout au cours de la décennie 2000, la vitalité de ces mouvements devient plus contrastée. Ainsi, se basant sur des terrains successifs à Dakar, Ouagadougou et Abidjan, nous démontrerons que si ces associations investissent de plus en plus l’espace urbain et s’affirment au sein des jeunes, des femmes et des cadres dans des lieux laïcisés, mais aussi dans des quartiers récents ou non lotis, elles connaissent toutefois une phase transitoire. D’une part, ceci s’observe par le désir de critiquer moins directement la laïcité de l’État afin de participer plus activement au débat citoyen depuis 2000 et d’entrer plus clairement dans le jeu électoral (cas sénégalais); par le maintien d’une posture de retrait du politique, en adoptant une muette complicité avec l’État (assassinat du journaliste Norbert Zongo, projet ZACA, instauration du Sénat) sans pour autant vouloir influer sur le cours de la vie politique dans un contexte semi-autoritaire (cas burkinabé) – dans les deux cas, il s’agit de gagner une légitimité religieuse auprès de l’État –; ou par le fait de cibler les pratiques et discours des leaders de la communauté musulmane nationale afin de bénéficier d’une visibilité renouvelée, de renforcer la position de ses cadres dans plusieurs structures politiques et d’être un interlocuteur des pouvoirs publiques à l’instar du Conseil Supérieur des Imams ou du Conseil National Islamique (cas ivoirien). D’autre part, ces associations multiplient les actions pour une hyper moralisation de l’individu et de la société au point de tenter de saturer l’espace urbain par le religieux (effectif au Sénégal et en progression dans les deux autres pays) ; elles modernisent les techniques de prêches dans la rue et dans les mosquées en mettant de l’avant de jeunes imams et prêcheurs – pas nécessairement formés dans les pays arabes, mais dans des madrasas locales – et répondent favorablement aux initiatives des femmes pour consolider les liens de sociabilité et de socialisation religieuse tant dans les maisons que dans les quartiers (cours de soir d’arabe, causeries, conférences, séances de prières quotidiennes dans les jardins et sur les trottoirs). En outre, ces trois associations s’adaptent différemment aux nouvelles dynamiques de médiatisation du religieux. Alors que plusieurs responsables de la JIR demeurent divisés quant à la pertinence de se lancer dans une politique de communication par peur de banaliser l’action islamique, la MSBF et l’AMSCI investissent résolument les médias. Elles y voient un moyen d’être visibles partout et à tout moment et de diffuser leurs spécificités doctrinales et de sortir, pour la MSBF, ses membres féminins, de la claustration, rompant en cela avec le passé. Ainsi, ces trois associations sont résolument ancrées dans l’espace urbain en investissant différents lieux – publics et privés –, en faisant participer tous les profils de fidèles et en accompagnant leur militantisme à travers différentes actions visibles dans des lieux ouverts, fermés voire plus privés et finalement en s’engageant différemment dans le débat politique et citoyen.", "conference": "International Conference Le clos et l'ouvert. Acteurs religieux, acteurs sociaux et usages de la rue (Europe, Afrique, Asie, Amériques)", "location": "Gaston Berger University", "country": "Senegal", "coordinates": { "latitude": 16.0598, "longitude": -16.4244 }, "tags": [ "Islamic Associations", "Public Sphere", "Citizenship", "Religious Engagement", "Islam", "West Africa" ], "project": "Youth and Women's Islamic Activism in Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/Gaston_Berger_University_logo.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/Gaston_Berger_University_logo-hero.webp", "alt": "Gaston Berger University Logo" } }, { "id": "precheurs-precheuses-burkina-faso-2013", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/precheurs-precheuses-burkina-faso-2013", "type": "conference", "title": "Prêcheurs et prêcheuses au Burkina Faso: regards croisés sur leurs stratégies de communication religieuse depuis 1990", "authors": [ "Muriel Gomez-Perez", "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "7 May 2013", "dateISO": "2013-05-07", "year": 2013, "language": "French", "abstract": "Depuis le tournant des années 1990, la visibilité accrue de l’islam dans l’espace public au Burkina Faso s’est manifestée entre autres par l’émergence de prêcheurs et prêcheuses de plus en plus médiatisés. La participation active tant des hommes que des femmes invite l’ensemble des membres de la communauté musulmane du pays à faire évoluer les prônes et les discours religieux pour atteindre des fidèles aux profils diversifiés et pour tenter de répondre à la concurrence notamment des évangélistes. Il s'agira ici de proposer un regard croisé entre prêcheurs et prêcheuses du Burkina Faso afin de relever les permanences et les ruptures dans leurs stratégies de communication de leur foi. Ces prêcheurs et prêcheuses cherchent à dicter des normes islamiques à travers notamment leur participation dans des colonies de vacances islamiques, dans des cours du soir d’apprentissage du Coran et de lecture du Coran lors du ramadan, à travers le fait d’enseigner dans des collèges et universités islamiques et d’animer des émissions religieuses dans des médias confessionnels. L’accent est systématiquement mis sur la nécessité de l’apprentissage de la langue arabe dans l’optique d’un affermissement de la foi des croyants. Ceci est d’autant plus vrai pour les prêches s’adressant aux fonctionnaires et étudiants francophones formés à « l’école du Blanc », un profil de fidèles longtemps négligé, ayant reçu peu ou pas d'éducation religieuse et en demande de savoir pratique.", "conference": "81e Congrès de l'Association Francophone pour le Savoir (Acfas)", "location": "Université Laval", "country": "Canada", "coordinates": { "latitude": 46.7793, "longitude": -71.2825 }, "tags": [ "Acfas", "Islamic Preaching", "Burkina Faso", "Religious Communication", "Public Sphere", "Islam", "West Africa", "Gender" ], "project": "Youth and Women's Islamic Activism in Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/acfas_81e.webp" }, { "id": "mediatisation-islam-ouagadougou-2013", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/mediatisation-islam-ouagadougou-2013", "type": "conference", "title": "La médiatisation de l'islam à Ouagadougou depuis 1991: entre normalisation des discours et nouvelle agency des musulmans", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "3 May 2013", "dateISO": "2013-05-03", "year": 2013, "language": "French", "abstract": "Dans le contexte de libéralisation politique et sociale amorcée depuis 1991, la forte compétition entre les différentes religions dans l’espace public burkinabé firent en sorte que les musulmans voulurent donner une plus grande visibilité à l’islam. À Ouagadougou, ceci se manifesta notamment par la création de médias privés islamiques tels que des périodiques, des stations de radio et une chaîne de télévision ainsi que par la diffusion d’enregistrements de prêches et l’utilisation d’internet. Il s’agira ici d’examiner l’impact de la médiatisation croissante de l’islam sur l’agency et le contenu des discours des acteurs musulmans de Ouagadougou. Dans une grande mesure, ce phénomène conduisit à l’adoption de discours plus policés et standardisés notamment à travers la présentation en différé des émissions radiophoniques et télévisuelles ainsi que la généralisation de l’apolitisme et l’intégration d’une autocensure chez nombre d’imams et de prêcheurs. Les jeunes francophones de l’AEEMB/CERFI se montrent quant à eux beaucoup plus engagés en traitant plus fréquemment de la chose politique. Cependant, leur agency réside davantage dans le rôle de guide spirituel qu’ils se sont attribué en investissant l’espace public pour défendre leur projet de société régie par des normes morales islamiques plutôt que dans leur contestation directe avec le pouvoir.", "conference": "43rd Annual Canadian Association of African Studies Conference (CAAS)", "location": "University of Ottawa", "country": "Canada", "coordinates": { "latitude": 45.4231, "longitude": -75.6831 }, "tags": [ "CAAS", "Mediatization", "Islam", "Burkina Faso", "Ouagadougou", "Democratization", "West Africa", "Media" ], "project": "Youth and Women's Islamic Activism in Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/CAAS-logo.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/CAAS-logo-hero.webp", "alt": "Canadian Association of African Studies Conference (CAAS)" } }, { "id": "imams-islamic-preachers-ouagadougou-2013", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/imams-islamic-preachers-ouagadougou-2013", "type": "conference", "title": "Imams, Islamic Preachers and Public Space in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) since the 1990s: Toward New Intergenerational Relationships and a Muslim Public Sphere", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "29 March 2013", "dateISO": "2013-03-29", "year": 2013, "language": "English", "abstract": "Since the early 1990s, Islam has increased its visibility in Burkina Faso's public space with the proliferation of mosques, madâris, Islamic associations and private medias in attempt to respond to the fierce competition with Evangelists and other Christian movements. This vitality was due to a political liberalization who resulted in a regular and prominent broadcast of religious shows on public and private radio and television, as well as the broad distribution of sermons on audio and even video-recordings on cassettes, CD, DVD and Internet. This allows the emergence of a new generation of charismatic imams and preachers with good knowledge and oratory skills and some of them who are young. This paper will examine the changing intergenerational relationships between elders and youth and will explore how the adoption of new media technologies affects the discourses of Ouagadougou's imams and preachers. The gerontocratic power characterizing Islam before was renegotiated and remodeled in the mosques by elders and youth. The latter, known for their knowledge of the Koran, were called on more frequently by their elders to recite the Friday sermon. Moreover, the higher mediatization of imams and preachers didn't result in discourses more politically oriented but rather characterized by a standardization of its contents. Indeed, there is an increasingly central place given to individual and collective Islamic practice. Through the figure of the 'good Muslim' in their sermons, these imams and preachers advocate for the moralization of public space and thereby, they participate to the formation of a Muslim public sphere.", "conference": "2013 Africa Conference", "panelTitle": "Uses of Media in African Social Movements", "location": "University of Texas at Austin", "country": "United States", "coordinates": { "latitude": 30.2849, "longitude": -97.7341 }, "tags": [ "Religious Leadership", "Public Space", "Burkina Faso", "Intergenerational Relations", "Islamic Authority", "Islam", "West Africa", "Media" ], "project": "Youth and Women's Islamic Activism in Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/University_of_Texas_at_Austin_seal.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/University_of_Texas_at_Austin_seal-hero.webp", "alt": "University of Texas at Austin Seal" } }, { "id": "imams-espace-public-ouagadougou-2012", "url": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/communications/imams-espace-public-ouagadougou-2012", "type": "conference", "title": "Imams et espace public à Ouagadougou depuis 1990: entre visibilité nouvelle et concertation entre les générations", "authors": [ "Frédérick Madore" ], "date": "4 May 2012", "dateISO": "2012-05-04", "year": 2012, "language": "French", "abstract": "L'islam au Burkina Faso, longtemps considéré comme une « affaire de vieux », doit notamment son dynamisme et sa visibilité accrue dans l’espace public depuis les années 1990 à l’engagement actif de jeunes musulmans tant dans le milieu associatif que dans la fonction d’imam, cette dernière ayant pourtant peu été traitée dans la littérature. À travers le cas des imams du vendredi prêchant dans la mosquée de l’Association des Étudiants Musulmans du Burkina et celle du Centre d’Études, de Recherches et de Formation Islamique à Ouagadougou, deux associations d’un islam de tendance « réformiste », il s’agit ici, d’une part, de montrer que depuis 1990, ces imams participent à la formation d’une « sphère publique musulmane » par leurs sermons plaidant pour une « remoralisation » de l’espace public. D’autre part, en tenant compte d’une expérience religieuse africaine « hybride », entre l’affirmation individuelle et communautaire, il s’agit aussi de souligner l’actuelle reconfiguration des rapports intergénérationnels entre aînés et jeunes imams. À travers les discussions entre un collège d’imams et le rectorat de la mosquée, elles sont davantage marquées par la concertation avec l’émergence d’une nouvelle génération d’imams charismatiques, tant arabisants que francisants, souvent mieux formées que leurs aînés.", "conference": "42nd Annual Canadian Association of African Studies Conference (CAAS)", "panelTitle": "Dynamiques religieuses, visions de l'Autre et relations intergénérationnelles", "location": "Université Laval", "country": "Canada", "coordinates": { "latitude": 46.7793, "longitude": -71.2825 }, "tags": [ "CAAS", "Imams", "Public Sphere", "Burkina Faso", "Ouagadougou", "Intergenerational Relations", "Islam", "West Africa" ], "project": "Youth and Women's Islamic Activism in Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso", "image": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/CAAS-logo.webp", "heroImage": { "src": "https://www.frederickmadore.com/images/communications/CAAS-logo-hero.webp", "alt": "Canadian Association of African Studies Conference (CAAS)" } } ] }