Imaginative links: Islam and dreams of a Saharan French empire

• Published in: The journal of North African studies Vol. 28; no. 4; pp. 952 - 975
• Main Author: Leonard, Douglas W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 04.07.2023; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: 19th century; Administrators; borderlands; Colonialism; Dreams; French colonial empire; Homogeneity; Islam; Religion; Religious cultural groups; Sahara; Stereotypes; Sufism; Traditions

French colonial expansion across North and West Africa brought contact with varied political and religious groups, particularly along the Saharan rim and in the western Sahel. Numerous French metropolitan politicians and colonial administrators alike saw the Sahara as a great connecting medium, a ne...