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Persecution of Serers

Religious and ethnic persecution of the Serer people of West Africa

  • 12 min read
  • 3 chapters

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The religious and ethnic persecution of the Serer people dates back to the 11th century, when King War Jabi usurped the throne of Tekrur (part of present-day Senegal) in 1030, and in 1035, introduced Sharia law and forced his subjects to submit to Islam. With the assistance of his son Leb, their Almoravid allies and other African ethnic groups who had embraced Islam, the Muslim coalition army launched jihads against the Serer people of Tekrur because they refused to abandon their Serer religion in favour of Islam.

The Serer lamanic class, who also acted as the priestly class and guardians of Serer religion, are believed to have been at the forefront of resisting Islamization, partly to preserve their religion, and also their power and wealth as landowners. It was common for early Arab writers such as Al Bakri to refer to "non-believers" of Islam in their works as lamlam, lemlem, or damdam which may be a corruption of the Serer title lamaan. The persecution of the Serers in the 11th century led to their first generally accepted exodus from Tekrur, moving southwards. The number of Serers who were killed is unknown, and the defeat of the Serers at Tekrur triggered their exodus from Tekrur to the south, where they were granted asylum by the Serer lamanes in the south. The Serer people are very diverse and the Serer Exodus from Tekruk only affected the Serers living in Tekrur at the time. The Tanzanians historian and author Godfrey Mwakikagile notes that: "...the Serer traversed vast expanses of territory during pre-colonial times and saw the entire region as their home, as their history of migration in the area clearly shows..."

In the 13th century, a civil war broke out in Tekrur. The descendants of the Serers who chose to remain in Tekrur during the first Serer Exodus decided to migrate southwest, first to the Ferlo, and then to Siin and Saloum rather than be converted to Islam. Ibrahima Thiaw advanced the claim that, this was the process by which a distinct 'Serer' identity first emerged, separate from the rest of the Takruri population. Professor Issa Laye Thiaw, Professor Cheikh Anta Diop, the 18th century French archaeologist Paul Pierret, and Professor Molefi Kete Asante et al. amongst other historians posits that the name 'Serer' is sacred and pre-Islamic, leading Asante et al. to conclude that, "they are an ancient people whose history reaches deep into the past..." and that would be consistent with their "strong connection to their ancient religious past".

The persecution of the Serer people continued from the medieval era to the 19th century, resulting in the Battle of Fandane-Thiouthioune where the Serers defeated the ally Muslim forces of the 19th century Senegambian jihadist, Muslim cleric and slave trader, Maba Diakhou Bâ. Since the 20th century, the persecution of the Serers has been less visible though the object of "scorn and prejudice."

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