Tierno Bokar is generally not well-known in the Muslim world, yet his life and teachings are both profound examples of the beauty of Islamic wisdom and the tragedy of a man of peace caught up in the bitter factional fighting of Muslims. He lived in Bandiagara, Mali, in the late 19th century, and was a descendent of the jihadist Al-Hajj `Umar, who was given ijazah (religious permission) to become the leader of the Tijanis in West Africa. The Tijani tariqah (Sufi brotherhood), established by the Algerian Ahmad Tijani, split when, for unclear reasons, some of its adherents began to say its wird (collection of prayers) twelve times instead of the original eleven, as Ahmad Tijani had taught. Al-Hajj `Umar and his family and followers were “twelvers” and leaders of an illustrious Fulbe clan. Their empire stretched over most of what was then called French Sudan.

When the French began to colonize West Africa, political infighting among Al-Hajj `Umar’s descendents increased, as some took advantage of favors offered by the French while others resolutely resisted occupation. In the midst of all this turmoil was Tierno (meaning “teacher”) Bokar, a prominent member of the `Umarian clan, yet a man of utter humility, whose entire life was dedicated to teaching tolerance and compassion. He taught both children and adults. Most of his lessons were based on the observation of nature and the world around him.

Amadou Hampâté Bâ, a historian and story-teller, was possibly Tierno Bokar’s closest student, and he wrote Tierno’s teachings down and collected them together. He says that Tierno “did not like hatred, and religious hatred, in his eyes, was an insupportable monstrosity.” The only war that Tierno condoned was the one we wage against our own faults. Those who kill others “declare that they love God, but they destroy a part of His work.” True religion is “love of good and mercy for all.” He advised his students to “search and still search for truth,” for “the brilliant star which is mentioned in the Holy Book will guide you to a garden of real and eternal beauty.”

It was Tierno’s commitment to the truth which led to his ending his days under virtual house arrest, to his students being scattered and imprisoned and their marriages forcibly broken up. A young man named Hamallah, said to be the qutb (hidden spiritual leader) of the age, was teaching the Tijani wird eleven times. Hamallah was also a man of peace, yet he caught the attention of the French authorities as his popularity grew. Tierno Bokar visited him and found himself obliged to accept that Hamallah was indeed the qutb of the age. Tierno was initiated by Hamallah and began, discreetly at first, to recite the wird eleven times; but the word got out, and Tierno’s actions were seen as a betrayal of the `Umarian clan and their heritage as the supreme spiritual leaders of West Africa.

The `Umarians appealed to the French authorities to deal with Hamallah, who was planning, they said, an anti-colonial uprising. Hamallah was duly exiled and died in France. Tierno Bokar’s school was destroyed and he and his two wives and children were incarcerated within the walls of their compound.

In a recent theatrical production, Peter Brook has put these events on the European stage. The play has traveled from Paris to several cities in the US and Europe, and tickets seem to have quickly sold out. The production, fortunately, worked with West African actors. Sotigui Kouyate, who played Tierno Bokar, successfully conveyed Tierno’s gentleness and fortitude. Incidentally, I was late because of doing salah, and as soon as I sat down I received a prolonged and piercing glare from Mr. Kouyate, which made me feel like a disobedient Qur’an student expected to make humble apologies.

Bruce Myers, a white actor, was given different parts to play, both as a colonialist and as a murid (aspirant), which broke any potential racial tension and demonstrated the universal message at the heart of the play. The set was simple, laid out with a few straw mats, some traditional African Qur’an boards, and a tree stump that was often used as a stool. A range of traditional African instruments were played with consummate expertise by Toshi Tsuchitori and Antonin Stahly, the music being used to alter the mood of the play in place of lighting alterations or set changes.

There was humor, too, and an interesting silence among the audience as they waited for Tierno Bokar to answer Amadou’s question “what is God?” The audience was predominantly white, which raises a question about the nature in which the play was publicized. It also demonstrates that there is a thirst among white audiences for what this play has to offer. The applause was prolonged and enthusiastic at the end.

Still, there seems to be a number of weaknesses in the production. The play, which is one hour and fifty-five minutes long, tries to summarize a complex history and sometimes the scenes and events pass quickly without being able to give due resonance to their significance. The audience was also filled in with an ongoing narrative, excellently told, but which nevertheless prevented the mood of the play to settle. The number of characters, too, means that one is not able to identify closely with any of them so when Tierno Bokar finally dies and his wife utters a heartbroken cry, it is difficult to really feel the impact of the tragedy.

Prayer beads were also much in use everywhere, which, I felt, caused some distraction. I also worry that the “authentic ethnicity” of the play may have entranced the audience so that the question of good characterization was overlooked.

Nevertheless, in the publication for the play, Peter Brook makes an interesting point that, “Theatre exists to reopen all comfortable convictions. It has the best weapons for breaking taboos and smashing barriers: these are scandal, violence and ridicule. But not today, not any longer. The ‘shock effect’ cannot shock us any more; it is so close to daily life that it has become quite ordinary. Today, our urgent need is elsewhere. It is to catch a glimpse of what our lives have lost.”

For further information on the life of Tierno Bokar, see Vie et enseignement de Tierno Bokar, by Amadou Hampâté Bâ (Éditions de Seuil, 1980).

For more on the Tijanis click here (http://home.earthlink.net/~halimcisse)