Pray for the Sahel

Arabic for ‘shore,’ the Sahel serves as the ‘shore of the Sahara.’ Historically, desert Arabs called it the ‘Land of the Blacks.’ These southern grassy shores of the sand wasteland are vast—slightly smaller than all of India. And it is hot, with temperatures reaching between 97 and 108°F (36 and 42°C).

Two things dominate the Sahel: Islam and the caravan trade. Today, the commerce is mainly displaced people. Untold thousands of self-declared economic refugees leave the semi-fertile Sahel to cross north across the world’s largest desert. The Sahelians who stay engage in nomadic herding, subsistence farming, transport, and market commerce. Sahelian life is among the hardest on the planet. There is no one shared Sahelian language, culture, or governance. Only Arab-Islamic colonization and later European occupation temporarily unified it, only to divide it up into 12 countries after WWII. The Sahel has been politically unstable ever since.

Survival is the primary struggle for districts not linked to wealthier North Africa. The Sahel is the poorest region in the world, leading many younger men to leave. Parts of the Sahel rank among the top 10 most war-ravaged states because of jihadist activities. The desert to the north is ungovernable, making it a ‘wild west’ freeway of arms, jihadists, criminals, and human trafficking. In addition, the desert Tuaregs have never stopped fighting for their independence.

Vicious war-plagued poverty, erratic rainfalls, and the world’s worst roads prevent most regions from receiving adequate medical services, affordable goods, primary schooling, business infrastructure, and equitable government. The vast desert resources of oil and natural gas only benefit North Africa, and there are just two uranium deposits in Niger.

Islam in the Sahel is entirely of Malekite Sunni persuasion. There are no Shia communities. All of Sahelian Islam is very tribal. Conservative Muslim tribes include the Fulanis, Tuaregs, Hausas, Wolofs, etc. The religious orientations of the region mirror those of West Africa.

Most in these vast rural areas also embrace popular ‘folk’ movements led by itinerant marabout-imams (spiritists). Most adult women seek the help of the jinn-spirits for domestic crises.

Powerful Sufi Sheikhs also influence Sahelian politics, especially those leading the classical conservative Qadariyya fraternities (believing in free will) and the more militant Tijaniyyah brotherhoods (believing people are forced into their actions).

Outside of Somalia, no part of Africa is more influenced by militant-jihadist Muslims than the Sahara-Sahel world. Three militant movements dominate: Boko Haram in NE Nigeria, North Cameroon, Lake Chad region, and SE Niger; Jamaat Nusrat and al-Qaeda affiliates control regions throughout Mali and Burkina Faso; and Islamic State is active in Sahara Mali and Burkina Faso. Much of the Sahelian-Saharan region is under jihadi rule.

Sahelian Muslims look strongly to the Arab world for their worldview; the more devout they are, the more Arab and Bedouin they become. Untold waves of migrants have left for Arabia, North Africa, and Europe. The greatest export of the Sahel is desperate people.

Thanks to sacrificial missionary service, churches exist. Noble labors gave birth to churches, Bible translations, clinics, rural development, and Bible schools. Mother-tongue Christianity now exist in Sahelian languages. Also, coastal Christians routinely migrate towards the Sahel for commercial, educational, or ministry purposes. Except for outreach to children, migrant churches chiefly serve their own people.

Droughts (since 1968) and jihadism (since the 1992-2002 Algerian civil war) have brought Christian and secular agencies to help those fleeing war and famine, including Sahelians illegally trying to enter Europe through Mali, Niger, and Sudan. Missionaries minister to refugees in major cities and secure NGO sites.

Christianity varies among Sahelian tribes. The strongest are the Mossi (31%), Gurma (19%), and Dogon (10%). Others have influential Christian minorities: Baatonu (5%), Bambara (4%), Hausa (2.6%) and Senoufo (2%). The least-impacted Sahelians are the Songhai, Tuareg, Zarma, Fulani, Mandinka, Tubu, Kanuri, and Sahara Arabs. Fortunately, there are effective mother-tongue ministries reaching them through radio, smartphones, hospitals, schools, and rural development. Social opposition to conversion is very strong, leading to shunning, shaming, expulsion, violence, imprisonment, kidnapping, and martyrdom.