Abdul Injai
Abdul Injai | |
---|---|
Born | Senegal |
Allegiance | Mercenary |
Abdul Injai or Abdoul Ndaiye was a Senagalese mercenary in colonial Portuguese Guinea[1] at the turn of the 20th century.
A Muslim Wolof, Abdul Injai initially came to notice while assisting in the punitive military missions of Portuguese colonialists and , from 1905 to 1915.[2] This era was the beginning of a Portuguese campaign against the animist tribes of the interior, with the help of the indigenous coastal Islamic population. It would not be until 1936 that areas like the Bijagos Islands would be under complete government control. Tedious alliances, like those between Abdul Injai and the Portuguese during the Scramble for Africa, reflect the overwhelming tendency for European colonial powers to attempt to divide native African populations based on religious affiliations - particularly the idea that, although racially inferior to Europeans, Muslim Africans possessed higher levels of education and culture and were preferential associates compared to followers of animist or tribal religions.[3]
Notes[]
- ^ Portuguese Guinea was the name for what is today Guinea-Bissau from 1446 to September 10, 1974
- ^ Bowman, Joye L. Abdul Njai: Ally and Enemy of the Portuguese in Guinea-Bissau, 1895-1919, Journal of African History 27 (3); 463-479, 1986
- ^ Ira M. Lapidus, A History of Islamic Societies 2nd Ed. Cambridge University Press 2005
- People of French West Africa
- Wolof people
- Senegalese mercenaries
- Senegalese Muslims
- Senegalese military personnel
- Portuguese military personnel
- Islamic biography stubs
- African military personnel stubs
- Senegalese people stubs