Studying Muslim Minorities in Subsaharan Africa: Preliminary Remarks

Abstract

The introduction to the special issue on Muslim minorities in Subsaharan Africa argues that a focus on the circumstances and challenges faced by them opens up productive lines of inquiry into forms of religious coexistence and plurality, in Subsaharan Africa and elsewhere. Starting from a conceptual reflection on different forms of religious plurality, the article enters a plea for more a sustained reflection on the effects of state regulation of religious coexistence and how it is lived in everyday life. To this effect, the introduction invites readers to take the different case studies of the special issue as a way to assess and compare the genealogies and legacies of state regimes of religious governance in Subsaharan Africa.