Serigne Mouhamadou Mourtada Mbacké: The Ambassador of Mouridism to the World (1927–2004)

The youngest son of Serigne Touba

Cheikh Mouhamadou Mourtada Mbacké was born in 1927 at Ndame, in the village of Daroul Alimoul Khabir, about 5 kilometers from Touba. He was the youngest son of Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba, born in the same year his father returned to God.

Tradition holds that he came into the world with the name “Mohamed” marked on his arm, a sign that many saw as a promise of the blessed life that awaited him.

A childhood of faith and a thirst for knowledge

Like all the sons of Serigne Touba, he began learning the Holy Quran and the Islamic sciences at a very young age. Those who knew him said that he committed no sin and no injustice during his childhood, and that he never cared for material things.

By the age of 12, he already showed an unusual passion for learning. He left for Mauritania, the great land of Islamic scholarship where his father had also lived in exile, to deepen his knowledge. This love of learning would guide his whole life.

A traveler for God

Serigne Mourtada was open-minded and curious about the world, and deeply devoted to spreading the writings and teachings of his father. He became the first great traveler of the Mouride path:

• 1963: he performed the pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca;
• 1964: he traveled across the Arab world, visiting Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, where he built strong ties with Islamic scholars and institutions.

Throughout his life, he crossed all five continents, earning the title “tireless ambassador of Mouridism.” Through his efforts, many people around the world embraced Islam.

The Al-Azhar Institutes: bringing modern education to the daaras

Serigne Mourtada understood very early that the Mouride community needed modern schools rooted in Islamic tradition. He signed an agreement with the famous Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, one of the oldest and most prestigious centers of Islamic learning in the world.

• In 1975, he built the first Al-Azhar Institute in Ndame, the village of his birth.
• By the time he passed away, his network counted about 350 schools across Senegal.

These schools, known simply as “Al-Azhar,” combined the memorization of the Quran with Arabic, Islamic sciences and modern subjects. They opened the doors of higher education to generations of young Senegalese, many of whom went on to study in Egypt and elsewhere in the Muslim world.

A builder of the economy

Serigne Mourtada was also a man of enterprise, in keeping with the Mouride value of work. He founded:

• the Al-Azhar transport company, with buses serving the country;
• bakeries and gas stations.

These businesses created hundreds of jobs. He gladly hired people who had no diplomas or connections, giving them a chance to earn an honest living.

The father of the Mouride diaspora

Serigne Mourtada’s greatest legacy may be the one found far from Senegal. As thousands of Senegalese left to work in Europe and America, he went to meet them. He encouraged them to organize into dahiras (religious associations) and to keep their faith alive far from home.

Above all, he inspired and helped fund the “Keur Serigne Touba” (House of Serigne Touba): cultural and religious centers where members of the diaspora, and Muslims in general, could pray, learn and gather.

France: the first steps (1966)

In 1966, he opened the first Mouride cultural and religious center in France. Keur Serigne Touba houses were later established in places such as Aulnay-sous-Bois, near Paris, and Marseille.

Italy (1967)

In 1967, he opened a center in Italy, which became one of the strongest centers of the Mouride diaspora. When he visited Italy again in 1991, he personally gave 500,000 lire to help emigrants buy a house. Today, there are said to be 17 Keur Serigne Touba in Italy alone.

United States (1988)

In 1988, Serigne Mourtada visited the United States. He contributed $50,000 of his own money toward the purchase of a Keur Serigne Touba in New York. Since then, more than ten Keur Serigne Touba have been established across the country.

Today, every year in late July, Mourides in New York celebrate Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba Day with a great parade through the streets of Harlem. The tradition carries on the mission Serigne Mourtada began. His son, Serigne Mame Mor Mbacké, continues this work today.

A worldwide network

From Senegal to France, Italy, the United States and beyond, the dahiras and Keur Serigne Touba that now exist around the world owe much to Serigne Mourtada’s vision. Every dahira abroad that gathers to recite the khassaïdes and honor Serigne Touba, including here in Cincinnati, is part of the legacy he built.

Return to God

Serigne Mouhamadou Mourtada Mbacké worked tirelessly until the end of his life. He returned to God on August 8, 2004, in Morocco, at the age of 77. His body was brought back to Senegal, and he was buried the same day in Touba.

His legacy

Serigne Mourtada carried the name of Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba to every corner of the world. Through his hundreds of Al-Azhar schools, his businesses, his travels and the many houses of Serigne Touba he helped create, he showed that the Mouride path could remain faithful to its roots while reaching out to the whole world.