Held under the theme “El Hadj Malick Sy, 100 years later … focus on his life and work”, the event is placed under the high patronage of the President of the Republic of Senegal, Macky Sall, and His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Commander of the Faithful.
The ceremony, chaired by the President of Senegal, took place in the presence of the representative of the Caliph General of the Tariqa Tijania, Serigne Babacar Sy Mansour, Mohamed Mansour Malick Sy, the mayor of the town of Tivaouane Demba Diop Sy, Morocco’s ambassador to Senegal Hassan Naciri, members of the Senegalese government in addition to representatives of the local authorities and the diplomatic corps accredited in Dakar.
Besides Naciri, the Moroccan delegation includes Mohammed Lekbir Attijani, Sheikh of the Tidjane Brotherhood of Fez, Abdellatif Bagdouri Achkari of the Mohammed VI Foundation of African Ulema, Al Mustapha Zamhani, President of the Local Council of the Ulema of Khénifra, and Mohammed Mechan, President of the Local Council of the Ulema of Fidaa Derb Sultan.
It also includes Mohammed Asseban, President of the Local Council of the Ulema of Rabat, Omar Azdadou, President of the Local Council of the Ulema of R’hamna, Adnan Zouhar, President of the Local Council of the Ulema of El Jadida and Ibn Chouaf Bouchaib, advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans abroad.
Before the start of the official ceremony, held at the Complex El Hadj Malick Sy, members of the Moroccan delegation, accompanied by Morocco’s ambassador in Dakar, were received by the Caliph General of the Tariqa Tijania in his residence in Tivaouane, in the presence of the Head of State Macky Sall.
On this occasion, Lekbir Attijani, Sheikh of the Tidjane Brotherhood of Fez, conveyed to the President Macky Sall and to Serigne Babacar Sy Mansour the fraternal greetings of HM King Mohammed VI, Commander of the Faithful.
For his part, Macky Sall expressed his thanks to his brother HM King Mohammed VI for the high patronage of this celebration which reflects the high solicitude that HM the King, Commander of the Faithful, surrounds the Tidjania brotherhood and the importance that the Sovereign attaches to relations between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Republic of Senegal. Mr. Macky Sall also took the opportunity to wish a speedy recovery to HM the King.
The celebration ceremony of the centenary of the death of Sheikh El Hadj Malick Sy, which began with the reading of verses from the Holy Quran in the presence of many dignitaries and religious leaders of Senegal, was marked by speeches by President Macky Sall and Morocco’s Ambassador to Senegal. It also featured a message from the Caliph General of the Tariqa Tijania which was read out by Sheikh Mokhtar Kebe, a member of the Senegalese section of the Mohammed VI Foundation of African Ulema.
In his speech, President Macky Sall highly welcomed the participation of a large Moroccan delegation sent by HM King Mohammed VI for this centenary.
The program of the celebration, which runs from June 24 to 27, also included the opening of an exhibition and a conference on the life and work of El Hadji Malick Sy and his family.
During the visit to the exhibition, President Macky Sall signed the Guestbook in which he expressed his thanks to HM the King for the High Patronage of this event and His support for the celebration of this centenary.
In a message handed out to the local press, the Caliph General of the Tariqa Tijania hoped that the activities included in the celebration of the centenary of the death of his grandfather “will be the beginning of a real awareness to further enhance the heritage he bequeathed to us.”
Born in 1854 in Gaya (Gaaya in Wolof), a village in the north of the country, El Hadji Malick Sy was a tireless servant of Islam and of the Tariqa Tidjaniya which he contributed in a very large measure to spread throughout Senegal and beyond, via his numerous “muqaddams” (great disciples) whom he trained and sent to several African countries.
El Hadji Malick Sy settled between 1900 and 1902 in Tivaouane. At that time, the colonial authorities were fighting against the expansion of Islamic thought. However, this religious man succeeded in propagating his ideas through a strategy of peaceful coexistence. He died on June 27, 1922.
Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse