ABSTRACT
The nineteenth-century jihlid movements in the northern Sudanic belt of West Africa put an end to a peaceful process of Islamization which had been going on for almost a thousand years. Not only did the jihlid cover earlier patterns of Islamization, but it also changed the ideas present informants may have on the role of Islam and the extent of its influence before this religious revolution. In other words, Muslims in the jihlid states may often find it difficult to relate-with any sympathy and understanding-the older Islamic traditions.
