This book explores the life and work of Sheikhna Sheikh Saadbouh, a religious figure who lived in Mauritania and Senegal in the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.
It traces his birth, his spiritual journey, his relationships with the political authorities (French colonization) and contemporary religious authorities (in both Senegal and Mauritania), his experiences through his travels and mediations, and, above all, his extensive and prodigious literary and scientific output (religious poetry, biography, medical treatise, treatise on Sufism, etc.).
It also evokes the life and work of some of his disciples, whom he trained, most of whom were his representatives in various regions of French West Africa (AOF).
Participants in the colonial era, such as Xavier Coppolani, Alfred Le Châtelier, Paul Marty, and others, have often had to discuss his work, often with a biased or prejudiced eye. The aim here is to take a fresh look, stripped of the clichés -prejudice- conveyed by colonists who were more concerned with means of domination and the management of their own interests than with mutual understanding between peoples based on respect for difference.