Other Imam Senegal
Description of Work:
Well-known for propagating a positive message of Islam throughout the world, Cheikh Hassan Cissé, an Imam for the Tijaniyya brotherhood, has remained an important figure in the Muslim world in general and West Africa in particular.

Cissé was born in 1945 as the first grandson of El-Hajj Ibrahima Niasse, the founder of the Senegambian branch of the Tijaniyya Sufi brotherhood. Cissé quickly received a foundation in Koranic learning and the Islamic sciences. He received a Bachelor's of Arts in Arabic Literature and Islamic Studies at Ain Shams University in Egypt, a Master's of Arts in English from the University of London, and did some Ph. D work in Islamic Studies at Northwestern University before he was called back to lead the Muslim community based in Kaolack. As a scholar of Islam, Cissé has published several books specializing in the teachings of his grandfather.

Cissé has used his position in the Muslim world to promote education, healthcare, protection of women and children, and interfaith dialog between West Africa and the United States. To that end he founded the United Nation's recognized African-American Islamic Institute in Kaolack, Senegal.