Everyday Islam in Kumasi: Devout Lay Men and Women in Daily Life

by Gracia Clark

Interviews

A Secondary School Teacher

A Secondary School Teacher

Date: 2006
"My Mum never gave up."
A Trader and a Teacher

A Trader and a Teacher

Date: 2006
"My uncle saw that I was not interested in marriage, so one day he just called me and said 'I want you to be married to your brother [cousin],' and it worked."
An Arabic Teacher

An Arabic Teacher

Date: 2006
"As I understood the teachings of Islam, I pledged to let my fellow Muslims also know more about Islam and the Koran. That is why I prefer teaching."
Not Every Woman Can Do This Work

Not Every Woman Can Do This Work

Date: 2006
"It is only me, a woman selling these double axles here. My family are proud of me as a woman selling this, because it is not easy for some women to learn this trade."
The Work of God

The Work of God

Date: 2006
"Next time that I greet you, with the grace of God you will also be a Muslim."
Abdu Basit

Abdu Basit

Date: August 13, 2009
"Bicycles have helped me."
Abdul Hannan Al Waiz

Abdul Hannan Al Waiz

Date: August 13, 2009
"I know what is bad and what is good for me."
Ahmed Bashir Baba

Ahmed Bashir Baba

Date: August 13, 2009
"All that we need is unity."
Mohammed Bawa

Mohammed Bawa

Date: August 13, 2009
"First, be honest; second, be patient."
Suleiman Zakaria

Suleiman Zakaria

Date: August 13, 2009
"The religion of Islam is totally about peace"
Abdul Rashid Alhassan

Abdul Rashid Alhassan

Date: August 15, 2009
"You must be seen to be a good Muslim."
Abu Rawbil

Abu Rawbil

Date: August 15, 2009
"Islam teaches us to love one another."
Fuseini Nahidshah

Fuseini Nahidshah

Date: August 15, 2009
"People like coming here."
Ibrahim Abdul Rashid

Ibrahim Abdul Rashid

Date: August 15, 2009
"We don't advise that."
Sadick Jaffo

Sadick Jaffo

Date: August 15, 2009
"I have to respect these people."
Ahmed Abdulah

Ahmed Abdulah

Date: August 21, 2009
"I will drive peacefully; I will come home peacefully."
Ahmed Abubakar Ali

Ahmed Abubakar Ali

Date: August 21, 2009
"I'm a real Zongo man."
Halima Abdallah

Halima Abdallah

Date: August 21, 2009
"I don't think I can marry again."
Muhammed Amin Abu Bakr

Muhammed Amin Abu Bakr

Date: August 21, 2009
"Islam has taught me a lot."
Muhammed Bashiru Danakabu

Muhammed Bashiru Danakabu

Date: August 21, 2009
"They are not doing it for Islam."
Suleman Haruna

Suleman Haruna

Date: August 21, 2009

Images

Headloading at a Village Market

Headloading at a Village Market

Date: 1979
Lifting basket on man's head.
Lorry Station Chalkboard

Lorry Station Chalkboard

Date: 1979
Blackboard with people waiting for cars.
Madame Hawa, Tomato Wholesaler

Madame Hawa, Tomato Wholesaler

Date: 1979
Silhouette of old lady at tomato yard.
Men Tomato Sellers in North

Men Tomato Sellers in North

Date: 1979
Northern men with tomato boxes selling in Bolgatanga market.
Mosque Demolition

Mosque Demolition

Date: 1979
Demolished small market mosque.
Old Kumasi Stores

Old Kumasi Stores

Date: 1979
Street scene in Adum.
Veiled Buyer

Veiled Buyer

Date: 1979
Customers standing, tomatoes on sack.
Yam Porters and Drivers

Yam Porters and Drivers

Date: 1979
People in rows of chairs in yam office in Kumasi Central Market.
Tailor Alley

Tailor Alley

Date: 1982
Side passage with men's shirts and tailors.
Allabar Women's School

Allabar Women's School

Date: 2006
The Allabar Women's Islamic School main classroom in front of house.
Bantama Floor

Bantama Floor

Date: 2006
Interviews on the floor of mosque -- women's side.
Learning to Pray

Learning to Pray

Date: 2006
Small girl standing behind praying women in the mosque.
Ramadan Class

Ramadan Class

Date: 2006
Women in chairs, men at table with books at the mosque.
Truck Parts and Engines

Truck Parts and Engines

Date: 2006
Hajia Habiba in her stall with double axles in Suame Magazine.
Cloth Importers

Cloth Importers

Date: 2009
Two women and one man from Togo sit in cloth stall in Kumasi Central Market.
Discussion Club

Discussion Club

Date: 2009
Street salon in front of a row of containers.
Front Porch

Front Porch

Date: 2009
Interviewing on the front porch of a compound house.
Herbal Stall

Herbal Stall

Date: 2009
Herbalist stall in Kumasi Central Market.
Kumasi Central Market

Kumasi Central Market

Date: 2009
Overview of Kumasi Central Market from above wholesale yards.
Kumasi Central Mosque

Kumasi Central Mosque

Date: 2009
Friday prayers at the Central Mosque in Kumasi.
Roadside Shop

Roadside Shop

Date: 2009
Young men in front of store in Dichemso, Kumasi.
Zongo Street

Zongo Street

Date: 2009
Commercial building in Old Zongo.

At the mosque

A photo album of six images showing the mosque in Kumasi and activities happening at the mosque.

Documents

Runaway Wife

Date: January 3, 1939
This wronged husband is appealing to the Asantehene because he feels the chief of his ethnic community in Kumasi has been unfair.

Palaver Held at the Central Market, Kumasi

Date: October 13, 1946
Muslim traders settled freely in Kumasi after British conquest in 1898, but they had to negotiate a place for themselves politically and economically as a minority. Each immigrant ethnic group acknowledged a Kumasi headman, who maintained constructive relations with the Asante chiefly hierarchy and the British colonial authorities to protect their trading activities and legal traditions. Although most of the translations for this case will be from oral interviews, the paramount chief's archives contain valuable English language documents from earlier decades, such as petitions and court cases. The following sample document shows high-ranking palace officials mediating a conflict between male traders from Gao (Mali) and Asante women traders. Their rivalry over access to truckloads of yams arriving in Kumasi Central Market sparked several violent clashes between 1938 and 1952.