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An excerpt from Bu-El-Mogdad’s statement to the Director of Political Affairs in 1860 explaining the rationale for administration support of his pilgrimage:[[doc]]
I think it would be most advantageous that some of the marabouts who are loyal to the French should achieve supremacy over those who still retain the old prejudices. As you know, the strongest marabouts are already those who serve French interests; but they would enjoy more influence still if they were not merely enabled to visit Paris and Algiers, but allowed to make the pilgrimage to Mecca, like Al-Hajj [Umar]. Such a pilgrimage might have very important results, because it would be known in the country that it was made under French patronage and that this patronage was as valuable as the best-established reputation as a good Muslim....Other well educated Muslims followed the lead of the An and the Secks in the late 19th century. One was Ndiaye Sarr, who served as qadi of the Tribunal in the 1890s. [[img]]His son Umar provided interviews about the family and Saint-Louis, in 1985 to David Robinson and in 1994 to Kalala Ngalamulume. We have provided interview transcripts in French of both interviews, as well as the audio of the 1985 session. Umar developed a close relationship with the Murids in the early 20th century, and played a role in the expansion of Murid influence in the town.