Abdul Injai

Abdul Injai or Abdoul Ndaiye was a Muslim Wolof mercenary in colonial Portuguese Guinea [Portuguese Guinea was the name for what is today Guinea-Bissau from 1446 to September 10, 1974] at the turn of the 20th century. Born in the neighboring West African country of Senegal, Abdul Injai initially came to notice while assisting in the punitive military missions of Portuguese colonialists Oliveira Musanty and Teixeira Pinto, from 1905 to 1915. [Bowman, Joye L. "Abdul Njai: Ally and Enemy of the Portuguese in Guinea-Bissau, 1895-1919", "Journal of African History" 27 (3); 463-479, 1986] This was the beginning of a Portuguese campaign against the animist tribes of the interior, with the help of the indigenous coastal Islamic population. It would not be until 1936 that areas like the Bijagos Islands would be under complete government control. Tedious alliances, like those between Abdul Injai and the Portuguese during the Scramble for Africa, reflect the overwhelming tendency for European colonial powers to divide native African populations based on religious affiliations - particularly the idea that, although racially inferior to Europeans, Muslim Africans possessed higher levels of education and culture and were preferential associates compared to followers of animist or tribal religions. [Ira M. Lapidus, "A History of Islamic Societies" 2nd Ed. Cambridge University Press 2005]

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