To illustrate, in the event that an Islamic slave master wronged a slave that held on to traditional spiritual powers, they could (and would) perform some higher power “sorcery” to seek revenge on that slave master. If they were to release those other spiritual powers completely, they would no longer have control over what happens to them. The second reason was that relinquishing the powers of syncretism would leave the African people completely vulnerable. Through syncretism if they were ever in need of help, they could still turn to the power of their ancestors and request intervention with God to bring blessings while keeping a sense of unity with their communities. Sometimes, they were subjected to a heightened level of oppression if they were to fully submit unto the will of Muslim prophets. They were fearful that the dominant Islamic culture would absorb their powers forcing them to be labeled as the subordinate culture. This is especially true of those who did not easily convert. Islam proved to be very beneficial in economic developments; but the West African people sometimes found it a struggle to cooperate with the terms of Islam in every day
To illustrate, in the event that an Islamic slave master wronged a slave that held on to traditional spiritual powers, they could (and would) perform some higher power “sorcery” to seek revenge on that slave master. If they were to release those other spiritual powers completely, they would no longer have control over what happens to them. The second reason was that relinquishing the powers of syncretism would leave the African people completely vulnerable. Through syncretism if they were ever in need of help, they could still turn to the power of their ancestors and request intervention with God to bring blessings while keeping a sense of unity with their communities. Sometimes, they were subjected to a heightened level of oppression if they were to fully submit unto the will of Muslim prophets. They were fearful that the dominant Islamic culture would absorb their powers forcing them to be labeled as the subordinate culture. This is especially true of those who did not easily convert. Islam proved to be very beneficial in economic developments; but the West African people sometimes found it a struggle to cooperate with the terms of Islam in every day