Evangelical Christians in the Muslim Sahel [Paperback]

Barbara M. Cooper looks closely at the Sudan Interior Mission, an evangelical Christian mission that has taken a tenuous hold in a predominantly Hausa Muslim area on the southern fringe of Niger. Based on sustained fieldwork, personal interviews, and archival research, this vibrant, sensitive, compelling, and candid book gives a unique glimpse into an important dimension of religious life in Africa. Coopers involvement in a violent religious riot provides a useful backdrop for introducing other themes and concerns such as Bible translation, medical outreach, public preaching, tensions between English-speaking and French-speaking missionaries, and the Christian missions changing views of Islam.

This book is an invaluable asset to all those interested in African history, mission, politics, linguistics, and economics.July 2007Cooper's study is remarkable ... gripping and elegantly written ... [the study] enriches our understanding of religious interaction in Africa.Vol. 44, No. 1 2011[T]his is a very rich and interesting work, which portrays the complexities of mission work and deepens the understanding of religious dynamics in West Africa.[The author's] mastery of the language, history, and culture of Hausa Niger is unparalleled and her conclusions deserve respect.35.3 July 2007In all, this research is indeed of good historical and anthropological value. Itis an invaluable contribution to Mission Studies, African Studies, and Colonial Studies.Barbara Cooper has conducted research in Maradi, Niger, for many years, and this book reveals the depth of her understanding of the complex nature of the community and the interplay within it of factors such as religion, language and ethnicity.

Barbara M. Cooper is Professor of History at Rutgers University. She is author of Marriage in Maradi: Gender and Culture in a Hausa Society in Niger, 19001989.

Fascinating historical account. . . . Highly recommended for all interested in African Christianity, missions, hisl#s