
The followers of the Baye Fall aren't your typical Muslims. They show their devotion a bit differently: with dreadlocks and reggae.
Often, members of the Baye Fall are confused for Rastafarians.
"They
both have very positive vibes, which is why they look alike -- the Baye
Fall and the Rasta" concedes Mamadou Lamine Seck, a follower and the
lead singer in Gustou Band.
"But we don't have the same prophet. I don't believe in Rasta, but I appreciate Rasta."
The
Baye Fall sect is little more than a century old, and was born out of
Senegal's second largest city: Touba. Touba itself was founded in the
late 19th-century by the creator of the Mouride Brotherhood -- a branch
of the Sufi order of Islam. In fact, Baye Fall's founder, Sheikh
Ibrahima Fall, was said to be one of the brotherhood's fiercest
disciples.
Aside from the physical look of Baye Fall followers, the sect is also notable for the value it places on hard work.
"Ibrahima
Fall realized and decreed that working is better than fasting and
praying. That is the principle we are all still following right up to
this day," says Serigne Abdoul Aziz Fall -- a Baye Fall religious chief
and grandson to the founder.
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