The Sheikh versus the president: the making of Imam Dicko as a political Big Man in Mali

In the lead up to the military coup in Mali in August 2020, Imam Mahmoud Dicko solidified his status as one of the country’s most important power brokers. How did a religious leader achieve this in a country where politics is considered ‘dirty’, the social capital of religious leaders rests on being seen as honest and pious, and politics and religion are considered constitutionally separate? Drawing on recent work in African Studies that utilises the classical ‘Big Man’ concept of Marshall Sahlins, this article tracks the political engagement of religious leaders with a particular focus on the political career of Imam Dicko. We document both his failures and how he learned to play politics without tarnishing his image as a pious man of God. We argue that Dicko’s hybrid mix of theology and politics led his followers into new terrain that even the secular opposition could buy in to. In turn, this opens up space for Salafi actors to navigate the straits between resistance and collaboration with the state.