THE MARABOUT

New religions take hold through conquest, missionary effort and forced conversion but most effective is conversion through love and respect. The Marabout is about a young man, Dawud, who is determined to fully convert to Islam the king of the 13th Century Mandinkan empire of Mali. Abandoning his family’s tradition of service to Islam as marabouts in his home town of Audaghost, Dawud leaves his home and family to journey to Niani, the capital city of the Mandinkan Empire. The clash of the empire’s traditional religions and Islam leads to murder and attempted murder thrusting Dawud into a precarious existence in Niani until he meets a princess who follows the traditional religion. And as is often said, the rest is history.