"Ndiol Fouta"! This is the name often given to Serigne Mbaye Sy Abdou, surely in memory of his brilliant studies in Thilogne in the Matam region, in the north of the country. The holy man in the "Laafa Banjul", commonly called "Cabral", a woolen cap bordered with zigzag checks, which he wears with humility, pride and elegance, remains an emblematic figure of Islam. However, his venerated father, Mame Abdou Aziz Sy "Dabakh" (RTA), would have preferred to be called Serigne Babacar, after whom he was named.

Maodo Sy's younger brother, Serigne Babacar Sy, or affectionately known as "Ndiol Fouta," is a man of conviction and remarkable loyalty. From his high physical, moral, and civic stature, to his mind, to his knowledge of men, and to his awareness of the problems of society. Serigne Mbaye Sy Dabakh, a self-effacing man, is already very noticeable due to his presence in the Daaras of Tivaouane. His ordinary and gnostic knowledge, unlike any other, actually reveals that only those who ignore knowledge will have pure knowledge. Thus, he is in the image of his father Dabakh, a very enigmatic religious guide, endowed with legendary morality and probity. In this wake, his primary concern is to revive patriarchal values, as he likes to say: "In this world, there is only virtue, knowledge, and truth that are worthy of my concern."

Serigne Cheikh Oumar Sy Djamil informs that "it is said that one day, after observing for a few minutes that Pape Serigne Mbaye did not respond to calls with this pseudonym, Mame Abdou warned the audience: ''especially since he does not react when you say "Ndiol Fouta", I beg you not to call him that anymore. I gave him the name of my brother, friend and marabout, Serigne Babacar Sy and by this name I would like you to address him! ". And he continues: "between Pape Serigne and Mame Abdou a tender and affectionate complicity has long been created. We are at the beginning of the 80s and the young student from the Quarawiyine University in Fez, Morocco, had come on summer vacation. At that moment, he felt he had amassed enough knowledge in the alleys of the medina where Sheikh Ahmed Tidiane Chérif (founder of the Tidiane Brotherhood) rests. He then went to meet his father to tell him that he no longer wanted to return to Morocco and that he would prefer to stay at the Daara of Seydil Hadji Malick Sy to perpetuate his legacy. In reality, without anyone paying attention, he had heard a few years earlier Mame Abdou express the wish to one day see ''Ken ci xaleyi'' (xalé in the jargon of the hadara does not mean child but rather, a member of the family) succeed him in the pedagogical and administrative management of this Daara, Mame Maodo's legacy. Pape Serigne, for his part, had recorded this wish somewhere in his heart.

Stay in Tivaouane and take care of the Daara of Seydil Hadji Malick Sy (RTA)

Upon hearing this news, Mame Abdou jumped up from his chair to warn him that it was a difficult decision and that he would like to call Seydil Hadji Malick (RTA) as a witness. He took him by the hand to go and pay their respects together in front of Mame Maodo's mausoleum where he asked him to repeat the words he had just spoken to him. Pape Serigne repeated without hesitation or ambiguity: "Yes, I want to stay in Tivaouane to take care of the Daara, left as a legacy by Seydil Hadji Malick Sy (RTA)." Since that day, he has never left this place of worship and knowledge. Thousands of Talibés chant the Quran there all day long or try to memorize it aloud. A polyphonic concert, made up of a symphony of children's voices, is created around valiant Quranic masters. Today, several presenters of religious sets on our televisions, both private and public, or who shine in Gamous and conferences to eloquently tell the story of the Prophet (PSL), have been trained by Serigne Mbaye Sy Abdou himself.

A tender youth in Thilogne in Fouta

With his slender appearance reminiscent of Mame Maodo, this Arabic-speaking intellectual, deprived of the glorious years of Tivaouane, was sent to spend eleven years of his tender youth in Thilogne in Fouta to be trained by the great scholar Seydi Thierno Abdou Khadre Ly, in the company of his younger brother, Serigne Cheikh Tidiane Sy (Senegalese ambassador to Saudi Arabia). This will allow him to speak the language of Cheikh Oumar Foutiyou Tall fluently. He thus manages to make sayings and tell anecdotes in Pulaar, or to carry out comparative lexical studies between Pulaar and Wolof. In short, he handles this language like no one else in Senegal (MCA); which earns him great affection in Haalpulaar circles. Humility, priesthood, gentleness, wisdom, fidelity, "kersa" bordering on timidity, are the most well-known character traits of Pape Serigne Mbaye. What is less well-known about him is mainly his concern to preserve a sincere status of the Senegalese Muslim which is characterized by tolerance, righteousness and a high sense of self-denial. Pape Serigne Mbaye often asks himself: "Are we true Muslims?" Or: "We often say that the Senegalese population is composed of 95% Muslims, is this true?"

His public lectures are very interactive. He does not hesitate to engage in a question-and-answer session between his interlocutors and himself, on religious practice. His teaching videos on practices such as Tayammom or prayer are popular on social networks (Facebook, Whatsapp, etc.). With a melodious voice, he also sometimes hums the "quassidas" (poems) of the great scholars of Tivaouane, thus rivaling the most famous singers of our time. His speech on wedding preparations as taught by Seydil Hadji Malick is of high intellectual quality. Moreover, one of his daily occupations is to rebuild the reference library of Seydil Hadji Malick Sy (RTA), based on the books with which the latter did his humanities. It is not uncommon to come across books with annotations and comments from the Patriarch of Tivaouane on the subjects covered therein, and always in conclusion, the words: "Tere bi amelatumako axx." (In short, he fulfilled his moral duty towards the book by reading it in its entirety.) This library is also full of rare books on all subjects relating to the Muslim religion, including the attacks made against it.

“How Mame Abdou taught me to contain my anger and control my nerves”

According to Serigne Cheikh Oumar Sy Djamil, discussing religious sociology with Pape Serigne is a real treat, and his teachings are punctuated with anecdotes. This is the case when he recounts how Mame El Hadji Abdou taught him to contain his anger and control his nerves. “A gentleman once appeared before Mame Abdou, uttering threats and saying rather inappropriate words. Sensing my face shrink and ready to fight him, Serigne Abdou ordered me a few hours later to go and get some food (rice, oil, sugar, etc.) and instructed me to load them into the vehicle myself. Which I did with great pleasure and enthusiasm,” says Ndiol Fouta. He continues: “Then he asked me to accompany him. However, I did not expect Mame Abdou to stop in front of the house of the person who had dared to challenge him at home.” He then made me understand that I had to unload these supplies myself at the unrepentant person's house. Since that day, ''Sène Mame'' has removed from me any feeling of hatred whatsoever for my neighbor." He adds that "another time, Mame Abdou invited me to have coffee with him. At the moment when the first flavors of caffeine touched my palate, I made the sound ''Ahh''. ''Sène Mame'' reacted immediately by retorting: ''Serigne, from today on I ask you not to drink coffee anymore''. Without understanding the reason, I complied while being patient. After six months of abstinence, El Hadji Abdou called me to Diacksao and announced: ''Now you can start drinking coffee again. However, do not do like the last time when I felt in you the sole desire to satisfy an earthly pleasure (top sa bakan), by saying ''Ahh'', when you should just appreciate these moments as a mercy that allowed you to be able to take this glass and drink it without any divine constraint. (Yalla rek nga wara guiss boy nan sa café). » Such lessons of life forged the generosity of Pape Serigne Mbaye Sy Abdou.