Ahmadou Bamba disavowed this collaboration, which he considered suspicious in that it obliged his father to render power-inspired rulings potentially contrary to Islamic law.

This period of deep socio-political crisis was conducive to the birth of religious organizations founded by strong personalities renowned for their science and holiness.

In one of his numerous writings, Matlabul Fawzeyni (the quest for happiness in both worlds), Bamba describes the purpose of the city, which was intended to reconcile the spiritual and the temporal.

[citation needed] As Bamba's fame and influence spread, the French colonial government worried about his growing power and potential to wage war against them.

He had stirred "anti-colonial disobedience"[9] and even converted a number of traditional kings and their followers and no doubt could have raised a huge military force, as Muslim leaders like Umar Tall and Samory Touré had before him.

[9] The phobia of the colonial administration at the place of any Islamic movement made the judgements given to the Privy Council often constitute lawsuits of intention to religious leaders.

In a period when successful armed resistance was impossible, Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba led a spiritual struggle against colonial culture and politics.

Although he did not wage outright war on them as several prominent Tijaan marabouts had done, he taught what he called the jihād al-'akbar or "greater struggle," which fought not through weapons but through learning and fear of God.

With the organisation and supplies provided by the Brotherhood, a portion of the proceeds were returned to Touba, while the workers, after a period of years, earned ownership over the plantations and towns.

However, these exiles inspired stories and folk tales of Bamba's miraculous survival of torture, deprivation, and attempted executions, and thousands more flocked to his organization.

[11] By 1910, the French realized that Bamba was not interested in waging violent war against them, and was in fact quite cooperative, eventually releasing him to return to his expanded community.

[5] Today, Ahmadou Bamba has an estimated following of more than 3 million people and parades occur around the world in his honor, including in various cities in the United States.

[13] One such city is New York, where Muslims of West African descent have organized an "annual Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba Day parade" for over twenty years.

[13] Every year, millions of Muslims from all over the world make a pilgrimage to Touba (known as the Magal), worshipping at the mosque and honoring the memory of Ahmadou Bamba.