The death of the moral leader of Hizbut Tarqiyyah, Atou Diagne, on Friday, January 22, 2021 greatly affected the Mouride community and the members of this religious movement. He was buried at 5 pm in the Baqiya cemetery of Touba, the town of the Mouride brotherhood, located 194 km east of the capital Dakar in the department of Mbacké. The decision of his succession was not long in coming. The current Khalif general of the Mourides, Serigne Mountakha Mbacké, chose Youssou Diop, active member of the movement since 1982.
The brutal death of Atou Diagne this Friday, January 22, prompted the general khalife of the Mourides, Serigne Mountakha Mbacké, to immediately choose his successor at the head of Hizbut Tarqiyyah. It is now Youssou Diop, former secretary general of the religious movement who replaces him. A succession that intervenes after a wide consultation with its spokesperson, Serigne Bassirou Abdou Khadr, and other high dignitaries of the religious city of Dahira Hizbut Tarqiyyah.
The new moral leader is 55 years old. He joined the religious association when he was 13 to 14 years old. His unblemished faith, his involvement as a fervent Mourid in the religious movement, made him a person of trust noticed within the structure. Senior officials had already approached him for this post. It is therefore, quite naturally, that he reaches it after more than forty years spent within Hizbut Tarqiyyah.
Youssou Diop, faithful Mouride, who devotes an immense love to Mouridism, will have the heavy task of perpetuating the work of the late Atou Diagne. The latter, who held this key position, devoted his entire life to popularizing the teachings and writings of Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba, founder of the Mouride brotherhood in Senegal.
