A Scholarly Analysis of Al-Umari’s Account and Excerpts From the U.S. Constitution

The primary sources offered profound insights into governance structures and ideologies spanning different historical epochs: the meeting between the Mali Empire’s King Mansa Musa and the Sultan of Egypt as recorded by Al-Umari in the fourteenth century and the American Constitution ratification in 1787. The textbooks present us with visual information that reveals the power and authority processes and how societies are organized in social modeling. This is how we perceive the variety of ways resources can be governed. This essay presents a scholarly analysis of these two sides of government, showing how they differ and their implications for society, politics, and both the subjects and those who exercise power.

Al-Umari’s tale, in which Mansa Musa goes to Cairo, also provides an outstanding picture of how politics, religion, and economics in medieval Africa and the Islamic world converge. Mansa Musa’s journey to Medina as a pilgrim, with a large delegation and wealth, reflects spiritual devotion inseparable from political power and economic well-being (Masur). In accepting Mansa Musa, the sculpture of diplomacy and hierarchy is shown in the ritualized acts of respect and exchange that reinforce power structures. As opposed, the U.S. Constitution borrows from the rationalism of the Enlightenment in which popular sovereignty, among others, is the underlying principle of the American political system.

The main difference between the two views is how the religious authority and its role in governance are portrayed. The Ulama Al-Umari’s story links the Sultan’s legitimacy to the role of the Sultan as a religious leader, with purity and Islam symbolizing his authority. Mansa Musa’s exhibition of his religious devotion enhances his prestige. It reinforces his position as the country’s ruler, thus showing the closeness of religion and politics in the medieval times of Mali (Masur). However, the American Constitution ensures secular government with the main separation of church and state tenants. This emphasizes the intentionality of creating a state religion exemption and ensures the protection of religious liberty, which is uncommon in medieval societies where religious hierarchies were dominant.

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Moreover, Mansa Musa’s journey to Mecca to perform a pilgrimage and extravagant displays of wealth in Cairo testify to the widespread economic network that linked medieval Africa and the Islamic world. Al-Umari states that Musa’s generosity to the residents of Cairo stimulated economic enrichment and subsequent positive impact on trade and commerce. His exchange of gold and other precious metals, inconsistent with traditional economic standards, caused crises in the value of money and goods (Masur). On the other hand, the American Constitution established the schematic rules of economic management, adopted to create stability, uniformity, and interstate commerce. Congress has powers to regulate commerce, coin money, and establish a unified system for weights and measures. This is a shaped attempt to eliminate trade disruptions and foster economic growth.

Further, the meeting between Mansa Musa and the Sultan of Egypt and the kinds of cultural exchange and diplomacy demonstrated in the medieval world are also highlighted in this story. Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage to Mecca, the subsequent visit to Cairo, and the resulting interactions played a major role in the cross-cultural interactions where people exchanged merchandise, information, and technology between West Africa and the Islamic world (Dobak). The incident of the Sultan’s reception of Mansa Musa points to the cosmopolitan nature of medieval Cairo. This city was a major trading hub and a center for scholarship and religious diversity. Mansa Musa and the Sultan found ways to uphold such communication through diplomatic exchanges and gift rituals, which, in turn, enabled them to bargain and cooperate politically and economically, which defied the established boundaries.

Another major difference between the two perspectives is their government structures and ways of making political representation. In Al-Umari’s narrative, one can see that the government was in the form of a hierarchical system where the seat of power was in the center, and people had to bow down to the Sultan. Pagan’s not bowing before the Sultan shows his agency and autonomy in this hierarchical system and clarifies the challenging issues of power relations in the Middle Ages (Douglass). On the other hand, the United States Constitution promulgates a representative democracy where elected officials represent the masses to deliberate on behalf of them