Yuniyya Islam (Merveilles des Morte)

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Iconographic depiction of the Prophet Abu Yunus

Yuniyya Islam, also known as Yunni Islam, Yunism, Manding Islam, or Mandike Islam, is one of the four main branches of the faith of Islam, along with Sunni, Shia, and Ibadi. It is the official religion of the Mali Empire, and also practiced in a number of nations in West Africa. This faith is based on the life and teachings of the Prophet Abu Yunus (c.1318-1363), who began his public ministry in Mali in 1352. The faith carries much of the same theology and practices of Islam, and shares in the same communion with both Sunni and Shia sects. Yunni Islam diverges from Sunni by reinterpreting the importance of the Five Pillars and related Hadiths, and does not recognize the succession of the Caliphate since Al-Mansur in the 9th century AD. Yunism also carries some traditions similar to African traditional beliefs. 

Abu Yunus was originally an Imam tasked with spreading Sunni Islam to the African population. Starting in the 1350s, he began sharing reports of visions and revelations, and preaching a new faith innovated since the last prophesy of Muhammad. He was also reported to have worked miracles as proof of his words. After Abu Yunus died in 1363, his successor Idris Al-Segu was designated the first "Caliph" of the Yunni faith by the Mali Emperor Mansa Ayyob Keita. Yunni Islam holds that Abu Yunus is the next prophet of Islam to succeed Muhammad. 

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