He traveled to Mecca, then returned to teach at Louga and Pire before establishing a zāwiya (religious center) at Tivaouane in 1902 at the invitation of local leader Djibril Guèye, which became a center for Islamic education and culture under his leadership.
Mame Younousse Dieng is a Senegalese writer born in Tivaouane who lives in Dakar.
Each week, followers come to visit the tombs of religious leaders, especially that of El-Hadji Malick Sy.
When he came back from Mecca, he went to teach in Louga and Pire before establishing a ‘Zawiya’ (religious center) in Tivaouane in 1902.