The Sahel region plays host to a longstanding tradition of Islamic learning and with it, an Islamic knowledge elite. The aim of this paper is to look deeply into how the leading players in the religious reform movements that swept West Africa in the 19th century negotiated membership of such elite knowledge networks. Dipping into various conflicts between the Fodiawa, Ahmad Lobbo, the Kunta, al-Kānamī of Bornu and other regional powers as they competed for authority in the Sahel, I argue that authority was dependent upon several distinct but interlinked elements. Regional leaders used the Islamic knowledge they had acquired to justify, establish and maintain their authority to others. They also had to demonstrate a more direct connection to the divine plan through prophecy, visions and divine insight, in effect circumventing existing religious hierarchies. At the same time, in a society where race and origin were major authority markers, aspiring leaders also needed to demonstrate that their ancestors had a meaningful role in the Islamization of the Sahel. By highlighting the multifaceted nature of authority –often muted in the written sources- I hope to demonstrate new insights into the results of the exchanges of the Sahel knowledge elites and the relative durability of the authority structures they left behind.