More broadly , the Mahdiyya , as Muhammad Ahmad 's movement was called , was influenced by earlier Mahdist movements in West Africa , as well as Wahabism and other puritanical forms of Islamic revivalism that developed in reaction to the growing military and economic dominance of the European powers throughout the 19th century .
There were earlier Mahdist movements in West Africa , and Wahabism and other puritanical forms of Islamic revivalism .