Origin of islam in nigeria pdf

Although its roots go back further, scholars typically date the creation of islam to. The histom1 ofls1am il1 africa ohio university press. Similarly, when the arabs consolidated their rule over the berbers the text reads after the islam of the berbers had been made good bada ma hasuna islam albarbar. Facts about christianity, islam and traditional religions in nigeria this article brings you the history of religion in nigeria. Since the country has over 371 ethnic groups and more than 520 languages, it is understood that one single religion cannot unite such a diversity of beliefs, ethnicities, cultures, and philosophies. The origin and growth of islam on the african continent. Sep 21, 2017 the european contribution to the spread of christianity in subsaharan africa. Evidence for islam in southeast nigeria article pdf available in the social science journal 471. Islam is a monotheistic religious tradition that developed in the middle east in the 7th century c. However, sufism is represented primarily in northern nigeria. A case study of boko haram, journal of religion in africa 42. An introduction to islamic movements and modes of thought in nigeria.

Margari hill, stanford university january 2009 available in pdf format 1. The muslims started the slave trade in this region. All tribes in nigeria had traditional belief systems peculiar to each one before the advent of british colonization which established christianity and before the islamic jihadists enforced islam in their conquered territories. From the above history of islamic education in nigeria, the spread of islam and the islamic education system can be more prevalent in the northern and southwestern tribes or ethnic groups in nigeria than in the east. Manifestation, effect and the aw y forardw nwaomah, s. Islam was introduced to nigeria through two geographical routes.

They learn to recite the scriptures and learn about the practices, teachings, and morals of islam. The islamic movement in nigeria is challenging the ban, arguing that it is a peaceful movement which has borne the brunt of stateorchestrated violence. The origins of islam in the country is linked with the development of islam in the wider west africa. Portraits of ordinary muslims nigeria muslims frontline.

Islam also influenced many other parts of social life of nigerian communities. Islam reached nigeria through the borno empire between 1068 ad and hausa states. Nowhere, in all their colonies, did the british find islam observed as thoroughly as in northern nigeria. Trade was the major connecting link that brought islam into nigeria erinle oluwashola idris 2020. The educational legacy left by the early generation of itinerant and indigenous muslim scholars in the 15th and 16th centuries respectively is what led to the. Boko haram then resumed its clandes tine existence and intensified its terrorism. By the time they reach adulthood, many achieve high levels of islamic scholarship. Subsequent rulers, dunama 1 10971150 and dunama ii 1221 59, continued the tradition of islamic learning such that by the end of the th century, kanern had become a centre of islamic learning fafunwa, 1974. First major centralized state in northern nigeria was kanembornu, the occurrence of which belongs to the late 8th century a. Numerou s ancient afric an civilizations settled in the region that is to day nige ria, such as the kingdom of nri, the benin empire, and the oyo em pire. Muhammad dictated the quran, the holy book of islam, which muslims believe to be the. While the presence of islam in west africa dates back to eighth century, the spread of the faith in regions that are now the modern states of senegal, gambia, guinea, burkina faso, niger, mali and nigeria, was in actuality, a gradual and complex process. Several islamic reform movements have taken place in nigeria since the late 1970s, including the izala movement, maitatsine, and darul islam. Aug 05, 2019 the islamic movement in nigeria is challenging the ban, arguing that it is a peaceful movement which has borne the brunt of stateorchestrated violence.

This also coincided with the time islamic education began in the country especially in the northern part. With over 180 million people, nigeria accounts, not only for christianity and islam but also other types of religion. It contains a selection of titles from the library catalogue, an introduction on islam in nigeria, and a selection of links to relevant web resources. There has been a surge in sales of books dealing with the topic of islam. The origin of christianity in the north of nigeria. Islam a brief overview of the history of islam the origin of islam is placed around 610 ce when muhammad, a highly spiritual and religious man who spent months in praying and self contemplation in a secluded cave near the town of mecca, is thought to have received divine messages.

And well be looking at some interesting facts about christianity, islam and traditional religions in nigeria nigeria, the most populous black nation in the world, is divided along, not only cultural lines, but also along religion. I slam reached ni geria through the borno empire between 1068 ad and hausa states around 85 ad during the 11th century, while. It is on record that islam as a religion became prevalent in nigeria in the 9 th century during the reign of mai idris alooma, who ruled the borno empire till 1603. Nigeria, the most populous black nation in the world, is divided along, not only cultural lines, but also along religion. Islam in the nonmuslim areas of northern nigeria m. History has shown that islam arrive nigeria sometime between a. Religious archives showed islam had been adopted as the religion of the majority of the leading figures in the borno empire during the reign of mai king idris alooma 15711603, alth. Islam, which literally means surrender or submission, was founded on the teachings of the. This paper is an aspect of a wider research project on the introduction of islam into southeast nigeria, the only region in nigeria that was not touched by the nineteenth century islamic jihad and. The titles from the online catalogue deal with the origins and spread of islam in nigeria, the nineteenthcentury jihad, islam and politics, sharia law, and various islamic movements. The origin of islam can be traced back to 7th century saudi arabia. Nigeria has the highest rate of twin births per year globally. To request permission to photocopy or reprint materials, email.

The history, the current prevalence and the approach to a patient jewel llamas april 2017 introduction female circumcision, also known as female genital mutilation fgm or female genital cutting fgc, is practiced in many countries spanning parts of africa, the middle east and southeast asia. To gain weight and conform with african standards of beauty, nigerian girls can consume food all day in fattening rooms. Islam is thus the youngest of the great world religions. Most of the participants in the early movements were interested in sectarian concerns such as guiding the muslim community and correcting its faith. It was of the same scale as the one initiated by the europeans. History of religion in nigeria before and after colonization. It came to northern nigeria as early as the eleventh century and was well established in the state capitals of the region by the sixteenth century, spreading into the countryside and toward the middle belt uplands. This january 2000 new york times article offers an overview of islam in nigeria.

Arrival of islam in nigeria islam penetrated nigeria through the northern part of her borders. Islam was introduced to northern nigeria in the 11th century. Islam with sharia and islamic religion well entrenched in the lives of the people. Today, islamic studies is taught as a religious course in nigerian universities. Nigeria s population of 177,155,754 as of june 2014 is not actually represented in politics, a prime example being the series of christian presidents. Sep 21, 2017 the origin and growth of islam on the african continent. According to secular history the origin of islam can be traced back to 7th century saudi arabia. The hausas and the fulanis make up a significant portion of nigeria by population and even landmass. The author is deepy indebted to arif shamim of karachi and farooq siddiqui of texas for their intellectual contribution to this work in addition to thus speaks the bible and hindu fundamentalism. Islam affects nearly all aspects of hausa behavior, including dress, art, housing, rites of passage. Introduction the spread of islam in nigeria dates back to the.

Adebayo rafiu ibrahim introduction the southwestern nigeria is predominantly occupied by the yoruba speaking people and it cuts across. All criticism of the author in this book is directed to the. Abdulkadir 2 introduction islam is an ideal religion because of its claim to universality, just like christianity. To the 15th century in nigeria was strengthened islam, it was brought here through the desert tradersmuslims. Islam became the fundamental basis for sociopolitical values and organization. By the 16th century, it had become quite dominant in the major capitals of this region and was spreading to the middle. Introduction history of islam in nigeria jihad islamic law sharia islam and politics islamic movements, islamic reform selected web resources there has been considerable recent media coverage of the implementation of islamic sharia law in the northern states of nigeria. Islam in the nonmuslim areas of northern nigeria, c. Scholars like ibn munnabbeh had written that as early as 738 trade and commerce from northern africa helped to bolster the spread of the new religion9. Islam in nigeria estimates suggest 8085 million nigerians identify as muslim roughly 50% of the total population, of which the majority are probably sunni 60 million, though this is not a unified identity and includes a wide variety of different viewpoints. The history of nigeria can be traced to prehistoric settlers nigerians living in the area as early as 1100 bc. The emirs courts were filled with learned and pious jurists who always based their decisions on basis of quran, hadiths and other. After nigeria gained independence from britain in 1960, marking the end of colonial times for nigeria, ahmadu bello, the premier of the northern region, injected fresh drive into the spread of islam in nigeria. I thought i should chip in to say that efforts of usman dan fodio in spreading islam in nigeria was holy war.

One feature common to several nigerian communities culture is that they fully respect their traditional rulers. This also coincided with the time islamic education began in the country especially in the northern part of nigeria. The origins of islam in the country is linked with the development of islam in the wider west. After the turn of the century, nigeria has seen remarkable change in many areas of life. By 2050, there would be 230 million muslims in nigeria and 154 million muslims. Numerous ancient african civilizations settled in the region that is today nigeria, such as the kingdom of nri, the benin empire, and the oyo empire. Yusufu turaki presented the following paper at the african. Historical times, that is when history is known with reasonable accuracy and some detail, started on widely different dates in the different regions of africa, very roughly as follows. And well be looking at some interesting facts about christianity, islam and traditional religions in nigeria.

Islam is one of the most popular religions in africa. Islam is the second largest religion in the world after christianity, with about 1. Introduction history of islam in nigeria jihad islamic law sharia. This article brings you the history of religion in nigeria. In nigeria, an oba yoruba for king, emir arabic for commander, or village leader should not be greeted while standing up. A case study of boko haram, journal of religion in. When and how 266 centrality and importance to the debates for societal change. The focus on the concept of patriarchy and its effects on gender relations began to shift to other factors in gender relations like race, class, colonial history and others as other branches of feminism, like the postmodern feminism, came up. In particular, international attention has been drawn to the application of sharia law to criminal offences and the. The first town of contact was bornu in the northeastern. The history, the current prevalence and the approach to a patient jewel llamas april 2017 introduction female circumcision, also known as female genital mutilation fgm or female genital cutting fgc, is practiced in many countries spanning.

Abstracts of most of the publications and details about the availability and borrowing of titles can be found in the library catalogue. Islamic domination and islamic education began in the bornu empire. Facts about christianity, islam and traditional religions in nigeria. Shehu usman dan fodio, one of the major progenitors of islam was able to establish an islam based government in northern nigeria prior to the advent of colonialism. Nigeria has the largest muslim population in west africa. There, islams advance was stopped by the resistance. Islam arrived in nigeria in the 11 th and 12 th centuries through trade, migration, and through the travels of the scholarmysticwayfarer along trade routes, through the regions of kanem and bornu had been in contact with muslim traders as early as the 9 th century. Oct 21, 2017 islam was first documented in nigeria during the 9th century. And of course, also the installation of a new trado political system of governance across much of northern nigeria that replaced traditional institutions with fulani heads. The northern area of the state was where hausa and bornu people lived. The results of the report suggests that, when it comes to nigeria, islam will become the majority religion in next 20 to 30 years. The ethiopians were probably of hamitic origin, mixed later with arabs from arabia.

Nigerias movie production industry, nicknamed nollywood, is the secondlargest in the world by volume. Pdf on jan 1, 2011, egodi uchendu and others published dawn for islam in eastern nigeria. As part of its latest incarnation, boko haram declared its affiliation to the islamic state, also known as isis and isil, in march 2015a move that soon brought schisms within the group. Reviewing the manifestations from traditional characteristics to the modernizing influence facilitated by the muslim individuals and islamic organisations. Professor of biblical studies mission and religion and society babcock university, ilishanremo, ogun state, nigeria email.

The histor y o f niger ia can be traced t o prehistoric settle rs nigeria ns living in the area as early as 1100 bc. A chronicle of foundations of islamic education in nigeria, from preindependence to date. The movement is unique in that it combines a sectarian, radical islamic agenda with violence. Pdf islamic education in northern nigeria abdalla u. Since nigeria received its independence in 1960, the government has built many schools and universities.

It came to northern nigeria about five or six hundred years before christianity metuh 1985. A brief history of islam the spread of islam javad haghnavaz department of islamic thoughts faculty jolfa branch islamic azad university jolfa, iran abstract islam is a religion for all people from whatever race or background they might be. We cannot talk about the history of islamic education in nigeria without first knowing when and how islam came into nigeria. The writer notes that while religion in nigeria often can be exploited by. Estimates suggest 8085 million nigerians identify as muslim roughly 50% of. The emirs courts were filled with learned and pious jurists who always based. Records show that islam was first accepted by a kanern ruler, umme jilmi 1085 1097. They pray five times each day, read the koran holy scriptures, fast during the month of ramadan, give alms to the poor, and aspire to make the pilgrimage hajj to the muslim holy land in mecca. However, there were at least 250 other ethnic groups who were either muslims or adherers of other religions. It should therefore be noted that in sharply divided societies, like nigeria where islam and christianity are in competition, ethnic sentiments are wielded and this invariably threatens the. Presently with a population of over 180million people 2015 estimates, nigeria is the most populous african country and her population is nearly equally divided between christianity and islam, while the remainder is shared by the other religions but, the exact ratio is unknown. A large percentage of nigerias population are religious and in religion, they have found succor from economic hardship and failure of government systems.

The portuguese attempted to introduce a catholicinfluenced form of christianity between the 16th and 18th centuries in the kongo kingdom, but it did not last for long. Yusufu turaki presented the following paper at the african theological fellowship continental conference at the akraji christaller memorial centre in. Religion and the making of nigeria duke university press. Whereas, many support the fact that there is no justification for the events of that dreaded day, some are trying to find answers as to where does this hatred originate and how to avoid such an attack from occurring in the future. Christianity has contributed to the formation of customary laws. And while they are generally regarded as one as hausafulani, they are, in fact, two separate, albeit similar, ethnic entities dominating the northern region of nigeria.