SHARIA AND CHRISTIANITY IN NIGERIA: AND A 'SECULAR' STATE

BY

JOSEPH KENNY, O.P. (Ibadan)

1. SHARIA AND ISLAMIC REVIVAL IN NIGERIA

Shafia in the pre-colonial period'

Sharia is as old as Islam in Nigeria. Islam followed the trade routes of the medieval empires: Kanem-Borno in the east, Mali and later Songhay in the west. Hausaland was a backwater or transit land be- tween these powers until the fall of Songhay in 1592. At that time the Hausa states came into prominence and entered into direct trade rela- tions with North Africa. The first-mentioned medieval empire, Kanem- Borno, had its origins in modem Chad. In the 13th century there was in Cairo a hostel for its students of Islam. Around the late 14th cen- tury the Kanem rulers moved to Borno in Nigeria.' The Mais (kings of Bomo) professed Islam, but only during the reign of Mai Idris Aloma (1571-1603) did the majority of the leading men of the empire become Muslim.3 The Mais had to tolerate a good deal of traditional religious practice in their domains and to a certain extent even in their courts. Kano and Katsina were two Hausa states which were on the trade routes between Kanem and the west, and came under the influence of Muslim traders who passed through or settled there. The Kano Chronicle mentions the coming of Wangara (Malian) dais (missionaries) at the time of King Yaji around 1380, who brought books of Law and Tradition.4 Some Fulani dais came during the reign of Yakubu, around 1460, bring- ing books on theology and etymology.' At this time Islam seems to have struck firm roots as the religion of the kings, even though the majority of their subjects were non-Muslim. Islam in Hausaland received a strong boost from the Algerian al- Maghili (d. 1504), who had to flee his homeland because of his strong 339 convictions. The adoption of Islam by the kings of Katsina seems to date from his visit in 1493. He wrote a book of advice on how to rule for King Rumfa of Kano.6 In spite of the long time they had been , up to the begin- ning of the 19th century the kings were expected to be the religious fathers or patrons of all their people, Muslims and non-Muslims. In the terminology of H. Fisher, they were That is, they observed the rituals of both Islam and the traditional religion, as the occasion demanded. Against this background 'Uthman dan Fodiye inaugurated his in 1804. He was not aiming so much at the conversion of pagans as at the reform of lax Muslims.' He challenged the Hausa kings to accept his proposals for living strictly according to the Sharia, and when they refused he overthrew them, setting up the Sokoto , a federa- tion of emirates covering most of what is now the north of Nigeria. 'Uthman dan Fodiye's thought went very explicitly along the lines of restoring Islam to its pure primitive state. His ideology is set forth in many documents; some of the chief ones are Watbfqa ild jimi' ahl as-Suddn wa-ilä man shd' Alldh min al-ikhze?an fa L-bulddn9 and the monu- mental Baydn wujüb al-hgra wa-laJim muwälät al-kufra zva-zemjub muwdidt mu'mini l-umma.'° For the rest of the 19th century the custodians of the Sokoto empire attempted to maintain the supremacy of Sharia in their domains, but with limited success."I I

The social foundation of the Sokoto jihdd

'Uthman dan Fodiye's jihad aimed at the formation of an Islamic state based on Sharia. In so doing, he was restoring an institution that had disappeared in West Africa (if we consider Bomo Central Africa) with the fall of the Songhay empire in 1592. Islamic state structures may have folded up at that time, but Islamic society continued, under the form of jamä'as.12 These were basic Islamic communities, usually led by Sufi leaders, and assured religious practice, education, economic self-sufficiency, political organization and defence. Sometimes they were located in towns; sometimes, as in the case of 'Uthman's Fulani jamih, they were semi-nomadic. These jamihs assured the survival of Islam in a politically fragmented and often disturbed region. As micro-states, all they needed were the right conditions to rise with other jamä'as and form an Islamic state. Once an Islamic state is formed, it never lives up to its ideal, and