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Muslim/Christian Politics of Religion in Nigeria: the Sharī’Ah Application and the Religious Foundations of Global Muslim Engagement with Modernity

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Muslim/Christian Politics of Religion in Nigeria: the Sharī’Ah Application and the Religious Foundations of Global Muslim Engagement with Modernity Vol.6(5), pp. 169-179, May, 2014 DOI: 10.5897/IJSA2013.0466 ISSN 2006- 988x International Journal of Sociology and Copyright © 2014 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article Anthropology http://www.academicjournals.org/IJSA Full Length Research Paper Muslim/Christian politics of religion in Nigeria: The Sharī’ah application and the religious foundations of global Muslim engagement with modernity Ibrahim Olatunde Uthman* and Lateef Oluwole Abbas Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Received 19 June, 2013; Accepted 27 November, 2013 Contrary to the traditional modernist theories that development and progress can only be achieved through the western secular modernizing project, many Islamic societies are rejecting modernism and the modernization project, to borrow (Arnason 2003), “as an organic globalizing process” but not “as a globalizing civilization in the plural.” This paper differentiates between Islamic modernity and western modernity, and within this theoretical framework, demonstrates how Muslims in Nigeria differ from Christians on the Sharī’ah Application and the relation between religion and state. It also examines how this engagement reflects global Muslim commitment to progress and development without submitting to a uniform, integral and singular modernist theory. The paper, while comparing this engagement with modernity in both Nigeria and Malaysia, submits that the politics of religion playing out in Nigeria where many Muslims and Christians denigrate and resent each other in the “name of God” amidst their rivalry for the control of the country’s resources could be brought to an end if Nigeria adopts the Malaysian model of modernity which has fused religion (Islam) and development, while rejecting some aspects of western modernity like western democracy, comprehensive secularism, liberalism and Greek rationality. Key words: Politics of religion, modernism, Global Muslim societies, religious foundations and Islamic modernity. INTRODUCTION The global Muslim perception of modernity, despite the this, this study will first define and explain the term existence of differing Muslim groups with differing and at modernity. This will include an examination of the two times competing views, is unified to a very large extent by major components of modernity. A brief discussion of certain principles of the Islamic faith in the world today as Muslim countries that have rejected modernity and can be seen from the contemporary Muslim engagement adopted what can be categorized as Islamic modernity with modernity in many Muslim countries, especially will follow. Malaysia. The study will then provide an analysis of the Islamic This paper, using Malaysian Islamic modernity model modernity model that has been implemented in Malaysia will show how Islam can contribute to Nigeria’s and how this can serve as a framework to end the politics modernization/development project without the socio- of religion playing out in Nigeria. political and economic conflicts currently unfolding in the The findings of the study will be summarized in the name of religion between Muslims and Christians. To do conclusion. *Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]. Author(s) agree that this article remain permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License 170 Int. J. Sociol. Anthropol. Understanding modernity and its postulates democracy is a form of government that every country must adopt. Modernity can be defined as the diffusion of rationality in In line with this perception of modernity, many people, all spectrums of human life. It is the consideration of especially modernist scholars and theorists equate human intellect and reason as the sole sources of episte- modernity with modernization and Western civilization. To mology, morality and politics.1 In line with this definition, these modernist scholars and theorists, the non-Western modernity has two major components, the intellectual and and underdeveloped societies must necessarily replicate the political. The intellectual component involves the use the modernization processes through which Western of human reason, experiment and observation in acting societies became developed and as these societies and decision-making to the neglect of religion, tradition achieve progress and development, the more, they must and authority. mimic Western culture. At this juncture, it is important to A major postulate of the intellectual component of observe that many scholars oppose the traditional modernity is comprehensive secularism, which erects a modernization/development theory. Some argue that barrier between the Church and the state. Accordingly, modernity was heralded by the European Renaissance comprehensive secularism intends the establishment of a which was a renewal of the ancient pagan Greece and state that is “wholly detached from religious teaching or Rome. This renewal, especially of Greek rationality, the practice,” a state that is irreligious.2 It is this brand of hallmark of European Enlightenment that was embraced comprehensive secularism that has been described as by many nations of the West without making the slightest “the most powerful philosophy of secularization in the discrimination brought an end to the traditional Christian nineteenth century” that was put into practice by Marxism civilization and heralded the prevailing modern material- in the then Soviet Union.3 Comprehensive secularism is a listic world, promoting the centrality of money and worldly systematic and relentless all-out struggle to stamp out possessions while antagonistically thwarting or distorting and eliminate religion. This was the case in the Soviet the expression of the spiritual, religious and Godly.6 Union, Ataturk’s Turkey, as would be discussed shortly, According to Alasdair, a critic of modernity, Christianity and to some extent, in China. lost its social context and became immersed in the social The political component of modernity is premised on context of the Enlightenment, particularly in respect of western democracy, recognizing the sovereignty of the morality, which may explain the reasons why many people and making their votes count in the formation of Christian beliefs have lost their religious and moral government. Thus the first postulate of the political significance in the face of Enlightenment.7 One expla- component of modernity is popular sovereignty on which, nation for this is the way secularization has advanced in the legitimacy of the modern state is founded. This, Christendom as Christianity loses its interpretative power. together with citizenship rights and separation of powers However, this has not occurred in the World of Islam. In form the pillars of the political component of modernity fact, it appears the more the Muslims are exposed to that naturally leads to liberalism. The liberal creed is modernization and development, the more their religious founded on humanism. Liberalism entails the belief in the devotion increases. This may be confirming the assertion superiority, sanctity and freedom of the human agency in of Ali Shariati, a pre-revolution Iranian scholar and critic the pursuit of happiness. John Stuart Mill as cited in the of Western civilization, in his Civilization and Moderni- secularization of the European Mind observes that zation that the Muslim World cannot experience or liberalism is founded upon the freedom of conscience as embrace western modernization because of the pagan “an indefeasible right” such that a human being is roots of the Enlightenment.8 accountable to nobody for his religious belief.4 This is why secular modernization has not occurred in It is in the light of the above that Glubb’s observation Muslim societies. In the words of Ernest Gellner (1992), that modernity is usually regarded as Westernization or “there is one dramatic and conspicuous exception to all Europeanization can be understood. Many Westerners this: Islam. To say that secularization prevails in Islam is and Europeans usually view modernity as emulating not contentious. It is simply false.” To him, Islam is as them in embracing the various components of modernity, strong now as it was a century ago and in some ways, it especially western democracy. Hence when they demand is probably much stronger.9 Muslims in particular to adopt modernity, they in fact, imply that Muslims should “endeavor to be more like” them.5 This is more so as the West today believes that and Modernism in the Muslim Middle East (Texas: University of Texas Press, 1966), 9. 1 A. Touraine, Critique of Modernity (Cambridge, Mass: Blackwell Publishers, 6 M. Lings, A Return to the Spirit. (Louisville, KY: Fons Vitae, 2005), 60-64. 1995). 7 A. MacIntyre, “Is Understanding Religion Compatible with Believing? In A. 2 Owen Chadwick, The secularization of the European Mind (Cambridge: Loades and L. D. Rue (eds.), Contemporary Classics in Philosophy of Religion Cambridge University Press, 1975), p. 27. (La Salle: Open Court, 1991), 571-574. 3 Ibid, p. 66. 8 See A. Shariati, Civilization and Modernization (Houston, Texas: Free 4 Chadwick, The secularization of the European, p. 27. Islamic Literature, 1979). 5 J. B. Glubb, “The Conflict between Traditionalism and Modernism in the 9 E. Gellner, Postmodernism, Reason and Religion (London: Routledge, 1992), Role of Muslim Armies” in Carl Leiden (ed.), The Conflict of traditionalism 5. Uthman and Abbas 171 Why is Islam resistant to secularism? Gellner argues
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