Dawn for Islam in eastern Nigeria : a history of the arrival of Islam in Igboland / Egodi Uchendu.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Uchendu, Egodi, author.

Series:

Islamkundliche Untersuchungen ; 303

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Islam--Nigeria--History.

Islam.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (275 p.)

Place of Publication:

Berlin : Klaus Schwarz Verlag, [2011]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

The story of the emergence of Islam in Nigerian Igboland is taken simultaneously with the examination of the social reconfigurations that occurred in Igboland deriving from the introduction of Islam into this part of the country. In this respect, this book chronicles social change in a postcolonial era and builds on the rationale that widespread conversions are responsible for multifarious changes leaving in their wake consequences beyond the imagination of the contemporaneous society. This unique quality makes their occurrence worthy of scholarly attention because they need to be examined, understood, and chronicled for a better understanding of the world we live in. An important outcome of this study is the information it provides on the nature, depth, and success of the advance of Islam in recent times using as a site of discussion Eastern Nigeria and the Igbo society in particular where long-held frictions had existed with the (Muslim) Hausa ethnic community whose members considered themselves the original worshippers of Allah in the Western Sudan. The book further reflects on how this recent advance both resembles and contrasts with what had occurred in other places and in different centuries. Regarding the kind of Islam favored in the study area, one half of the Igbo Muslim population are sympathetic to the conservative views of the Yan Izala found in Hausaland that has shown some strong connection with Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabi Islam. The other half are less swayed by the Wahhabi sentiments and favors a middle-ground approach to Islam akin to the traditional Sufi orders comin West Africa in earlier centuries. A distinguishing feature of the book is the provision of academic material for understanding Islamic revolutions and for contextualizing the postcolonial advance of Islam in Africa. The monograph considerably widens our knowledge of different patterns of Islamic religious development in recent times and helps us gauge the degree of social developments t

Contents:

Dawn for Islam in Eastern Nigeria

Frontmatter

DEDICATION

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Maps and Illustrations

Preface

INTRODUCTION

The Overview

Sketching the Landscape

Religious Diversification

Igbo-Hausa Relations

Pattern of Religious Expansion in Nigeria

Conceptual Clarification

The Question of Numbers: Are Igbo Muslims Worth Studying?

1. EASTERN NIGERIA BEFORE 1920

The Journey of Islam towards the Southeast

Earliest Inter-ethnic Contacts

On the Trail of the Elephant Hunters

The Organization of the Hunt

Forms of Interaction with Migrants

2. THE BEGINNINGS OF ISLAM IN IGBOLAND, 1920–1950

Introduction

The Case of Enugu Ezike

Islam in Ibagwa

Women as Agents of Spread

Expansion of Strangers’ Settlements and Barriers to Proselytization

3. THE EXPANSION OF ISLAM AFTER 1950

Post-1950 Developments

Extending Islam to Owerri

The Enohia (Anohia) Awakening of 1958

The Civil War Years

Reconstruction and Rehabilitation: The Mbaise Affair

Extending Islam to Nsukka Town

Enohia after the War

Other New Grounds

4. CONTACTS AND CONVERSIONS: THE PROPAGATION OF ISLAM IN IGBOLAND

Hausa Traders and Cattle Markets

The Igbo and Their Guests: Ambivalent Relations

Migrants among Themselves

Da‘wa and the Spread of Islam in Igboland

The State and Islamic Proselytization

Transnational Support for Da‘wa

Igbo Muslims and Da‘wa

5. INTERROGATING CONVERSIONS TO ISLAM IN IGBOLAND

Motives for Conversions to Islam in Igboland

Women and Conversion

Conversion of Children to Islam

Other Factors Contributing to Conversions in Igboland

6. “IT IS MY FAITH, IT BELONGS TO ME:” RESPONSES TO CONVERSIONS TO ISLAM

Induction into Islam

The Benefits of Conversion

Responses to Conversions to Islam

Reactions to Conversions from Outside Igboland

7. MUSLIM–CHRISTIAN RELATIONS: THE CHALLENGES OF COEXISTENCE IN A MIXED RELIGIOUS SOCIETY

Juggling for a Niche in the Community

“Multiple people, multiple ignorance:” Shari‘a Implementation in Nigeria

Issues at the Core of the Shari‘a Dispute

Death of Igbo Muslims in the Riots

Further Insurrection and the Progress of Islam in Igboland

Suggestions for Lasting Peace in Nigeria

CONCLUSION

ANNEX

INDEX

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9783112208724

3112208722

OCLC:

1198929017