Islamic Law, Muslim-Christian Relations, and the Transition to Democracy in Nigeria's Fourth Republic

Abstract

As clashes earlier this year in Jos, Nigeria's tenth most populous city, underscored, Muslim-Christian conflict is episodic in the West African country. The full-scale reintroduction of Islamic law in Northern Nigeria that began in January 2000 and shifting demographics within the country lie at the heart of the tensions. Despite these challenges, attempts have been made by leading intellectuals and religious figures to create an effective middle ground in Nigeria. In the final analysis, however, an essential question remains: Will Nigeria's Fourth Republic survive? In pursuit of an answer, this article analyzes interreligious collaboration and conflict within Nigeria, especially in the “Middle Belt” with its cities of Kaduna and Jos, focusing on the relationship between the state and religions in Nigeria; the possible use of federalism to resolve Muslim-Christian disputes; the capacity of the judiciary to resolve religious conflict; and the prognosis for the very survivability of the Nigerian state.

KEYWORDS:

• Christianity
• conflict
• conflict resolution
• democracy
• Islam
• judiciary
• Muslim-Christian relations
• Sharia
• transitions

Notes

¹Agence France Press, January 25, 2010.

²The European Union, which had 150 observers monitoring Nigeria's presidential and parliamentary elections, said the polls “have fallen far short of basic international and regional standards for democratic elections and…cannot be considered to have been credible.” Dino Mahtani, “EU Observers Say Nigerian Polls ‘Not Credible’,” Financial Times, April 22, 2007.

³Federal Republic of Nigeria, Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Lagos: Federal Government Press, 1999), 104.

⁵Ousmane Kane, Muslim Modernity in Postcolonial Nigeria: A Study of the Society for the Removal of Innovation and Reinstatement of Tradition (Leiden: Brill, 2003), 186.

⁴Mustafa Ibrahim, “The Shariah Project in Nigeria: Achievements, Problems and Prospects,” Unpublished conference paper (Kano: Centre for Democratic Research and Training), December 2004.

⁶Iheanyi M. Enwerem, A Dangerous Awakening: The Politicization of Religion in Nigeria (Ibadan: IFRA, 1995), 81; Abraham Mbachirin, “The Responses of the Church in Nigeria to Socio-Economic, Political, and Religious Problems in Nigeria: A Case Study of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) (PhD diss., Baylor University, 2006), 181.

⁷ Constitution of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Art. 5 (b); Matthew Kukah, Religion, Politics, and Power in Northern Nigeria (Ibadan: Spectrum Books, 1993), 4.

⁸Kukah, 225–230.

⁹The Christian Council of Nigeria is also linked to the World Council of Churches, founded in 1948.

¹⁰Interview with Reverend Joseph John Hayab, General Secretary, Christian Association of Nigeria, Kaduna State, Kaduna, June 8, 2007.

¹¹Mimeograph provided by Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan.

¹²Archbishop John Onaiyekan, “Sharia in Nigeria: The Issues from a Christian Perspective,” in Understanding Sharia in Nigeria, eds. A. M. Yakubu, A. M. Kani, and M. I. Junaid (Ibadan: Spectrum Books, 2001), 182–183.

¹³John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, “Muslims and Christians in Nigeria: The Imperatives of Dialogue,” Service of Documentation and Study on Global Mission (SEDOS) (Rome: 2001), 282; John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, “Three Questions about Secularity in the Land Where the Sharia Advances,” Oasis 2006; 2:4, 100; Section 10 says: “The Government of the Federation or of a State shall not adopt any religion as State Religion.”

¹⁴Onaiyekan, “Muslims and Christians in Nigeria-personal papers: Archbishop”; John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, “The Shariah in Nigeria: A Christian View” (lecture at University of Ibadan before Muslim Graduate Students, 1984).

¹⁵Ibid.

¹⁶Interview with Pastor James Movel Wuye, Kaduna, June 19, 2007.

¹⁷Interviews with Bishop Jonas Katung and Bishop Williams, Jos, June 24–25, 2007.

¹⁸Interview with several Imams, Kaduna, June 26, 2007.

¹⁹Christian Association of Nigeria, “The Position of the Christian Association of Nigeria on the Issues of Political Reform” (n.d.). Mimeograph provided by Christian Association of Nigeria, Kaduna State Branch.

²⁰Ibid.

²¹Ibid.

²²See, for example, “Christian Association of Nigeria, Kaduna State Branch, Press Release, October 9, 2000.” Mimeograph provided by Christian Association of Nigeria, Kaduna State Branch.

²³Ibid.

²⁴Interview with Pastor Joseph John Hayab, General Secretary, Christian Association of Nigeria, Kaduna State Branch, Kaduna, June 8, 2007.

²⁵“Findings of Christian Solidarity Worldwide Visit to Nigeria,” March 2006, unpublished.

²⁶Ibid.

²⁷Interview with several leaders of the CAN, Abuja, June 20, 2007; See also “Nigeria: 53,000 Killed in 3 Years of Conflict,” New York Times, October 8, 2004.

²⁸Interview with Pastor James Movel Wuye, Inter-Faith Mediation Centre, Kaduna, June 18, 2007.

²⁹Rotimi T. Suberu, Federalism and Ethnic Conflict in Nigeria (Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace, 2001).

³⁰Philip Ostien, “Ten Good Things about the Implementation of Sharia Taking Place in Some States in Nigeria” (n.d.).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ricardo René Larémont

RICARDO RENÉ LARÉMONT is Professor of Political Science and Sociology at SUNY Binghamton. He is the author of Islam and the Politics of Resistance in Algeria, 1783–1992 (Africa World Press, 1999) and editor of The Causes of War and the Consequences of Peacekeeping in Africa (Heinemann, 2001) and Borders, Nationalism, and the African State (Lynne Rienner, 2005). His forthcoming monograph is entitled Islamic Law and Governance in Nigeria, 1803–2007.