Institute for the Study of African Realities (ISAR)

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    RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALISM IN NORTHERN NIGERIA: AN EXAMINATION OF THE IMPACT OF MAUDUDI’S POLITICAL INTERPRETATION OF ISLAM ON THE RISE OF RELIGIOUS CONFLICTS, AND ITS EFFECT ON CHRISTIANMUSLIM RELATIONS
    (Africa international University, 2017-06-15) DIKKI, MICHAEL EZRA
    This research examines the role of theological or Islamic interpretation in promoting religious conflicts in northern Nigeria. Specifically, this research examines the impact of Maududi’s political interpretation of Islam on the rise of religious conflicts in northern Nigeria. This research questions the sufficiency of the claim that religious conflicts in northern Nigeria are caused by socio-political and socioeconomic factors as postulated by several scholars. Maududi is chosen because of his acknowledged influence, globally and in northern Nigeria specifically, as the father of modern fundamentalism. The research was conducted in the cities of Kano in Kano state and Zaria and Kaduna in Kaduna state of northern Nigeria. These states are considered representational. The research employed the qualitative method and interviewed 159 Muslims assisted by Muslim research assistants. This is in addition to qualitative content analysis of some relevant materials and observations. The findings support the claim that there is a strong relationship between theology and fundamentalism in northern Nigeria. In essence, there is a strong Maududian influence on fundamentalism in northern Nigeria. It is evident that Maududi’s ideology and political interpretation of Islam is a major influence on fundamentalism and interreligious conflicts in northern Nigeria majorly beginning with the Muslim Student Society (MSS) in northern Nigerian univerisities. His ideology radicalized these young Muslim students. These students moved into the society with these fundamentalist ideology and established groups. These groups played a strong role in the Islamic militancy and religious conflicts being experienced today. In addition, it is discovered that there is a strong influence of Maududian ideology on the initial leaders of Boko Haram. There is also evidently a historical link to Maududian fundamentalist ideology through Sudan, Pakistan and Egypt as well as Saudi Arabia and Iran within the political and religious leadership in northern Nigeria. The data also reveal that within majority Muslims interviewed, there is a selective adoption of Maududi’s ideologies. A theory, therefore, emerges that the clash between fundamentalist and orthodox ideologies trigger cognitive dissonance, which through dissonance resolution process leads to selective adoption. This selective adoption produces diversity of Islamic views with consequneces on the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims. The data also supports the theory that fundamentalist ideology creates the propensity for collective violence especially when supported by relational and cultural distance, functional independence and inequality. This happens when an ideology in culture (religion) emphasizes “otherness” and is internalized as an individual or collective system of meaning (Silberman 2005, 535) as well as when it corresponds with the social and psychological needs of a group or people (de la Roche 1996). The application of Synthetic Triangular Approach (STA) in the research, exposes the ordinariness in Muslims including those holding a fundamentalist idea. It revealed that the way Muslims understand, react to or handle conflicts is mostly not different from how other human beings do. These findings have implications for Christian Mulsim relations in northern Nigeria. In this regard, recommendations are made for the government, Christians and Muslims.
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    Leaving Vengeance to God: examination of Roman 12:19 within context
    (2013-08-23) Batibuka, Pontien Ndagijimana
    The purpose of this study was to understand the concept of' leaving vengeance to God' as stipulated by Paul in Rom. 12:19. This purpose consisted in a threefold endeavor: (1) to examine why vengeance--which is in fact a negative act--stands prohibited for the believer but accepted if God is the one who executes it; (2) due to the fact that Paul infers his words from Deut. 32:35, it has been necessary to examine the concept of 'leaving vengeance to God' in the Old Testament, but also in other contexts that are deemed to have had a certain influence on Paul, i.e., the Near Eastern culture, Judaism, and the Greco-Roman culture; (3) to draw the theological teaching that Paul is making in commanding the believer to leave vengeance to God. The approach used in the study comprised syntactical analysis, relative word study, and socio-historical use of the concept. The study was a literary research. Thus the method adopted has fostered an interaction of the writer and library resources, i.e., books and articles of joumals. The study has revealed that all the contexts examined have a tendency to take for granted the punishing of evil deeds, and that God (god) is the primary avenger. This fact that vengeance is the prerogative of God is especially emphasized in the biblical account. In the Old Testament, the God of Israel is a personality who avenges himself, avenges his people and mandates his servants to exercise vengeance. God appears as the source of any legitimate vengeance. As a God approved practice, vengeance in the Hebrew Bible had a noble purpose. Education was its primary aim. Because of this educational aim, vengeance was then enacted publicly. Private vengeance was strongly prohibited. It was the civil organs that had God's mandate to punish those who had wronged the right and dignity of other people. It is noted that the Old Testament shares most of these traits on vengeange with other cultures that had a historical connection with the Bible. Therefore, in Rom. 12:19 Paul perpetuated a concept of divine vengeance that was already rooted in the cultures that influenced his life. But ajoint study of Deut. 32:35 and Rom. 12:19 showed that the apostle draws a specific theological teaching. His point is that God stands as the avenger of the believer because all evil is primarily against God, even if it is done against the believer. He perceives an identification between the believer and God: persecuting a believer equals persecuting his/her Lord (Acts 9:4). But beyond this identification, the context of Rom. 12:19 gives to non-vengeance a kerygmatic importance. Paul places abstinence from vengeance at the heart of the fight between good and evil. Non-vengeance stands as a weapon for overcoming evil and bringing evildoers to God. In Paul's thought, repaying good for evil is a powerful act that can stir in the evildoer a painful feeling of shame that can bring him l her to repentance. But abstaining from avenging one's right is not an easy attitude. From the context of Rom. 12 and Romans in general, the apostle gives the foundation on which non vengeance stands: The power of repaying good for evil resides in the fact that it is a self-giving act (Rom. 12:1) done to one's enemy, which exemplifies the self-giving love of Jesus (Rom. 5:8, 10). So it requires a special relationship with God. For, only a person transformed by God (Rom. 12:2) and endowed with his strength can put in action Paul's injunction of leaving vengeance to God.
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