Historia de la Comuna Salanguillo

This section deals with the role of religion in Nigerian society, since religion is deemed such an important aspect of Nigerian society. Although religion is formally separated from the state, arguably the opposite is true for the role it plays in the majority of Nigerians’ everyday lives, and thus in society. On first sight, for example by looking at statistics on religiosity, the importance of religion is perhaps most obvious with regard to the private sphere, in which religion constitutes a vital part of life (Akinyoade, 2016, p. 75). According to a 2012 worldwide poll on religiosity and atheism, only Ghana was inhabited by a larger percentage of religious people than Nigeria (94% and 93%, respectively), and just 1% of Nigerians openly qualified themselves as convinced atheists (WIN-Gallup International, 2012, p. 4). Nigerian atheists are exceptions to the rule; however more atheists might actually inhabit Nigeria but prefer to remain silent, since the issue is considered taboo and even punishable in Sharia states (i.e. atheism is interpreted the same way as apostasy). Taking a closer look reveals that religion penetrates the public, societal sphere as well. Two particular elements of religion in society are discussed: the educational system as well as religious conflicts and tolerance.

Religion in educational system

The first example of religion penetrating the public sphere that is considered, is Nigeria’s educational system, particularly in northern Nigeria. Education in northern Nigeria has been a major concern for decades. During the colonial era, the British had done little to either reform or add secular schools to northern Nigeria’s predominantly Islamic education system. This lack of interference is ascribed to the British policy of avoiding tensions with their Muslim subjects, since northerners associated secular education with Christian missionaries, who had introduced secular schools in the South. Besides, limited financial resources and an overall fear of self-conscious opponents to its rule made the British reluctant to interfere with traditional the traditional education system. Therefore, immediately after the British left, doubts about northerners’ ability to educate ‘modern’ citizens, who were capable of contributing to the newly united Nigeria, instead of remaining within their religious boundaries, due to the presence of mainly Islamic schools (Hoechner, 2014, p. 68). This concern, although significant and worth further consideration, falls short to the concern that is highlighted here: the widespread assumption of Boko Haram finding easy recruits among

these Quranic schools’ students, the Almajirai. Almajirai are boys and young men, ranging from primary-school age to their early twenties, from mostly poor rural families, who are sent away from home in order to receive Quranic education from so-called mallams – or Quranic teachers. They spend their days learning to read and recite Quranic texts, secular elements such as mathematics and science are not part of the curriculum. The almajiri system is outside of the federal and state governments’ scope, there hardly is any oversight in terms of regulations nor is there a financial structure funding the system. Therefore, Almajirai roam the streets begging for money and food, do farm work and petty jobs, while the mallams are largely dependent on community funding for their salaries. However, the assumption that many Almajirai might end up as Boko Haram members is widespread and persistent, and some members are indeed identified as former Quranic students. Yet, there is no systematic evidence to support this claim (Hoechner, 2014, p. 64). That is not to say, the issue is irrelevant or less concerning. The system in which young northern Nigerian boys, far from home, receive nothing but Quranic education, spend their days reciting texts and begging for alms, is unlikely to bridge the northern-southern educational and its consequent economic gap. In modern-day Nigeria, jobs require more, or something else for that matter, than the particular skill of knowing the Quran by heart (Akinyoade, 2016, p. 78). Likewise, the ‘modern’ Islamic education as introduced by the Yan Izala movement has proven to be problematic. An entire generation of students who had gone through this system of education, found that they were not adequately equipped with basic skills and knowledge to enter Nigeria’s labour market (Loimeier, 2012, p. 145).

Thus, the issue could be interpreted problematic for a bigger, long-term ideal: creating a united Nigeria in which people have equal chance, irrespective of their place of birth. The government, at least in the following example, has failed to correctly appreciate the issue, even after a wakeup call from abroad, as Mr Akinyoade explained in the case of him applying for the University of Ghana. Together with him, another Nigerian, who came from the North and had received a bachelor’s degree in Arabic language, applied. He was turned down, for the University of Ghana was convinced that he would not be of any use with ‘just’ that degree. So, even though this person went to a university in Nigeria, he was rejected in Ghana based on his degree that is considered of value in Nigeria (Akinyoade, 2016, p. 78).

Religious tolerance and conflicts in society

Religious conflicts in Nigeria take different forms and are prompted by different reasons. To acquire a better understanding of the issue, three categories can be distinguished: intra-

religious conflicts; inter-religious conflicts; and state versus religious movements (Mahmud, 2009, p. 116). As the latter category is extensively discussed in terms of the Nigerian state versus Boko Haram, this paragraph solely deals with the first two categories.

Both Christianity and Islam are divided into numerous religious subgroups. The largest denominations in Christianity are the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches; however all other denominations combined contain a larger population. This religious pluralism also applies to Islam, where the majority of Muslims traditionally belongs to the two major Sufi brotherhoods Qadiriyya and Tijaniyya, while anti-innovation reformist groups such as Izala are growing. The latter has contributed to a religious revival in northern Nigeria, actively accusing traditional Muslim leaders of collaborating with secular and Christian entities, thereby sharpening inter-religious tensions. These inter-religious tensions are also prompted by the continuing struggle between Christians and Muslims for influence and dominance regarding the country’s essential characters such as the nature of the state and its legal system. These conflicts are mainly a consequence of the country’s post-colonial social structure. The British, as mentioned before, left the country divided into three regions that all inhabit a significant majority of either of both religious and ethnic main groups. Years later, these groups still see themselves differently, as if the country has never been united, but rather remained divided in three. Other factors leading to inter-religious conflicts are economic, political, and ethnic grievances.

The inter-religious competition, besides leading to acts of religious violence, also increase intra-religious tensions, that is within one overarching religion. Religious leaders of sub-denominations claim to be the best defenders of the overarching denomination against the opponents of the other overarching denomination (Dowd, 2016, pp. 622-623). Historically, this has resulted in severe instances of intra-religious violence, for instance as has been previously described in the case of Izala fighting Sufi brotherhoods. But also, the earliest form of intra-religious confrontations between the two brotherhoods themselves have been witnessed in northern Nigeria, resulting from differing socio-political and religious roles the brotherhoods assumed in society (Mahmud, 2009, p. 116). Various religious movements have been unable to stomach the fact of other existing interpretations of their religion, let alone an entirely different religion. Religious tolerance, or the respect one can produce for the religious freedom of others, is sporadically discovered among these movements. Furthermore, both Christian and Islamic movements pursue goals, for instance by converting as many people as they can, that are doubtlessly escalating tensions. On the one hand, Pentecostal Christians are seeking to make Nigeria a Christian country, which logically angers the Muslim population.

On the other hand, Boko Haram aims at turning the same country in a Sharia-governed state, which terrifies Christians.

However, contrary to what one might expect based on the described religious diversity and associated tensions in Nigeria, these inter- and intra-religious conflicts and intolerance are not as frequent in all places throughout Nigeria. Dowd (2016) has observed what he calls ‘subnational variation’, meaning that the religious tolerance is not equally distributed across the country. Instead, areas in which religious identities overlap with ethnic identities tend to be confronted both more often and severely with interreligious violent conflicts than those areas in which there is no or less overlap. The ethnic issue of indigenes versus settlers, the former granted more rights than the latter, is indeed considered one of the root causes of many conflicts throughout Nigeria (Akinyoade, 2016, p. 73). With regard to religiously diverse areas in which tolerance, or respect for others’ religious freedom, the example of the Yoruba ethnic group supports this understanding. Roughly equal numbers of Yoruba Christians and Yoruba Muslims seem to uphold a relatively high level of religious tolerance towards one another, except for occasional confrontations in the past (Dowd, 2016, pp. 624- 625).

Foreign influences

The reintroduction of Sharia criminal law in 1999 in some Northern states of Nigeria was partly driven by missionaries from Libya, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan, all benefiting from Saudi financial support, who were sent to Nigeria in the 1990s. They were instructed to promote Wahhabism, an ultra-traditional branch of Sunni Islam (Agbiboa, 2013a, p. 3).

Mohammed Yusuf was strongly influenced by the fourteenth century Salafi scholar Ibn Taymiyyah, who insisted on the comprehensive application of Sharia law. Beside, Yusuf was influenced by Saudi Arabian establishment’s aversion to Western democracy, who claim democracy is un-Islamic, but most of all really just fear it would threaten the country’s monarchy (Mohammed, 2014, p. 14). However, the most important influence on Yusuf’s teachings, argumentation, and beliefs, is the text called “Global, foreign and colonialist schools: Their history and dangers” written by prominent Wahhabi scholar Abu Zayd, who also held some positions in several academic, religious, and judicial institutions in Saudi Arabia. This text provided Yusuf with proof that modern secular education is part of a Western conspiracy to maintain hegemony over Muslim societies, but more importantly, it is natural-science based, embodies Western civilization, is thus un-Islamic and should therefore be fought (Umar, 2012, p. 123).