Shia in Nigeria

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Though the majority of the Nigerian population is Sunni, there is a significant Shia minority, particularly in the states of Kano and Sokoto.

Members of the Nigerian Shia community have been persecuted in some cases, but in other cases have united with Nigerian Sunni in the Islamic Movement in Nigeria.^[1] Shia cleric Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky is a primary figure in the movement.^[2]

Shia Islam was "almost unknown" in Nigeria until the 1980s, when Ibraheem Zakzaky introduced a syncretic blend of Shia and Sunni Islam. Zakzaky's gained a following among those disenchanted with the political and religious establishment, and began identifying themselves as Shia.^[3]

The state government of Sokoto has reacted to the rise of Shia Islam in the state by taking such measures as demolishing the Islamic Center in 2007^[4][5]. Furthermore, clashes between Sunni and Shia residents followed the assassination of Imam Umaru Danmaishiyya, who was known for his fiery anti-Shia preaching^[6][7].

Contents 1 See also 2 Sources 3 External Links 4 References

[edit] See also

• Islamic Movement (Nigeria)

[edit] Sources

• Muhammad Mansur Nigeria’s Zaria city crammed with mourners of Imam Hussain Jafariya News, January 29, 2007.
• Mohamed Ali Mosques vandalised in (Abuja) Nigeria clashes Jafariya News, June 10, 2004.
• Nigerian Echoes of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• Elise Aymer Nigeria: Clash of Religions The Yale International Forum, Winter 1996.
• purported Biography of Zakzaky

[edit] External Links

• Official homepage of the Islamic Movement (Nigeria)

[edit] References