The theological college of northern nigeria bukuru jos, is the largest centre. To the 15th century in nigeria was strengthened islam, it was brought here through the desert tradersmuslims. The main objective of this work is to discuss the history of church growth in nigeria. Numerous ancient african civilizations settled in the region that is today nigeria, such as the kingdom of nri, the benin empire, and the oyo empire. Several islamic reform movements have taken place in nigeria since the late 1970s, including the izala movement, maitatsine, and darul islam.
Loose sandy soils consisting of windborne deposits and riverine sands are found in the northern regions, although, in areas where there is a marked dry season, a dense surface layer of laterite develops, making these soils difficult to cultivate. We are going to focus specially on those days between 1900 and 1960. Nigeria is a famous country with more than one hundred and forty million population. According to olurode 1989, as summarized herein, it appears that islam first came into nigeria through bornu in about the. Christianity is making remarkable strides, not only in numerical growth but in deepening theological maturity of many outstanding leaders. During the colonial era the british government prohibited christian proselytization of muslims. To achieve this objective, the history of the church in nigeria is divided into five periods namely. Library of congress federal research division country profile. On the other hand, the history of christianity in nigeria dates back to the 15th century when the portuguese brought the religion along with them. Galadima and turaki christianity in nigeria part ll l77 christianity in nigeria part bulus y. Nigeria is one of the leading nations in the continent of africa, politically but also in christian witness. According to the pew research center, nigeria has the largest christian population of any country in africa, with more than 80 million persons in nigeria belonging to the church with various denominations. Also, competing concepts of religious legitimacy, which appeal to the historical heritage of nigeria, are often used to validate and justify the violation of religious freedom.
Nigeria, july 2008 2 of slaves flowed north across the sahara for a millennium, ending only at the beginning of the twentieth century. Missionaries first arrived at the court of kabaka muteesa in 1877, almost a century after the missionary impetus from europe had begun. Shankars book explores the history of christianity in predominantly muslim northern nigeria from 1890 to 1975. In this writeup, you will have the opportunity to learn about what actually transpired in nigeria during the colonial days. Bulus galadima and yusufu turaki discuss the mission indigenous policy and the. Following the establishment of christianity in the southern part of nigeria, it was introduced to the northern part of the country. Introduction history of islam in nigeria jihad islamic law sharia islam and politics islamic movements, islamic reform selected web resources there has been considerable recent media coverage of the implementation of islamic sharia law in the northern states of nigeria. Chapter three an overview of the historical development of the. Islam, christianity, traditional religions and power. In nigeria mostly there are two types of religions, islam and christianity. Buganda in the 19th century 1 christianity came late to uganda compared with many other parts of africa. The paper argues that christianity has not only solidified its base in what is now called the middle belt but it has made inroads into core muslims states. The origin of christianity in the world can be traced to the middle east. The movement is unique in that it combines a sectarian, radical islamic agenda with violence.
Project muse who shall enter paradise christian origins. The population of the colony was predominantly muslim, but the colonial territory created by the british contained large populations of african traditionalist peoples. Geographical, historical and political profiles of nigeria 1. First major centralized state in northern nigeria was kanembornu, the occurrence of which belongs to the late 8th century a. When arab merchants entered in kanem borno empire in nineteenth century then it result in jihad.
Divided between a predominantly muslim north and a predominantly christian south, the country is home to some of the worlds most vicious scenes. So jihad results in the speedily spreading of islam especially in northern part of nigeria. The history of this religion actually roots back to the days when jesus commanded to take the good news that he saves those believing and trusting him to the ends of the world. In 1953, the percentage of the christian population was 21. However, it added a lot of work since there was a small christian community at every railway station. Christianity in nigeria had gone through a lot of stages and the roles of these stages are very fundamental in the telling of christian history in nigeria. Geographical, historical and political profiles of nigeria.
The discussion is based on a local case from the nigerian middle belt which will be interpreted in the light of two wider contexts, that of the african continent in general and that of the specific nigerian context. Nigeria is a large country both in terms of size, population, and importance on both a regional and global scale, and few issues are as central to the national ethos as religion. Religious practice in nigeria is just as varied and diverse as the population, creating a complex and fascinating situation that arises from its triple heritage, of indigenous religious traditions, islam, and. The sultan of sokoto, currently muhammadu saad abubakar iii b. Within nigeria, slavery was widespread and bore social implications that are still evident. The expansion of christianity in colonial northern nigeria. Shendam is one of the many thousands of towns of northern nigeria.
This unprecedented work is the first onevolume study of the history of christianity in africa. This is why the maintenance of the plurality of the twelve states that implemented the shariah law in northern nigeria from 1999 has become a major issue of contention in the shariah debates. The history of nigeria can be traced to prehistoric settlers nigerians living in the area as early as 1100 bc. This twopart article on christianity in nigeria traces the historical. This happened after he resurrected and showed up to the disciples. The portuguese brought christianity with them but were unable to successfully plant christianity because of their involvement in slave trade.
The history of christianity in nigeria can be traced back to the 15th century, when the portuguese were the first europeans to arrive the shores of the region via the atlantic. This is obvious from the history of northern nigeria over the past ten centuries when traditional african religions were joined on the scene, first by islam, and then by christianity. In particular, international attention has been drawn to the application of sharia law to criminal offences and the. In this paper i shall discuss the politics of history in northern nigeria. From the beginning it was a matter of might makes right. A journal of contemporary research, 91, 309324, 2012. Christianity in northern nigeria download ebook pdf. Historical research on the spread of christianity in colonial northern nigeria has been hampered by a focus on the wrong issues. Christianity in northern nigeria download ebook pdf, epub. But shendam has a special place in the history of the church in nigeria. It is not surprising, therefore, that religious fundamentalism and violent conflicts in end page 663 northern nigeria have attracted the attention of scholars in recent years. Juergensmeyer 2003, 4 notes that religions move and intertwine.
Galadima and yusufu turaki this is the concluding part of the substantial study of christianity in nigeria. Based on records, he took methodism from the coastal areas to kumasi in the asante hinterland of the gold coast between 1838 and 1857 and also founded methodist societies in nigeria with the help of william degraft. Christianity is one of the two main religions in nigeria,christians make up 48. Origins and problems a talk given to the nigeria staff of the mennonite central committee august 14, 19801 to understand how christianity was introduced to northern nigeria nn, one must go back first of all to 19th century great britain gb and look at the. Written by elizabeth isichei, a leading scholar in this field, a history of christianity in africa examines the origins and development of christianity in africa from the early story of egyptian christianity to the spectacular growth, vitality, and diversity of the churches in africa today. Since the introduction of sharia penal law in some of the northern states, violence towards nonmuslims has increased in the north. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Although the years since nigerias return to civilian rule in 1999 have seen an increased interest in its history and politics, nigeria remains one of the most underresearched african countries. Islam started from arab and eventually spread throughout the world. After the failure of the first attempt to plant christianity in nigeria in the sixteenth and seventh centuries, a failure, which, as we have already pointed out, was largely due to its connection with the portuguese slave trade, it was significant and fitting that the second attempt which finally succeeded should be a concomitant of the abolitionist movement. Southern kaduna volume 1 5 throughout this study, the data collected clearly points to hausafulani muslim herdsmen and the negligence of the state government as being responsible for the hostilities against christian. The terrorists aim is to ethnically cleanse northern nigeria of its christians and to kill every muslim who stands in their way, he said, following a weeklong personal visit with rabbi.
The introduction and spread of islam in nigeria is somewhat more difficult to describe. A bibliography of secondary literature, working papers in african studies 269 2017. Divided between a predominantly muslim north and a predominantly christian south, the country is. Mission christianity though brought christianity to nigeria could not present a befitting christianity that match the worldview of the people. The beginning of the history of christianity in nigeria. Click download or read online button to get christianity in northern nigeria book now. History of the church in northern nigeria society of african missions. Currently, the southern part of the country is dominated by christians while the northern part is composed of predominantly muslims. Currently in northern nigeria, religious interaction among the three major religious traditions, islam, christianity, and african traditional religion, is marred by violent religious conflicts. A man called thomas birch freeman, who came into gold coast in 1838 is said to have expanded christianity in ghana. Christian missionaries and clergies of nigerian origin continue to seek expertise.
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