THE ISLAMIC THEOCRATIC PRACTICE AND THE OTHER IN NIGERIA SINCE DEMOCRATIZATION

Saheed Ahmad Rufai

Abstract


This paper’s hypothetical view is that theocracy as a concept is so self-explanatory that little or no special learning is required to discern it. This is based on the fact that almosteveryone has an idea of what government and religion mean and how they function or operate. Connecting religious institutions to government or the reverse is therefore not expected to prove challenging. However, the need for scholarly precision or appreciable level intellectual accuracy informs the need to critically rethink the concepts with regard to the status or place of The Other. Whereas the Islamic theocratic principles and practice in Nigeria are the subject of the paper, non-Muslims, contextually mentioned as The Other. This paper attempts to identify issues revolving around the experience of The Other in an Islamic theocracy, with a focus on Nigeria since its return to democratic rule in 1999. The paper which uses both historical and analytical methods seeks to systematically stimulate further engagement with the Islamic theoretical principles and practices as understood in the country during the period under coverage, in connection with issues and challenges involving the non-Muslims.


Keywords


democratic Nigeria; Islamic theocracy; Muslim and non-Muslim relations; The Other in Islamic practices

Full Text:

PDF

References


Abbasi, M. Zubayr. 2020. “Islamic Constitutionalism in Pakistan: Is it Theocratic?” https://islamiclaw.blog/2020/08/13/islamic-constitutionalism-in-pakistan-is-it-theocratic/ (January 21, 2021).

Abimbola, Wande. 2010. “Religion, World Order, and Peace: An Indigenous African Perspective.” Religions and the United Nations 60(3): 307–9.

Adamson, Fiona B. 2011. “Engaging or Contesting the Liberal State? ‘Muslim’ as a Politicised Identity Category in Europe.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 37(6): 899–915. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2011.576193.

Adebanwi, Wale. 2010. “The Clergy, Culture and Political Conflicts in Nigeria.” African Studies Review 53(3): 121–42. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0002020600005709.

Akinade, Akintunde E. 2015. “Islamic Challenges in African Christianity.” In African Christianity: An African Story, ed. Ogbu Kalu. Ibadan: Longman, 117–38.

Alao, Abiodun. 2013. “Islamic Radicalisation and Violent Extremism in Nigeria.” Conflict, Security & Development 13(2): 127–47. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14678802.2013.796205.

Al-Azmeh, Aziz. 1991. “Islamist Revivalism and Western Ideologies.” History Workshop Journal 32(1): 44–53. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/hwj/32.1.44.

Baran, Zeyno, S. Frederick Starr, and Svante E. Cornell. 2006. Islamic Radicalism in the Central Asia and the Caucasus: Implications for the EU. Sweden: Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program.

Black, Antony. 2011. The History of Islamic Political Thought: From the Prophet to the Present. Edinburg: Edinburg University Press.

Cayiroglu, Yuksel. 2019. “Is Islamic Theocracy Possible?.” http://www.politurco.com/is-islamic-theocracy-possible.html (January 21, 2021).

Clarke, Peter B. 1982. West Africa and Islam: A Study of Religious Development from the 8thto the 20th Century. London: Edward Arnold.

Cliteur, Paul and Afshin Ellian. 2020. “The Five Models of State and Religion: Atheism, Theocracy, State Church, Multiculturalism, and Secularism.” ICL Journal 14(1): 103–32. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/icl-2018-0056.

Cosgel, Metin and Thomas J. Miceli. 2014. “Theocracy Over Time.” Paper Presented at the 2014 Economic History Association Meetings in Columbus, OH.

Doran, Michael. 2002. “The Pragmatic Fanaticism of al Qaeda: An Anatomy of Extremism in Middle Eastern Politics.” Political Science Quarterly 117(2): 177–90. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/798179.

Esposito, John L. 1992. Islamic Threat-Myth or Reality New York. Oxford University Press.

Esposito, John L. 2000. “Political Islam and The West.” JFQ Forum, Spring: 49-55.

Evers, Hans-Dieter and Sharon Siddique. 1993. “Religious Revivalism in Southeast Asia: An Introduction.” Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia 8(1): 1–10.

Falaah, Shamsul. 2016. “Theocratic Constitutionalism: A Discourse on the Political System, Democracy, Judiciary and Human Rights Under Islamic Theocratic Constitutionalism.” Wailato Islamic Studies Review 2(2): 66–77. SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2849671.

Ferrero, Mario. 2009. “The Rise and Demise of Theocracy: Theory and Some Evidence.” Paper Presented at the Session ‘Religion and Democracy’ in the Annual Conference of the Association for Public Economic Theory, Galway, June 17-20, 2009.

Freedman, Amy L. 2009. “Political viability, Contestation and Power: Islam and Politics in Indonesia and Malaysia.” Politics and Religion 2(1): 100–127. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755048309000054.

Gilani, Sabrina. 2015. “’Spasing’ Minority Relations: Investigating the Tribal Areas of Pakistan Using a Spatio-Historical Method of Analysis.” Social & Legal Studies 24(3): 359–80. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0964663914564263.

Head, Tom. 2019. “The Definition of Theocracy.” https://www.thoughtco.com/definition-of-theocracy-721626 (January 21, 2021).

Khan, Ibrahim. 2013. “Violence in the Name of God and the World Order.” The Dialogue 8(4): 360–82.

Kingsley, Jeremy. 2017. “Dinamics of Religion in Southeast Asia: Magic and Modernity.” The Asia Pasific Journal of Anthropology 18(3): 266–68. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14442213.2016.1233849.

Lapidus, Ira. 1997. “Islamic Revival and Modernity: the Contemporary Movements and the Historical Paradigms.” Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 40(2): 444–60. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/1568520972601486.

Lewin, Keith M. and Ricardo Sebates. 2011. “Changing Patterns of Access to Education in Anglophone and Francophone Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa: Is Education for All Pro-Poor?.” CREATE Pathways to Access Research Monograph 52. NUEPA/University of Sussex, Delhi/Brighton.

Lewin, Keith M. and Ricardo Sebates. 2012. “Who gets what? Is improved access to basic education pro-poor in Sub-Saharan Africa?” International Journal of Educational Development 32(4): 517–28. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2012.02.013.

Mansurnoor, Iik A. 2009. “Revivalism and Radicalism in Southeast Asian Islam: A Pattern or an Anomaly.” New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies 11(1): 222–62.

Marietta, Morgan. 2009. “The Absolutist Advantage: Sacred Rhetoric in Contemporary Presidential Debate.” Political Communication 26(4): 388–411. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10584600903296986.

Mazrui, Ali A. 1988. “African Islam and Competitive Religion: Between Revivalismand Expansion.” Third World Quarterly 10(2): 499–518. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01436598808420069.

McCormick, Gordon H. 2003. “Terrorist Decision Making.” Annual Review of Political Science 6: 473–507. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.polisci.6.121901.085601.

Meddeb, Abdelwahab. 2013. Islam and the Challenge of Civilization. New York: Fordham University Press.

Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. 1995. Traditional Islam in the Modern World. London: Kegan Paul.

Norton, Anne. 2013. On The Muslim Question. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Onapajo. Hakeem. 2012. “Politics for God: Religion, Politics and Conflict in Democratic Nigeria.” The Journal of Pan-African Study 4(9): 42–66.

Onapajo. Hakeem. 2014. “Islamic Revivalism and Social Change in Muslim Societies: A Rethink of Marxist Historical Materialism.” World Journal of Islamic History and Civilization 2(4): 196–205.

Philpott, Daniel. 2019. “Islam and Religious Freedom” Religion and Foreign Policy. 10–25.

Pandya, Amit and Ellen Laipson. 2009. Islam and Politics. Washington: STIMSON.

Rogers, Wendy. 2013. “Rethinkingg the Vulrenability of Minority Populations in Research.” American Journal of Public Health 103(12): 2141–46. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2012.301200.

Roy, Olivier. 2006. Globalized Islam: The Search for a New Ummah. Columbia: Columbia University Press.

SAGE. 2021. Authoritarian Insitutions: Political Systems and How they Work. London: SAGE.

Simon, Steven. 2003. “The New Terrorism: Securing the Nation Against a Messianic Foe.” The Brookings Review 21(1): 18–24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/20081085.

Sundaram, Jomo K. and Ahmad Shabery Cheek. 1988. “The Politics of Malaysia’s Islamic Resurgence.” Third World Quarterly 10(2): 843–68.

Trimble, Megan and Shelbi Austin. 2020. “The 10 Most Religious Countries, Ranked by Perception.” https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/10-most-religious-countries-ranked-by-perception (January 21, 2021).

US Commission on International Religious Freedom. 2021. April, 2021.

Umam, Fawaizul. 2019. “Ideological Involution of the Islamists.” Ulul Albab: Jurnal Studi Islam 20(1): 25–42. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18860/ua.v20i1.5714.

Venkatraman, Amritha. 2007. “Religious Basis for Islamic Terrorism: The Quran and Its Interpretations.” Studies in Conflict and Terrorism 30(3): 229–48. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10576100600781612.

Vickers, Tom, Gary Craig, and Karl Atkin. 2012. “Research with Black and Minority Ethnic People using Social Care Services.” SSCR Methods Review 11. NIHR School for Social Care Research, London, UK.

Wakili, Haruna. 2009. Islam and the political arena in Nigeria: The Ulama and the 2007 Elections. Institute for the Study of Islamic Thought in Africa (ISITA): Northwestern University.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.18860/ua.v22i1.12248

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


 Tools:
 
 
 Indexed by:
 
 

All publication by Ulul Albab: Jurnal Studi Islam are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)

Ulul Albab: Jurnal Studi Islam, P-ISSN : 1858-4349, E-ISSN : 2442-5249