This report reflects in particular the dynamism of islam in yorubaland, nigeria. Christian missions in southwestern nigeria, and the. Yoruba knew about islam during the time of mansa musa of mali late14 to early15 c. The first chapter, some evidence for the truth of islam, answers some important questions which some people ask.
Nov 29, 2019 the yoruba religion includes the concept of ashe, a powerful life force possessed by humans and divine beings alike. Islam was introduced to nigeria through two geographical routes. The trend of arabic and islamic education in nigeria. It is among the preparatory dawah strategies devised by the yoruba ulama following the general mainstream africa to condition the minds of the indigenous people for the acceptance of islam.
Yorubaland were predominantly unbelievers and islam was rarely found. The earliest studies of yoruba religious traditions were carried out by mlssionarles, travellers and explorers who were concerned with writng about the. An introduction to islamic movements and modes of thought in nigeria1 introduction. Insa nolte,1 clyde ancarno2 and rebecca jones1 abstract this paper uses corpus methods to support the analysis of data collected as part of a largescale ethnographic project that focusses on interreligious relations in southwest nigeria.
Islamic literacy and cultural influence with the introduction of islam to yoruba society in the 18th century, islamic literacy had considerably. To download the entire book entitled a brief illustrated guide to understanding islam in pdf format, rightclick on the link below, then in explorer choose save target as, and in netscape choose save link as. Abstract religion is the strongest element in african culture and exerts great. Dada adelowo introduction this paper is motiated by the need. Islamic tradition holds that the prophet ibrahim abraham and his son, ismail ismael, built the kaba in the valley of mecca in ancient times as a house of worship for one. A short history of yorubaland with pictures culture. Britain outlawed slavery in 1807 and pushed for forms of legitimate commerce such as palm oil and cotton, and in so doing developed an internal infrastructure to facilitate these markets. According to a 2019 report from the world factbook by cia, about 49% of nigerias population is muslim, about 49% are christians, about 0. The oba whose throne had existed before the two prominent religions in yorubaland regretted that both islam and christianity pose a threat to godgiven civilization of the yoruba people.
Yoruba islamic verse in ajami tombouctou manuscripts project. The origin of jalabi has been associated with the coming of islam into yorubaland, but since one cannot say in precision when the infiltration of islam actually began in this part of the world, we may not equally know with exactitude the beginning of jalabi practice in yorubaland. In particular, international attention has been drawn to the application of sharia law to criminal offences and the. Conversion from christianity to islam in 17 october 2012 correspondence with the research directorate, the senior research fellow at the institute of african studies at the university of nigeria provided the information contained in the following paragraph with regard to the igbo community. It originated from africa chiefly in nigeria and benin republic, and in. The study of yoruba religious tradition in historical perspective this essay presents an overview of past and recent scholarship in yoruba religion.
He did this in the name of islam, to which religion he had converted some years. Christianmuslim encounter in yorubaland akinade, akintunde e 19970101 00. In arabic, however, the word literally means submission islam to god so that muslim refers to one who submits to god. He did this in the name of islam, to which religion he had converted some years before. The study of yoruba religious tradition in historical. The study of islam in eritrea the faith of approximately half of the country s population is still in its infancy. Islam is the solution, islam is religion and government and islam is the constitution and the law. Islam is commonly used as the name of a religion whose followers are referred to as muslims. It was popularly called esin imale religion brought by the malian people. In the long run, many nonarabs were motivated to learn arabic and suddenly the language found its users fast multiplying golden. Jqs publishes articles both in english and arabic, to encourage the bridging of the gap between the two traditions of muslim. Ashe is the energy found in all natural things much like the catholic saints, the yoruba orishas work as the intermediaries between man and the supreme creator, and the rest of the divine world. The fulani warriors and jihadists had their base at ilorin.
However, some people erroneously translated esin imale as hardened religion to practise. The creation of the sokoto caliphate in the jihad holy war of 18048 brought most of the northern region and adjacent parts of niger and cameroon under a single islamic government. A historical overview of islam in eritrea by jonathan miran bellingham, wash. It is based on existing texts as well as interviews and discussions held in 2002 and 2003 with muslims and non. Today many of the large cities in nigeria including lagos lagos, city 1991 est. Religious pluralism and tolerance among the yorubas. Progressively, islam came to yoruba land, and muslims started building mosques. In this comparative study, at once historical and anthropological, peel explores the intertwined character of the three religions and the dense imbrication of religion in all aspects of yoruba history up to the. Nigeria, the muslims in yoruba land like their hausafulani counterparts had stint with. Religious change in yorubaland volume 37 issue 3 j.
The role of islam in the yorubahausa harmonious relations in. The historical records of the yoruba, which became more accessible in the nineteenth century with the more permanent arrival of the europeans, tell of heavy jihad raids by the mounted fulani warriors of the north as well as of. Historically, yorubaland was made up of several clans traditionally bound together by common ancestry, language, traditions and practices. 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. Religious change in yorubaland it is the aim of this paper to consider the social factors affecting the spread of christianity and, to a lesser extent, islam also in yorubaland, western nigeria. Suggesting earlier date of introduction of islam to yorubaland, shaykh adam alilori was reported to have opined that it was during the period of mansa musa of mali d. Yorubaland article about yorubaland by the free dictionary. It argues that if islam is peacefully spreading to eastern region it would be an interesting development which could lead to more tolerance between christians and muslims in nigeria. The basics of yoruba an african spiritual tradition metal. It was this arabic and islamic education which gave cultural prestige to islam. Religions are vehicles that transport reading and writing to yorubaland.
It is based on existing texts as well as interviews and. To explore this question, i gather data on intellectual production from harvards library collection and a. Similar to other fields of scholarly inquiry regarding eritrea, research on the history of islam in the region has become more feasible only since. Islamic judicial system in nigeria the whole lectures within the above itemized course contexts will. Christianmuslim relations in contemporary nigeria akintunde e. Ajamization of islam, the multiple tangible and subtle enrichments of islamic traditions that result from their dynamic interplay with local customs in the muslim world, is the framework that guides the articles in the volume. Unlike the indigenous religion, yoruba christianity is an offshoot of early christianity introduced by missionaries around 1842. Concepts and theories on women in yoruba religious sphere. This chapter examines the impact of islam and christianity, colonial rule and western education on yoruba dress. Oct 10, 2017 yoruba values and heritage are being eroded by islam and christianity, prominent yoruba king, the alaafin of oyo, oba lamidi olayiwola adeyemi, has said.
Yoruba religion project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. The origins of islam in the country is linked with the development of islam in the wider west africa. Influence of yoruba culture in christian religious worship by odejobi cecilia omobola institute of education, faculty of education, obafemi awolowo university, ileife, osun state, nigeria. Islam, christianity, colonial rule and yoruba dress 4. The process by which african peoples come to forsake their traditional religions for islam or christianity is among the most significant and the leaststudied features of social change in africa. Concepts and theories on women in yoruba religious sphere3 religion, for it is the venue for contact and interaction between the living, the dead, and the yet unborn. By the 16 th century, many of the cities in northern nigeria were already practicing islam and the islamic education system was already established in them. The yoruba religion comprises religious beliefs and practices of the yoruba people of old before the yoruba community encountered islam, christianity and other faiths.
Aug 27, 20 hello i disagree and agree with natacha the religions here are not good god forbids approaoching spirits of the other world and forbids magic and not without any reason,you can see everything in this sort of religions is bad and filth wath religion needs artifacts an all that nonsense also god says no idols comparing these religions are a lack of knoledge and knoledge of evil only. Lecture in yoruba language, the answer to the question. Islamic literacy and cultural influence with the introduction of islam to yoruba society in the 18th century, islamic. The paper also seeks to assess the role of islam not only in ensuring. Documents in forms of manuscript in arabic, ajami and yoruba formats. Lecturer briefly answered that god the almighty did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship him and that the only way to worship god alone is the religion of islam. Reconsidering the influence of islam on yoruba cultural heritage. Abstract religion is the strongest element in african culture and exerts great influence upon the conduct of the african people. This working paper surveys islamic organizations, movements, and ideologies in nigeria, roughly identifying them along the lines of islamic traditionalism, sufi orders turuq lit. History of the yoruba people edit general history the african peoples who lived in the lower western niger area, at least by the 4th century bc, were not initially known as the yoruba, although they shared a common ethnicity and language group. Islam factory offer a wide selection of islamic books to download for free. In may 20 a young man called michael adebolajo, londonborn and of christian yoruba background, hacked a soldier to death with a cleaver, in broad daylight, outside the military barracks in woolwich, southeast london. Christianmuslim encounter in yorubaland the enduring legacy.
For these reasons some simple and perhaps elementary demonstrations are used in this presentation. First, the spread of islam, predominantly in the north but later in southwestern nigeria as well, began a millennium ago. However, there is yet an exhaustive study on the negative impact of islam on yoruba cultural heritage, a gap which this study intends to fill. Trade was the major connecting link that brought islam into nigeriaerinle oluwashola idris 2020. For practical purposes, the attitude of the yoruba to christianity was rooted in their understanding of orisa worship to the degree that christianity became yoruba, as much as the yoruba were christianized. Pdf on jan 1, 2010, lateef mobolaji adetona and others published. According to fafunwa 1974, islamic literacy in yoruba land has contributed to the growth and development of islam in nigeria. An 18 december 2012 report on religion and public life by the pew research center stated that in 2010, 48. Yoruba religion is formed of diverse traditions and has no single founder.
Islam, christianity damage yoruba values, says alaafin. Yoruba islamic verse in ajami tombouctou manuscripts. Manual for conducting workshops on postgraduate supervision, brisbane. Although, to some extent, the jihad gave a boost to the spread of islam, it is however noted that the spread of islam had already become a factor in yorubaland before the fulani jihad of 1804. In yorubaland today, there exist the natural admixture of religious faiths within individual families, which, nevertheless, live happily together, and, this level of tolerance is the direct effect of tolerance inherited from the traditional religion whose accommodation and toleration paved way for islam and christianity. Another cognate of the word islam is the arabic word for peace, salam. The yoruba of southwestern nigeria are exceptional for the copresence among them of three religious traditions.
It spans the modern day countries of nigeria, togo and benin, and covers a total land area of 142,114 km 2 or about the same size as the combined land areas of greece and montenegro, of which 106,016 km 2 74. The yoruba religion comprises the traditional religious and spiritual concepts and practices of the yoruba people. The majority of the yoruba speak the yoruba language yoruba. Africa regional sexuality resource centre 1 understanding human sexuality seminar series understanding sexuality in the yoruba culture professor olugboyega alaba. Southwestern nigeria is home to about 2025 million yoruba figures projected from the nigeria fertility survey 1984, who inhabit an area that stretches about 120 miles along the coast of the gulf of guinea, east from the benin border, to about 200 miles inland into the savannah belt of west africa. The coming of colonialism and its impact on islam in nigeria 14. In recent times there is a growing awareness of muslim. Reconsidering the influence of islam on yoruba cultural. Islamic system of education later moved to the middle beltan part of nigeria.
When it came to religion, the pre islamic arabs were almost exclusively polytheistic. All yorubaspeaking people claim a common origin from the city of ileife, from where they migrated to other places. The development of arabic and islamic education in nigeria davidson 1990p. Islam, christianity, and the indigenousorisareligion.
Yoruba values and heritage are being eroded by islam and christianity, prominent yoruba king, the alaafin of oyo, oba lamidi olayiwola adeyemi, has said. The yoruba constitute between 30 and 50 million individuals1 throughout west africa and are found predominantly in nigeria and make up around 21% of its population. Legacy of islam in yorubaland islam came to oyo empire in 14th century during the reign of mansa musa in mali and subsequently conversion to islam by some yorubas. The question, however, is whether islam, especially given its doctrine of sharia, would be able to adapt to the culture of that area. Religion and the rise and fall of islamic science eric chaney may 2016 abstract why did the surge of scienti. Religious change in yorubaland africa cambridge core. Another consideration here is that the concept of god in islam is distorted in the minds of many nonmuslims who are socalled believers in god and advocates of religion. Pdf this report reflects in particular the dynamism of islam in yorubaland, nigeria. Iwo town led, its first mosque built in 1655 followed by iyin, in 1760. If you are studying tajweed then you may find my tajweed notes useful. A short history of yorubaland with pictures by bcomputer101 m. That was how islam was first introduced into yorubaland. Islamic education spread further from the borno empire to other parts of nigeria in the years that followed. A study of the united muslim party 19531966, journal of institute of muslim minority affairs, july 1990, pp.
Jalabi is an extant historical phenomenon with strong socioreligious impacts in yorubaland, southwestern part of nigeria. Yorubaland was nearly overrun by those jihadists, had it been that nupeland was strong like the tiv people, the game would have been different. Islam, which came into yorubaland through northern nigeria, got to yorubaland before christianity. Yoruba people culture music art language mythology people main article. In the early centuries of islam in yoruba communities, there were linguistic developments which stemmed directly from the religious stimulus and aesthetic appreciation of the quran. The introduction of islam in yorubaland was an important turning point, as it marked the dawn of a new era. Its homeland is in southwestern nigeria and the adjoining parts of benin and togo, a region that has come to be known as yorubaland. Influence of yoruba culture in christian religious worship. Leone and the americas relapsed into orisa worship or islam or a mixture of the three soon after their return.
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