The events that are going on in present day Northern Nigeria seem to fit in the international background of the call for jihad. But the strife for the imposition of shari'a and islamic moral codes has, in this particular region, remote socio-political origins. A first social reform took place in 1804, when Uthman Dan Fodio, a member of the Fulani ethnic group, started a battle against the pre-existing States, mostly Hausa, because they had two different approaches to religious practice. The conflict ended with a victory for Fulanis which resulted in the creation of a Caliphate. Islam arrived in the Nigerian Sahel through trans-saharian caravan routes. Its rooting was a long and gradual process, during which its original interpretation mixed with elements from other and previous religions, a syncretism to which Fulanis were particularly hostile. The latter belonged to the Qadiriyya Brotherhood, one of the many mystic interpretations of Islam disseminated in the Middle East and Northern Africa, whose goal was to remove most of the pagan elements from syncretic religious practices. The creation of the Caliphate, aside from bringing political and administrative unity, also contributed to the formation of a strong religious identity in Northern Nigeria, an identity which was also rooted in the institutions. During the colonial period, the new, imposed, administration couldn't be made completely uniform, and institutions taken directly from religious text, such as courts, remained somewhat autonomous. The unification of the dominated territories in the Colony of Nigeria, a process known under the name of Amalgamation, proved extremely difficult to achieve over time because of the presence of this dual system. The same problem came out when discussions were held to decide the form of the Nigerian Republic after independence. This strong Muslim identity merged with political interest and gave birth to new movements, which later became parties, and was also one of the leading factors of recurring violence in the North in the 60s and 80s. If the North was driven by religious interests, after the country gained independence it became evident that the other two regions were driven by other particular concerns (mostly ethnic). A regional political mistrust developed which polarized the debate on the Federal accord: each region thought that the other would try to impose its own general interest over the others. This, and many other contradictions, are responsible for the widespread corruption and political instability which characterizes Nigerian history. Corruption resulted in violent regime changes, a growth of poverty, illiteracy and the destruction of the agricultural production cycle, especially in the North. Also in northern territories, corruption became quickly associated to the institutions linked to religious centers of power, in reaction a new form of social and religious reform began under the influence of radical Salafi interpretation of Islam. The new radical religious groups aimed at changing the society to make it more respondent to that of the Prophet, and later, his Companions. The degeneration of this idea in a general background in which politics and religion were never far apart has brought some groups, especially the one known as Boko Haram, towards jihad. In order to explain these phenomena, the following work has been divided into five parts. The first looks into the islamisation process of northern territories of modern Nigeria, the second and third focus on the relationship between politics and religion during the Caliphate and, later, the Colony until the birth of political contraposition on the eve of Nigerian independence. The fourth part focuses more on the historical and political context of independent Nigeria; the fifth, and last, explains and analyzes religious reformist movements and groups, some of which were responsible for periods of social violence and also for bringing around modern jihad.
Gli eventi che affliggono il Nord della Nigeria sembrano inserirsi in una cornice internazionale di richiamo al jihad e di riforma della società. Ma lotta condotta per l'imposizione della shari'a e dei codici morali islamici ha delle origini sociali, politiche ed economiche remote. Una prima riforma della società in senso religioso ebbe luogo nel 1804, quando Uthman Dan Fodio, un esponente del gruppo Fulani, condusse una battaglia contro gli Stati pre-esistenti, principalmente Hausa. Essi avevano due modi diversi e inconciliabili di predicare la religione, la battagliasi concluse con l'instaurazione del Califfato. L'Islam si era diffuso nella zona saheliana grazie al commercio delle rotte trans-sahariane. Il radicamento avvenne in modo progressivo e lento, di conseguenza la nuova religione si arricchì di elementi pre-esistenti: un sincretismo contro il quale si opponevano fortemente proprio i Fulani. Questi ultimi appartenevano, invece, alla Confraternita della Qadiriyya, una delle tante interpretazioni di tipo mistico presenti nelle scuole religiose presenti in Medio Oriente e nel Nord Africa, che puntava ad epurare la pratica religiosa dei suoi elementi più pagani. La creazione del Califfato, oltre ad aver portato unità politica e amministrativa, ha determinato una forte identità religiosa nel Nord della Nigeria. Un'identità radicata anche nelle istituzioni. Con l'avvento coloniale inglese, l'amministrazione non fu completamente uniforme, rimanevano in qualche modo autonome le istituzioni direttamente derivanti dalla religione, come i tribunali. Al momento dell'unione dei territori dominati nella Colonia di Nigeria, la presenza di un sistema duplice fu un elemento di notevole difficoltà, lo stesso si presentò durante il dibattito per la definizione della forma statale che avrebbe assunto la Nigeria dopo l'indipendenza. La forte identità musulmana si rispecchiò nella nascita e nello sviluppo del discorso politico e divenne protagonista nelle violenze sociali periodicamente esplose a causa della forte tensione presente al Nord. Al momento dell'indipendenza, se al Nord a prevalere era l'identità religiosa, nelle altre regioni era principalmente quella etnica. Quando si trattò di delineare i tratti dell'accordo federale, il discorso si polarizzò sulla diffidenza tra regioni: ognuna temeva che le altre avrebbero fatto prevalere i propri interessi su quelli delle altre e spesso essi non collimavano tra loro. Da questa ed altre contraddizioni derivarono anni di instabilità politica, la cui conseguenza fu quella di aumentare il tasso di povertà, l'analfabetismo e distruggere completamente il suo sistema produttivo agricolo soprattutto al Nord. La corruzione fu rapidamente associata al sistema ereditato dalla Colonia in reazione al quale si sviluppò un movimento di riforma religiosa e sociale, spinto dalla diffusione delle interpretazioni salafite. Un riformismo che ebbe successo in virtù dei nuovi media come la radio le cassette musicali. L'idea era quella di promuovere una società non corrotta e maggiormente assomigliante a quella di Maometto e dei suoi Compagni. La degenerazione di questa idea, in un contesto in cui politica e religione non sono mai stati realmente disgiunte, a provocare il gruppo Boko Haram verso un nuovo jihad. Per spiegare quindi questi fenomeni, l'elaborato è stato diviso in cinque parti: una prima sull'islamizzazione dei territori settentrionali della Nigeria. La seconda e la terza si concentrano sul rapporto tra politica e religione durante il secolo del Califfato e successivamente la Colonia fino ad arrivare alla nascita della competizione politica alla vigilia dell'indipendenza. La quarta parte prende in considerazione il quadro politico della Nigeria indipendente; mentre la quinta è dedicata alla spiegazione dei movimenti di riforma religiosa e sociale, alcuni dei quali sono arrivati a determinare periodi di violenza fino al jihad moderno.
Islam e politica nel Nord della Nigeria: il rapporto tra Stato, religione e jihad dal Califfato di Sokoto al Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'auati ual al-Jihad (Boko Haram)
PALLA, BARBARA
2015/2016
Abstract
The events that are going on in present day Northern Nigeria seem to fit in the international background of the call for jihad. But the strife for the imposition of shari'a and islamic moral codes has, in this particular region, remote socio-political origins. A first social reform took place in 1804, when Uthman Dan Fodio, a member of the Fulani ethnic group, started a battle against the pre-existing States, mostly Hausa, because they had two different approaches to religious practice. The conflict ended with a victory for Fulanis which resulted in the creation of a Caliphate. Islam arrived in the Nigerian Sahel through trans-saharian caravan routes. Its rooting was a long and gradual process, during which its original interpretation mixed with elements from other and previous religions, a syncretism to which Fulanis were particularly hostile. The latter belonged to the Qadiriyya Brotherhood, one of the many mystic interpretations of Islam disseminated in the Middle East and Northern Africa, whose goal was to remove most of the pagan elements from syncretic religious practices. The creation of the Caliphate, aside from bringing political and administrative unity, also contributed to the formation of a strong religious identity in Northern Nigeria, an identity which was also rooted in the institutions. During the colonial period, the new, imposed, administration couldn't be made completely uniform, and institutions taken directly from religious text, such as courts, remained somewhat autonomous. The unification of the dominated territories in the Colony of Nigeria, a process known under the name of Amalgamation, proved extremely difficult to achieve over time because of the presence of this dual system. The same problem came out when discussions were held to decide the form of the Nigerian Republic after independence. This strong Muslim identity merged with political interest and gave birth to new movements, which later became parties, and was also one of the leading factors of recurring violence in the North in the 60s and 80s. If the North was driven by religious interests, after the country gained independence it became evident that the other two regions were driven by other particular concerns (mostly ethnic). A regional political mistrust developed which polarized the debate on the Federal accord: each region thought that the other would try to impose its own general interest over the others. This, and many other contradictions, are responsible for the widespread corruption and political instability which characterizes Nigerian history. Corruption resulted in violent regime changes, a growth of poverty, illiteracy and the destruction of the agricultural production cycle, especially in the North. Also in northern territories, corruption became quickly associated to the institutions linked to religious centers of power, in reaction a new form of social and religious reform began under the influence of radical Salafi interpretation of Islam. The new radical religious groups aimed at changing the society to make it more respondent to that of the Prophet, and later, his Companions. The degeneration of this idea in a general background in which politics and religion were never far apart has brought some groups, especially the one known as Boko Haram, towards jihad. In order to explain these phenomena, the following work has been divided into five parts. The first looks into the islamisation process of northern territories of modern Nigeria, the second and third focus on the relationship between politics and religion during the Caliphate and, later, the Colony until the birth of political contraposition on the eve of Nigerian independence. The fourth part focuses more on the historical and political context of independent Nigeria; the fifth, and last, explains and analyzes religious reformist movements and groups, some of which were responsible for periods of social violence and also for bringing around modern jihad.È consentito all'utente scaricare e condividere i documenti disponibili a testo pieno in UNITESI UNIPV nel rispetto della licenza Creative Commons del tipo CC BY NC ND.
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14239/8640