The beginning of the history of christianity in 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. The expansion of christianity in colonial northern nigeria. Missionaries first arrived at the court of kabaka muteesa in 1877, almost a century after the missionary impetus from europe had begun. Following the establishment of christianity in the southern part of nigeria, it was introduced to the northern part of the country. During the colonial era the british government prohibited christian proselytization of muslims. Project muse who shall enter paradise christian origins. Islam in the nonmuslim areas of northern nigeria, c. Shendam is one of the many thousands of towns of northern nigeria. However, it added a lot of work since there was a small christian community at every railway station.
To the 15th century in nigeria was strengthened islam, it was brought here through the desert tradersmuslims. 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. Buganda in the 19th century 1 christianity came late to uganda compared with many other parts of africa. We are going to focus specially on those days between 1900 and 1960. 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 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. According to olurode 1989, as summarized herein, it appears that islam first came into nigeria through bornu in about the. Mission christianity though brought christianity to nigeria could not present a befitting christianity that match the worldview of the people. Christian missionaries and clergies of nigerian origin continue to seek expertise. When arab merchants entered in kanem borno empire in nineteenth century then it result in jihad. Geographical, historical and political profiles of nigeria.
The population of the colony was predominantly muslim, but the colonial territory created by the british contained large populations of african traditionalist peoples. The history of nigeria can be traced to prehistoric settlers nigerians living in the area as early as 1100 bc. The portuguese brought christianity with them but were unable to successfully plant christianity because of their involvement in slave trade. So jihad results in the speedily spreading of islam especially in northern part of nigeria. 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.
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. In particular, international attention has been drawn to the application of sharia law to criminal offences and the. Since the introduction of sharia penal law in some of the northern states, violence towards nonmuslims has increased in the north. 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. The origin of christianity in the world can be traced to the middle east. 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. This unprecedented work is the first onevolume study of the history of christianity in africa. Juergensmeyer 2003, 4 notes that religions move and intertwine. Chapter three an overview of the historical development of the.
From the beginning it was a matter of might makes right. A man called thomas birch freeman, who came into gold coast in 1838 is said to have expanded christianity in ghana. 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. 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. A bibliography of secondary literature, working papers in african studies 269 2017. A journal of contemporary research, 91, 309324, 2012. The sultan of sokoto, currently muhammadu saad abubakar iii b. Christianity in northern nigeria download ebook pdf, epub.
To achieve this objective, the history of the church in nigeria is divided into five periods namely. Geographical, historical and political profiles of nigeria 1. Nigeria, july 2008 2 of slaves flowed north across the sahara for a millennium, ending only at the beginning of the twentieth century. This happened after he resurrected and showed up to the disciples. The theological college of northern nigeria bukuru jos, is the largest centre. 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. The movement is unique in that it combines a sectarian, radical islamic agenda with violence.
Nigeria is one of the leading nations in the continent of africa, politically but also in christian witness. Christianity is one of the two main religions in nigeria,christians make up 48. 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. 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. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. 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. This twopart article on christianity in nigeria traces the historical. Nigeria is a famous country with more than one hundred and forty million population.
Within nigeria, slavery was widespread and bore social implications that are still evident. And of course, this country has quite a history behind it. In this writeup, you will have the opportunity to learn about what actually transpired in nigeria during the colonial days. Library of congress federal research division country profile. 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. 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. 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.
Bulus galadima and yusufu turaki discuss the mission indigenous policy and the. Divided between a predominantly muslim north and a predominantly christian south, the country is. History of the church in northern nigeria society of african missions. Divided between a predominantly muslim north and a predominantly christian south, the country is home to some of the worlds most vicious scenes. First major centralized state in northern nigeria was kanembornu, the occurrence of which belongs to the late 8th century a. In 1953, the percentage of the christian population was 21. 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. Currently, the southern part of the country is dominated by christians while the northern part is composed of predominantly muslims. Galadima and yusufu turaki this is the concluding part of the substantial study of christianity in nigeria. Christianity is making remarkable strides, not only in numerical growth but in deepening theological maturity of many outstanding leaders. In nigeria mostly there are two types of religions, islam and christianity. In this paper i shall discuss the politics of history in northern nigeria.
Click download or read online button to get christianity in northern nigeria book now. Currently in northern nigeria, religious interaction among the three major religious traditions, islam, christianity, and african traditional religion, is marred by violent religious conflicts. The introduction and spread of islam in nigeria is somewhat more difficult to describe. 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. 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. Galadima and turaki christianity in nigeria part ll l77 christianity in nigeria part bulus y. But shendam has a special place in the history of the church in nigeria.
Several islamic reform movements have taken place in nigeria since the late 1970s, including the izala movement, maitatsine, and darul islam. Mar 21, 2020 nigerias major soil zones conform to geographic location. 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. 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.
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