Anglo-French rapprochement and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Nigeria in the 1950s

Abstract

The dawn of the 1950s in Nigeria witnessed an increase in the rise of Islamic religious fundamentalism, especially in the Northern parts of the country. This paper explores the different dimensions to the problem of Islamic religious fundamentalism in Nigeria in the 1950s, including an attempt by Britain to involve the French government in the search for solutions to the problem. The paper argues that the problem of Islamic fundamentalism in Nigeria in the 1950s revolved around the doctrinal schism between the two foremost Sufi brotherhoods (the Qādiriyyah and the Tijāniyyah) in West Africa. The fact that the problem arose at a time when Britain was preparing Nigeria for independence merely increased attention to the problem. The paper suggests that even though Britain and France had similar religious experiences in their colonies, the approaches made to solve the problems arising from the issues were similar in content though different in implementation. The paper concludes that although Britain accepted in principle to adopt the French approach, the eventual solution to the problem of religious fundamentalism was arrived at through a combination of local (home-grown) approaches, as well as the domestication of the French ideas.