ISLAMIC EDUCATION IN NORTHERN NIGERIA
Page 1 of 1 • Share
- Engr_JosephLv2: Member
- Gender : Male
State : None
My Club :
Posts : 73 Posts Liked : 38
ISLAMIC EDUCATION IN NORTHERN NIGERIA
The legacy bequeathed to mankind through the divine precepts and the efforts of the early Muslim scholars were the major reasons for the development of Islamic system of education in the North. Ozigi (1981) observed “there were many scholars in Borno almost a thousand years ago”. The trend in the spread of Islamic education is similar to North Africa and the Western Sudan. The Arab traders poured into the Savannah region, which included the Northern part of Nigeria as early as the first half of the eighth century. They gradually moved into the interior until they reached the Kanem area in the eleventh century. The King of Kanem, Umne Jilmi (1085 – 1097) embraced Islam and became zealous of the Islamic learning, a course that he pursued until his death in 1097. The successive rulers sustained the tempo of Islamization through Islamic education in the Kanem after Jilmi. They pursued Islamic education and established strong ties with the West African states. This relationship
facilitated the pursuance of further learning abroad.
The Kingdom of Kanem expanded later to include Borno, which became the seat of rule and a centre of learning. Between Kanem and the Songhai Empire, observed Ozigi (1981) laid the “Hausa States comprising of Katsina, Kano, Daura, Zamfara, Gobir, Kebbi and Zazzau”. The rulers of these areas became influenced by their trading contacts with the North Africans and converted to Islam. The Islamic practices were mixed with the traditional forms of worship i.e. spirit worship by the rulers, who saw it as a potent source of power over their people. This was the initial problem that set the Muslim clerics against the rulers and thus provided strong bases for the series of Jihads (holy wars) waged in the Western Sudan, which aimed at purging the area of unIslamic practices. The Jihad of Shehu Usman Dan Fodio in the Sokoto Caliphate was one such religious wars fought to rid the area of the heathen practices and excesses of the Hausa rulers.
Similar topics
Create an account or log in to leave a reply
You need to be a member in order to leave a reply.
Page 1 of 1
Permissions in this forum:
You can reply to topics in this forum