Nigerian Chrislam

The question of Sharia in Nigeria greatly exacerbated Muslim–Christian tensions in the late 70s, when Nigeria adopted a new constitution after shifting from military to civil political rule.[1] The question in 1978 was whether Nigeria would adopt a secular constitution, or subscribe to Sharia law.[6] Given the relatively even split of Nigeria's Muslim population—constituting almost 50%[1][6] of the population—the viability of Sharia law was uncertain for the Nigerian state. This created conflict with Nigeria's Christian population, as well as other minority religions that opposed the adoption of Sharia law.[6]

The Supreme Military Council appointed the Constitutional Drafting Committee, which proposed the role of a Federal Sharia Court of Appeal.[6] This dated back to the period of indirect rule under the British, who helped rationalize an Islamic court system in the North from 1933 onwards.[6] Following the end of the colonial era, Sharia criminal law was replaced with a comprehensive secular criminal code for the newly independent nation.[6] Thereafter, the Court of Appeal was limited to civil cases between Muslim litigants, and there was no longer a final court of appeal for matters relating to Sharia law.[6] This served as a strategic political move to limit the unified power of the Northern states; establishing Sharia law in the North would have necessitated a state-acknowledged political existence of a legally distinct Northern Region.[6]

Moreover, the North-South divide meant that the establishment of Sharia Law would have served as a counterweight to the concentrated economic and social power of the South.[7][6] The South, which has never practiced Sharia law, captured the majority of jobs in civil service and commerce during the colonial period.[7] The adoption of Sharia law served as a symbolic assertion of the North's influence on the Constitution, and as a leverage against the economic and administrative power of the South.[6] The Sharia debate resulted in a wave of political and religious explosiveness, with fears and conspiracies of a consolidated Islamic Republic in the North.[6] The 1979 Constitution eliminated all provisions for a Federal Sharia Court of Appeal.[6]

The Muslim–Christian conflict has also been attributed to various socioeconomic grievances that are a product of colonial and postcolonial conditions. The disparaging wealth gap between Nigeria's predominantly Muslim north and Christian south has colonial era roots, with the British favoring the emergence of a Christian elite governing class.[7][1] This elite class went on to control much of the postcolonial economy, with much of Nigeria's economy being focused in the south in major cities such as the capital, Abuja.[7]

The south-west Yorubaland proves an exception to the Muslim–Christian geographical divide, existing as a religiously plural vicinity. Yorubaland is home to Muslims, Christians and practitioners of traditional Yoruba religion, who have coexisted for centuries and are relatively evenly mixed amongst the population.

Furthermore, the Muslim–Christian struggle has heavily involved college students across the country. In 1987, Christians belonging to the Federation of Christian Students at the College of Education in Kafanchan, Kaduna, organized what they called the "Mission '87 in Jesus Campus,"[1] This was placed on a banner at the entrance of the college, so as to assert the campus as a Christian religious space.[1] Muslim students proceeded to remove the banner and began to protest a talk being delivered on campus by a Muslim convert to Christianity.[1] Muslim students claimed that the converted Muslim was misinterpreting Quranic verses and discrediting the teachings of Muhammad. This religious struggle then extended beyond the college campus, resulting in violence amongst Muslim and Christian students across urban centers in Northern and Central Nigeria.[1] College campuses remained a hotbed for Muslim–Christian tensions in the following years.

The rise of Pentecostalism in Nigeria has contributed to the onset of Chrislam and the changing religious landscape in the country.[8] Pentecostalism was pioneered by university staff and students in Nigeria's urban centers in the 1970s, and is seen as a product of increased higher education and urban growth fueled by oil revenues.[1] The emergence of Nigerian Pentecostalism began in the 1970s, during a particularly prosperous era for Nigeria's South due to the oil-boom of the 1970s.[8][1] For the south, an elite class emerged and profited, participating in conspicuous consumption and forming a connected upper-class network.[8] This further intensified wealth gaps in Nigerian society, and Pentecostal leaders openly condemned the accumulation of wealth.[8]

Subsequently, with the 1980s economic crisis spiraling the continent into economic downturn, and the rapid decline in political conditions, an increasing number of Nigerians turned towards Pentecostalism for guidance and grounding.[8] Pentecostalism had particular appeal due to its teaching of the potential to be "born again" as Christians through encounters with Jesus.[8] The promise of being born again provided many Nigerians with spiritual grounding and optimism amidst economic devastation.[8] Furthermore, Nigerian Pentecostalism drew many followers away from mainline Protestant, Roman Catholic and African Independent churches.[1] This further contributed to religious polarization and cleavages in the country, with conflict between sects of Christianity as well as non-Christian faiths.[1]

Muslim–Christian tensions in the 1970s are characterized as primarily youth-based and mutually demonizing campaigns, using rhetoric to pit each group against the other.[8] Pentecostal theology condemned Islamic healing practices, Sufi rituals and Islamic symbols. Pentecostalism also played a prominent role in opposition to Sharia law and fueled conspiracies of an Islamic takeover of the continent by 2005.[8] Moreover, Nigerian Pentecostalism iterated rhetoric of "a life and death battle with the enemy,"[1] which was widely interpreted as a reference to a battle against Muslims. Muslims responded through the rise of Reformist Islam, calling for a revival and strict adherence to Islamic traditions. This included the rise of proselytization campaigns, and mirroring the rhetoric of Pentecostal groups through vilifying rhetoric against Christians.[1][8]

The first dated Chrislam movement is traced to a Yoruba man named Tela Tella.[1] It is generally known that Tella was originally a Muslim prior to his revelations that necessitated his career as a Chrislam preacher. Ifeoluwa is translated from Yoruba to mean "The Love of God Mission," which Tella uses to refer to his Chrislam mission. Similar to Islam, Ifeoluwa is based on 5 pillars: "love," "mercy," "joy," "good deeds," and "truth."[1]

The Ifeoluwa creed reads:

The God of Jesus is One
The God of Muhammad is One
Humanity is One
Chrislam, Chrislam, Chrislam[1]

Marloes Janson is a specialist on the study of Chrislam in Nigeria, and has conducted extensive research in the area including direct interviews and transcripts of Tella's sermons. According to Janson, Tella refers to himself as "an instrument in the hands of God,"[1] and that God communicates with him through divine revelations. Tella conducts services for a small congregation in Lagos, who meet weekly on Saturdays. Tella explains that he did not want to conduct services on Friday because it leant itself to the Muslim faith, nor on Sundays for fear of favoring the Christian faith.[1] The Saturday service takes place in Tella's temple, which Janson describes as "a garage-like white building with in the middle a colorful altar that is separated from the prayer ground where, like in a mosque, the congregation sits on the floor."[1] Muslim and Christian worship songs are sung, the Quran and Bible are both consulted, and prayers combine Muslim and Christian elements. The sermon is delivered in Yoruba and English.[1] In addition to the weekly Saturday service, a Holy Ghost service is held on Friday which constitutes an all-night prayer meeting. Once a year, a pilgrimage to "Mount Authority" is made, which lasts for 3 days of uninterrupted prayer and fasting. Tella states that like Muslims have Mecca, and Christians have Jerusalem, the holy site of pilgrimage for Chrislamists is Mount Authority, which was divinely chosen by God.[1]

Tella states that the holy scriptures of Islam and Christianity are "incomplete and contain some inaccuracies."[1] Hence, Tella is working on compiling the Ifeoluwa Book, which will be the last Holy Book containing his divine revelations.[1] Tella's teachings focus on the closeness of Islam and Christianity, and how God does not love one religion over the other.[1]

To become a member of Ifeoluwa, members must pass an initiation rite that requires years of spiritual training.[1] The Initiation Rite involves the observance of 80 rules and regulations that strictly outline a moral Chrislam lifestyle, including dress codes such as head-covering practices in Islam, and dietary restrictions based on the Old Testament.[1] Initiates then progress along a series of religious ranks, with each rank being symbolized by colored belts worn on white gowns. Initiates must also fast on Fridays, the most holy day in the Muslim calendar, to obtain spiritual closeness to God.

In 1989, Dr. Samsindeen Saka claimed to found his own Chrislam movement. The Yoruba name Oke Tude is translated to "The Mountain of Losing Bondage,"[1] alluding to Pentecostal discourse. Oke Tude stipulates that progress in life is inhibited by evil powers that hold persons trapped in bondage with Satan. Like Tella, Saka was also a former Muslim prior to his rebirth as a Chrislamist. After returning from a Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, he was inspired to launch his new ministry.[9]

Tude is the religious ritual of "running deliverance," during which worshippers run 7 times around a replica of the Kaaba which contains a well of holy water, while shouting "Allahu Akbar" and "Hallelujah." It is believed that running deliverance will free individuals of evil forces and allow possession of the Holy Spirit.[1]

A PBS special aired in 2008 featured a sermon from a small church in Lagos, Nigeria. When speaking of his divine revelations, Saka stated that "Then there is a lot of people killing themselves in Nigeria 19 years ago. So I was praying and lying down and the Lord told me, 'Make peace between Muslims and Christians.'"[9]

Saka operates his main Chrislam worship center in Lagos, with three smaller Oke Tude branches in Lagos, three in Abuja, one in Ibadan and a house fellowship in London.[1] Sermons involve both the Quran and Bible, worship songs and dance, and Saka's sermons - which he calls lectures.[9][1] Moreover, Saka emphasizes the shared origins of the two faiths as Abrahamic religions. In the 2008 PBS special, Saka tells his congregation that "Abraham has many children, and is the Father of Islam and the Father of Christianity. Why are the Muslims and Christians fighting?"[9]

The Oke Tude anthem states:

Our God, the Creator, hear us
Oh God, bless the Prophet Isa (Jesus)
And the noble Prophet (Muhammad)
Oh God, bless Samsindeen (Saka)
And the noble Prophet
Oke Tude, deliver us
Deliver us from illness
Oke Tude, deliver us[1]

To become a member of Oke Tude, conversion from previous religious affiliations is not necessary.[1] Initiates must buy a copy of both the Bible and Quran, and are expected to run Tude for 7 consecutive days.[1] During initiation, new members sometimes temporarily stay in the Oke Tude guesthouse, which is run by Saka and serves as an additional source of income for him.[1]

Oke Tude also offers a special spiritual outlet for women seeking to bear children. Many women who have been unable to conceive have joined Oke Tude due to its promise of destroying the 'yoke of barrenness'[1] through specific prayer rituals. Additionally, Oke Tude has attracted many unemployed and disenfranchised youth from the Lagos area, thanks to opportunities of small loans, business opportunities, and social networking connections offered by Saka.[1]