Browsing by Author "Musa, Afiz Oladimeji"

The need to reconcile Islam and modernity assumed its prime in the discourse of the scholars and intellectuals throughout the 19th century. This issue was said to be addressed solely through the reform of the Islamic political, economic and administrative system along the Western pattern. While some scholars arguably condemned this view as a lavish infidel imitation, others justified it substantially from an Islamic standpoint, not only as a necessity but also as having been entrenched in Islam. Khayr al-Den al-Tenise had a pioneering effort in conceptualizing as well as Islamizing the whole reform project through his masterpiece entitled, Aqwem al-Maselik fe Manrifat Alwel al-Mamelik. The approach he espoused to implement his reform ideas, and the indelible impact that they have left, particularly, on Tunisia, his adoptive country, and, generally, on the Muslim world are the major focus of this research.

Jalabi is an extant historical phenomenon with strong socio-religious impacts in the Yorubaland, south-western part of Nigeria. It was among the preparatory DÑawah strategies devised by the Yoruba ÑUlamÉ’ following the general mainstream Africa to condition the minds of the indigenous people for the acceptance of Islam. This strategy is reflected in certain socio-religious services rendered to the clients, which include, but not limited to, spiritual consultation and healing, such as petitionary duÑÉ’ (prayer), divination through sand-cutting, rosary selection, charm-making, and an act of officiating at various religious functions. In view of its historicity, the framework of the thesis revolves around three stages identified to have been aligned with the evolution of Jalabi, viz. DaÑwah, which marked its initial stage, livelihood into which it had evolved over the course of time, and which, in turn, had predisposed it to the third stage, namely syncretism. Triangulation method was adopted for qualitative data collection, such as interviews, personal observation, and classified manuscript collections, and then was interpretively and critically analyzed to enhance the veracity of the thesis findings. The orality of the Yoruba culture has greatly influenced the researcher’s decision to seek data beyond the written words in order to give this long-standing phenomenon its due of study and to help understand the many dimensions it has assumed over time, as well as it’s both positive and adverse effects on the socio-religious live of the Yoruba people of Nigeria.