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MAHDISM IN WEST AFRICA

The Ijebu Mahdiyya Movement

PETER CLARKE 

This is a study of an Islamic millenarian movement, the Mahdiyya, which emerged in Ijebuland, south-western Nigeria, in January 1942. the movement was unusual in its pacifism, in its irenic attitude towards Christianity, and in its aim, the creation of a "new religion of the spirit".

The Mahdiyya, a revitalization movement, adapted a number of Christian rites including marriage and encouraged the integration of Islamic and western education to meet the needs of a small but growing number of younger more westernized Muslims.

the response to the claims and the message of self-proclaimed Mahdi Messiah, Muhammud Jumat Imam, varied. The colonial administration was hostile as were the Muslim, Christian and traditional leaders. The popular response, although by no means uniform, was much more enthusiastic, especially among women.

The Mahdiyya, which splintered on the death of its founder in 1959 over the interrelated questions of inheritance and the right of a women to be the overall leader of the movement, providided many who lived on the margins of the old and new worlds with an ideoligy that enabled them to cope with the tranisition of modernity. In this and other respects it can be compared and contasted not only with other Nigerian and West African mahdist movements but also with Christian inspired messianic movements, and with marxism's approach to change.

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Luzac Oriental (4 April 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1898942064
• ISBN-13: 978-1898942061
• Product Dimensions: 24.2 x 16.3 x 1.9 cm

Product Code: LUZAC8