The
strength of Maku’s teaching is that Christians are not unbelievers to be
confronted or persecuted by Muslims in Sẹ̀pẹ̀tẹ̀rí Yorùbáland. Like Maku’s
argument, the Senegalese Imam also suggests, Christians are not kafir (Wisconsin-n.a., 2009).
Yet, Maku’s teaching appeals to tolerance and peacefulness between
Christian and Muslim Yorùbá within the context of the Yorùbá culture,
while many Christians also seek to live in peace and holiness and would
not be ‘fighting their own cousins’ as mentioned in the focus group one
[FGD1] (2016). However, religious militant groups do not often adhere
to these religious interpretations, as gathered among the Sẹ̀pẹ̀tẹ̀rí residents, hence seek an alternative
teaching more fundamentalist in nature. Another factor identified is the slackness in the community leaders' regular house
leaders’ meeting, that eroded their peacefulness.
It is reasonable to infer that the Sẹ̀pẹ̀tẹ̀rí community were quite
peaceful when Mako’s teachings and similar ideas were operational until
less tolerant alternatives were brought in. Thus, a community with
complimentary teachings appear more harmonious than the one with
opposing alternatives. Similarly, in a community with two or more
opposing operational norms, the one that dominates determines the
general outlook of such a community. An understanding of one’s
neighbour’s values, teachings, and interpretations of their religion
increases the community’s ability to sustain their peacefulness.
In the Senegalese context, both religious festivals are celebrated
together by their communities that is made up of mixed families, like
the Yorùbá, although the percentage of Christians is lower, at around
5% (Senegal-n.a., 2009), compared to the equal split among the Yorùbá.
By inference, the common themes of Islam and Christianity are often
encouraged to be discussed in dialogue meetings, rather than the areas
of differences. In the Senegalese context, for instance:
For the Imam (the 83-year-old), ‘Islam’ means ‘peace’. He pointed out
that the Qur’an not only mentions but accepts many prophets in the Bible
such as Moses, Abraham and Jesus. In his community, Muslim and Christian
leaders often invite the other side to official events. For example,
when the Cardinal came to Saint Louis for a visit recently, the Imam was
invited and, because he was too frail to go, he sent a representative.
The main challenges facing the Muslim community are poverty and the
preservation of shrines such as mosques. (Wisconsin).
Lateef2 [2Lateef is a younger Imam while his brother is a convert
to Christianity and a Christian minister.], Mako, and Wọlé (2016;
2016; 2016), in different towns and on different occasions made remarks
in the Yorùbá context in this study. This is an attempt by religious
interpreters and leaders to present religion in a way that facilitates
harmony. Similarly, there was a poverty concern among the Senegalese
(95% Muslims and 5% Christian). Such concerns are present among some
Nigerians. The former Emir of Kano and also the former governor of the
Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, claims poverty is endemic
among northern Nigerian Muslims (2017), whilst Nigeria has had more
Muslim northern leaders as presidents and heads of state than any other
religion’s representation since its independence in 1960. The argument
about poverty in northern Nigeria is logically indefensible.
On a positive note, the southern Nigerian Muslims present the Christians
as their kinsmen and vice versa, as seen in Mako’s suggestion. As far
back as 1800, Yorùbá Muslims have been delighted for their kinsman,
Samuel Ajayi Crowther, becoming a recognized Christian and a bishop of
the Church of England, (Cole, 2004; Law, 1991; Milsome, 1987). Crowther
was the first indigenous Christian bishop in West Africa. The virtues of
love and understanding are paramount for the Yorùbá, as suggested in
FGD1, FGD3 (2016), and further confirmed in the interview with
Babatunde, Ìyabọ̀, and Alhaja at the Ọ̀sálágbẹ̀dẹ compound (2016; 2016;
2016).
The peaceful relations among the Senegalese are like those among the
Yorùbá. Kukah, a Roman Catholic bishop in northern Nigeria writing on
the strength of the interaction between Christians and Muslims in
Senegal, suggests, ‘[a]s history has shown us, any system that is
not anchored on the realisation of the good of all is doomed to fail’
(2007, p. 163). Hence, Senegal has come to attention in recent years
among scholars of anthropology and communication, due to the peaceful
relations among the Senegalese Christians and Muslims. Other attributes
observed among the Senegalese are their culture of hospitality, referred
to as teranga ; mixed marriages; Muslim children accepted in the
Catholic school and thereby coming to understand the other’s beliefs,
and the adults’ participation in both Christian and Muslim festivals
(Senegal-UW-Collaboration, 2009). Also, the Senegalese religious leaders
engaged in dialogue at the community level and have mutual concern for
one another. Research among the Senegalese is ongoing and open for
contributions, asking questions such as:
What do you think of Senegal’s model for interfaith peace? Is it a
special case or can some parts of it be replicated in other countries?
What else can be done to increase mutual understanding of Muslims and
Christians? Senegal-Collaboration. (Collaboration)
In another section, they asked:
What role can religious leaders, Muslim or Christian, play in promoting
interfaith harmony? Will Senegal’s model work in your
community? (Wisconsin).
These are relevant questions, like those in this study among the Yorùbá
located in peace and conflict studies, relevant to dialogue,
anthropology as well as communication studies. Yet, it is not simply a
matter of replicating the Senegalese case, but of discovering other
communities that already exhibit such [inter-religious] harmony.
This is not only to ascertain the means of increasing mutual
understanding among religions but also to analyse what is currently
being done to sustain the peace and manage their disputes. Similarly,
leaders’ roles are as important as the contents of the teachings and the
religious interpretations they provide their followers and the accepted
cultural grounds for accommodating such quest for harmony. So, ongoing
discourses about accommodating religious interaction contribute to the
knowledge of peace in religious society.
Formal and Informal Theological
Discourses
The study in Ògbóm̀ọṣọ́ suggests that family relationships and family
bonds help to resolve disputes when they arise. While the interaction at
this level is mostly informal, it becomes formal when the family head or
designated person is involved to settle the disputes. Akinjogbin’s
theory that the harmonious relationships among the Yorùbá based on theirẸbí connections was initially evident in FGD1 until the FGD1a and
FGD1c presented a deeper view on the theological issue of the Yorùbá
Christians eating Muslims’ festival meals. A closer attention to FGD1
reveals that disputes sometimes occur over the question of whether
Christians should accept Muslims’ festival meals.
While some Christians eat such meals, some do not. Those who reject the
meals support their claim by their belief that Jesus Christ’s final
atonement (see Hebrews Chapter 7 and 8) indicating no further
requirement for a compulsory animal slaughtering in a regulated feast or
sacrifice for worship purposes, which they believe the Muslim festival
constitutes. Discourses along this line are often informal while it
becomes formal only when the family head is involved to present the
reasons for their position about the meal. Either way, the outcome is
always peaceful, understanding each other better for the future possible
engagements.
Rich in FGD1a, Fúnmiláyọ̀ and Sàngó in FGD1c (2016; 2016; 2016), all
being Christians saw nothing wrong with eating a festival meal offered
by Muslim friends or neighbours. Wùmí (2016) in FGD1a and Oyè (2016) in
FGD1c also reject the festival meal as it negates their Christian
beliefs. To the latter, Jesus Christ is the final atonement, and animal
slaughtering for spiritual purposes (implied from the Muslim Eid
Al-Adha festival) are no longer required or demanded by God. Yet, FGD1
unanimously agreed that, when offered such festival meals, Christians
who do not want to eat should be politely in declining the offer, rather
than receiving and disposing it off. A similar discussion emerged in
FGD3, when Wọlé (2016), a Muslim leader who was also the research
assistant at that site expressed his displeasure at non-Muslims (like
Christians), throwing out the meals given to them.
This theological discourse occurs in informal settings among the Yorùbá,
usually unplanned but often well managed. Christians who want to eat
would have made up their minds prior to the festival, as would those who
do not want to eat. Some might change their minds through dialogue and
intelligent discussion either way. In most cases, the Muslim celebrants
will, over time and through years of interaction, identify the Christian
neighbours who will partake in their feast and those who will decline.
As examples, Wùmí, Ọmọbọ (2016) and Oyè will not, while Fúnmiláyọ̀ and
Sàngó will.
There are also instances of Muslims politely declining non-halalmeals as it does not fall in line with the tenets of Islam. Yorùbá
Christians do not knowingly offer such to their Muslim friends or
neighbours. Both religions get along through honest dialogue.
Most formal theological discourses among the Yorùbá take place in their
communities, higher institutions of learning and as organized by
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). One example of an institutional
dialogue was mentioned at FGD1a, where an Islamic Imam and a Roman
Catholic priest were invited to a university to address the students on
understanding their neighbours and peacefulness. A student FGD1a
participant, Ronke (2016), said she was elated that the clerics
expressed the commonalities of the two religions and highlighted the
need for mutual understanding and love. Similarly, one of the notable
NGOs that oversees Christian-Muslim dialogue and understanding in Africa
is the Programme for Christian-Muslim Relations in Africa (PROCMURA),
formerly known as the Islam in African Project. PROCMURA was formed by
Christians to educate interfaith communities through dialogue. It often
organizes programmes that include leaders and scholars from both
religions, and sometimes engages in community awareness and
developmental projects [see (PROCMURA-Witness, n.d.)]. PROCMURA
lists its ‘Christian and Muslim joint programmes of action’ to include:
“Peace and peaceful co-existence between Christians and Muslims and
… [c]arrying out Christian mission and Muslim da’wah in a
manner that respects the spirit of good neighbourliness’ among others.”
(Witness).
The author had served as an Associate Area Adviser for PROCMURA in
western Nigeria from 2002 until 2007 and participated in leading
seminars in Ibadan and Maiduguri. These were formal discourses in
seminar fora with topics around the theological bases of peacefulness
among Christians and Muslims. It has offices in western and northern
Nigeria, and Ibadan (southwest Nigeria) as its headquarters until 1997
before it was moved to Nairobi, Kenya, (PROCMURA-Nigeria, n.d.).
PROCMURA’s operations among the Yorùbá for many years could have
contributed to their peaceful relationships. Both formal and informal
dialogues are common among the Yorùbá, which they often use to improve
their understanding of one another’s expectations to strengthen their
unity.
Intolerance and Outside
Influence
Another theme relevant to religion supporting harmony among the Yorùbá
is their ability to manage intolerance and outside negative influences.
This theme may appear negative, but the community’s ability to handle
the situation determines the outcomes on individual cases. According to
Kúnlé (2016) in the FGD2 (2016), poor teaching and hatred expressed in
Christian sermons and Islamic da’wah (preaching) by Muslims guest
preachers, when not well handled can cause conflict. Like Kúnlé, Mako, a
Muslim respected cleric suggests Muslim da’wah (preaching) should
not be confrontational. Mako adds that insults and assault should not be
condoned in the interaction between Christians and Muslims, and
provocative statements about one another’s religion should be avoided.
These are the leaders’ ways of mediating in conflict situation within
the Sẹ̀pẹ̀tẹ̀rí community as an example.
Moreover, the FGD2 participants in Sẹ̀pẹ̀tẹ̀rí expressed dismay at the
interactions between the two religions that turned sour since a Yorùbá
Muslim trainee (Ọ̀jẹ̀labí) returned to Sẹ̀pẹ̀tẹ̀rí from Cairo and spread
antagonism and disunity among the people. They argue that Ọ̀jẹ̀labí taught
some Muslim residents of Sẹ̀pẹ̀tẹ̀rí the art of violent jihad ,
encouraging attacks on Christians and teaching a mode of dressing, and
methods of naming and burial. Some Muslims who became his followers were
violent towards the Christian community. The Sẹ̀pẹ̀tẹ̀rí general community
could not bear the intolerance that followed, which led to violence,
arson, arrests, and court cases. Gideon (2016) provides the names of
those responsible for the spread of the conflicts between Christian and
Muslim residents who have all died through natural causes (their names
are withheld in this writing). He states:
In 1952, the Sẹ̀pẹ̀tẹ̀rí Improvement Union (SIU) was founded by the elites,
without any Muslims then. [And] thirty years on, there has been
harmony in Sẹ̀pẹ̀tẹ̀rí. You could hardly see any difference in the ways the
traditionalists, Christians, and Muslims lived. [But] the Christians
seemed to be more prosperous. Suddenly, some kids [young people]
began to behave differently. […] Some encouraged certain boys
to cause a problem for leading Christians so that Muslims might rise,
(paraphrased).
One does not know the reason why Muslims were not involved in the SIU,
but it was claimed they all welled together in unity. Gideon further
accused Ọ̀jẹ̀labí33All the names used are either pseudo names or
reworded in a way to keep the anonymity of the participants. of
teaching Samex, who burnt down a Baptist Church in Shaki, a few miles
from Sẹ̀pẹ̀tẹ̀rí. Ọ̀jẹ̀labí, according to Gideon, falsely accused some
Christians of violence when Christians were exercising self-defence.
Ọ̀jẹ̀labí also was later caught in another violent act and arrested by the
police. All these bother on the education Ọ̀jẹ̀labí received from outside
of the community which did not support tolerance. The problem was
aggravating, breeding ‘hatred and individualism’ according to Kúnlé. He
adds: ‘[…] After the death of the King, the town found it
difficult to install a successor because the Christians were careful of
accepting a Muslim king that will sanction Islamic domination over
Sẹ̀pẹ̀tẹ̀rí town.’ The negative image of Islam presented by Ọ̀jẹ̀labí put the
Christians off, although the deceased king was a friendly Muslims, they
no longer want a Muslims king during the time Ọ̀jẹ̀labí continued to have
influence in their town. Leadership and learned behaviour that prevails
in the community has impact on the societal peacefulness.
Another report Gideon presented concerns the inter-state underground
(outside) plans to cause violence against the Yorùbá people:
17 May 2015. I was at Tagita, the Republic of Benin in my guest house.
In the next (adjacent) room, the occupant, a Fulani who had taken his
father for hospital treatment spoke to me. The man talked about Kaiama
in Kwara State of Nigeria. He inquired about a man who built a big
mansion in Sẹ̀pẹ̀tẹ̀rí whether he was a Christian or a Muslim. When he
heard the man was a Christian, he warned that he (the Fulani young man)
has been invited to KMS Islamic village near Iseyin (Ọ̀yọ́ State) for a
lecture. There, he met many people, including two people from Sẹ̀pẹ̀tẹ̀rí,
training for a Boko Haram type of mission. Their focus was to burn down
Sẹ̀pẹ̀tẹ̀rí and spare only Muslims.
Gideon informed his church, on his return to Nigeria about the above
narration. The Deputy Governor of Ọ̀yọ́ at that time was informed by an
Ìgbòho indigene (name withheld).
There are many topics being discussed at various levels and problems
being spotted and resolved. The level of religious provocation, however,
grew when some members of the community tacitly or willingly co-operated
with the outside influences engineered by Ọ̀jẹ̀labí’s strange teachings to
become intolerant. The provocation by the intolerant group took root in
the area due to a lack of proactive leadership. At the same time,
without the insiders’ co-operation, it would have been difficult for
intolerance to blossom, which authenticates the Yorùbá saying, olè
ilé ní ńsí ìlẹ̀kùn fún tòde (‘the thief in the house opens the door for
the burglars’).
One of the reasons for the militants’ rebellion can be attributed to
their not being involved in development projects as could be inferred
from the earlier Gideon’s quote, even when Gideon could not see this as
important. However, the responsible way of rectifying the imbalance
should not be Ọ̀jẹ̀labí’s led violence, which has some economic undertone.
Nevertheless, the supposed leaked planned training to attack the
unsuspecting Sẹ̀pẹ̀tẹ̀rí Christians negates the act of ọmọlúàbí , the
Yorùbá ethic of human relation.
To further provide space between the two communities for peace to be
restored, many Sẹ̀pẹ̀tẹ̀rí Christians have begun to send their children to
privately own fee-paying schools where the hijab is not allowed,
as the hijab becomes violently enforced rather than being a
simple spiritual or religious attire. The Muslims who prefer thehijab for their children put them in the hijab -approved
government-funded schools. A few who wanted a more quality fee-education
for their children kept them in the fee-paying schools, while tolerating
the non-acceptance of the hijab .
On a positive note, Mako is known for his religious toleration and many
Sẹ̀pẹ̀tẹ̀rí Christians speak well of him. This implies that not all
Sẹ̀pẹ̀tẹ̀rí Muslims are violent towards Christians and the violent
individuals are in the minority. The intensity of the intolerance and
the responses of the responsible religious community determine its
peacefulness. Good examples are the welcoming disposition of Mako in
Sẹ̀pẹ̀tẹ̀rí and the Sọ̀ún of Ògbóm̀ọṣọ́land, both Muslims and both showing
love and support for Christian and Muslim communities together. In 2017,
the Sọ̀ún released the formerly leased land as a gift to the Nigerian
Baptist Convention, the site of the Nigerian Baptist Theological
Seminary, and the Bowen University Teaching Hospital Ògbóm̀ọṣọ́. This is a
kind of gesture towards Christians by a Muslim leader in Yorùbáland.
In short, a violent fanatical group threatened the peace of the Sẹ̀pẹ̀tẹ̀rí
residents while a lack of development among the Muslims being one of the
reasons assumed for the aggression. However, when the operators of some
of the town projects like the fishpond were forced to leave because of
the violence and the project deteriorated with no competent committed
hand to take over. Violence does not serve the right purpose to correct
a perceived economic inequality. Another cause of violence was the
outside adverse learned behaviour alien to the community. The ability to
stop such often helps to keep the peace. The two communities, Christians
and Muslims, however, learned to balance their preferences about their
children’s use or non-use of the hijab in schools through
understanding and tolerance.
In general, the Yorùbá are peaceful, trying to avoid conflict that has a
connection to religion as they seek to treat each other as family
(Ẹbí ). It is, however, unclear how the supposed harmonious Yorùbá
communities will handle the underground attempts of the outsiders’
influence on their peacefulness. That is the influence of unfriendly
education received from outside of the community and any other outside
influences in the context of what the Yorùbá refer to as the olè
ilé ní ńsí ìlẹ̀kùn fún tòde (‘the resident thief [outlawed] that has
potential to open the door for the burglars’). Or put in another
way, bí kú ilé kò bá pani, tòde kò lè pani , meaning if your
household security is strong, the outside invaders will find encroaching
impossible.
2.3 Peaceful Societies and Fear of Strangers
(Outsiders)
Considering the peaceful societies’ corresponding attitudes to strangers
in already established scholarly works, I refer to the Paliyans, Semai,
and Chewong as examples here. There are various situations that mend the
frequency and seriousness of disputes among the Paliyans, but often they
maintain non-violence as they avoid external pressure or influence,
other possible causes of violence like alcoholism and a lack of respect
(Gardner, 2000). The Semai had suffered enslavement in the hands of the
Malays their neighbour as well as being kidnapped, raided, and killed.
The Semai, thus teach their children to fear strangers through the
teaching of terrifying stories of strangers’ violence. Such early
childhood training influences the later life of Semai people, (Dentan,
2001, pp. 89, 90). The Chewong also fear outsiders like the Malays and
Chinese. Brave people with the potential to harm falls outside of the
Chewong ‘moral universe’ (Howell, 1989, p. 53).
One may ask for how the PS cope with life and what are their attitudes
to modernity? The PS’s knowledge often informed the reasons for their
fears as they often leave the site of danger or strangers based on their
previous experience. Sometimes, they assess the situation or ideas being
introduced to them for its value contents and if it does not contradict
their community values. Although they maintain their values and appear
as closed groups, some PS appear to be selective in what they consider
relevant to their well-being. Bonta reports that the Canadian Hutterites
respond well to the recent coronal virus (covid-19) outbreak by
restricting other colonies’ access to their community. They also stopped
the eating together in their communal dining hall as they used to do
before the outset of the global pandemic. They go out only for the
essential commodities and use hand sanitizers, gloves, and masks. Being
Christians, they have reduced the number acceptable for each worship
service to 15 and do that in turn to accommodate all the people in their
colony, (Bonta, 2020). Furthermore, the Inuit use radio communication to
air complaint, educate their community, and express warmth for social
interaction, yet with a few traditional groups who prefer privacy rather
than bringing concerns on the public radio, (Briggs, 2000, p. 122). As
reserved as most PS appear to be, some are open to modern societies,
although selective on what they consider beneficial without jeopardising
their interest and valued life choices. The Yorùbá also find the use of
radio useful in propagating their values through talks, music, jokes
[àwàdà ], drama and cinemas.
Most of the PS live in underdeveloped communities as the Ju/’hoansi live
in the desert, lacking medical facilities, with their life expectancy
and fertility rates low, and child mortality high, (Biesele and Howell,
2015). A helping hand will be relevant yet, the PS’s worldview must be
studied with carefulness by non-residents. For instance, many of them
lack electricity, but may not feel the lack as much as those in the
modern societies would think they do because some never had it and would
not feel its absence so desperately as researchers might think they do.
2.4 Religious Heritage and Socio-Cultural Values: The
Meeting
Point
An average Yorùbá cherishes religious consciousness and the concept of
eternal judgement. They socialize through celebrations such as weddings,
baby naming, birthday parties, new house opening, funerals and other
areas considered an essential part of living that calls for rejoicing.
They interact through family connection and community meeting. Muslim
neighbours, for instance, attended Ọpẹ́’s wedding ceremony (2016) and
joined in the wedding reception, where people ate, drank, and danced to
the provided music. In the Senegalese context, UguccioniI mentions the
Muslim leaders’ request for prayer from the Christian priest:
Relations between Christian and Muslim religious authorities are also
very friendly. Father Flavio cites, among many, two episodes that he
considers key: ‘Some time ago a boy came to tell me that the imam of the
neighborhood wanted to see me. When I came to him I discovered that he
had been ill for a week: he had called me because he wanted us to pray
together. Another imam, two years ago, when his third son was born,
asked me for the courtesy of reaching him because he wanted me to bless
the newborn’. (UguccioniI, 2018).
This shows the level of trust that people can have for one another in
times of need. In this research, Ronke (FGD1a) expresses how a Muslim
landlord often requested prayer from herself, a Christian university
student tenant while going to church or Christian student fellowship
meeting. This is a common practice among the Yorùbá, requesting prayers
during Christian worship. Muslims participated in the cooking during the
graduation ceremony of Sàngó from the seminary as a trained Christian
minister, and Wọlé travelled from southwest to northern Nigeria for the
wedding of a former colleague’s daughter, even though they do not
practise the same religion. Both Christians and Muslims were present at
the funeral service of an 81-year-old Christian clergyman in Ògbóm̀ọṣọ́
during this study. These are some of the social-religious occasions
where members of the two religions meet for positive engagements, in
addition to their daily encounters at work and in the neighbourhood.
With reference to the 81-year-old’s funeral mentioned earlier, the
deceased was a Christian minister from a Muslim background. The author
interviewed two women cousins of the deceased. The Muslim woman was with
her hijab on while the Christian dressed in the Yorùbá woman’s
attire with a neck and headscarf both walking towards the church for the
funeral. Christians and Muslims were present at the funeral. The Muslim
men who were not willing to remove their caps as the Christian Yorùbá
men do at worship sat in the company of other worshippers and
sympathisers under the canopy outside the church building, as the inside
hall was full. The Muslim women present wore the hijab and sat
throughout the service. One can see that the Yorùbá people see beyond
their religious differences and celebrate with one another, doing so
without necessarily compromising their individual faith. The Yorùbá
describe their coming together for social celebrations asaárẹ̌misé , a social concept
rooted in the Yorùbá culture. Social interaction is a binding force
among many Yorùbá as well as the PS.