Ebira Imamship: Sectorian or reform?
Islam gained momentum during the 10th century in West Africa with the start of the Almoravid dynasty movement on the Senegal River and as rulers and kings embraced Islam. In other words, Islam was already established before the 10th century in West Africa- as known today. Islam then spread slowly in much of the continent […]
Islam gained momentum during the 10th century in West Africa with the start of the Almoravid dynasty movement on the Senegal River and as rulers and kings embraced Islam. In other words, Islam was already established before the 10th century in West Africa- as known today. Islam then spread slowly in much of the continent through trade and preaching. Earlier, by 614 CE Islam travelled through Abyssinia now Ethiopia when the Prophet of Islam and his first set of believers were facing persecution in Mecca.
Ahmad al-Tijani (1737–1815) was born in Aïn Madhi in present-day Algeria and died in Fes, Morocco. He founded the Tijānī order in the 1780s; sources vary as to the exact date between 1781 and 1784. Tijjānīs, speaking for the poor, reacted against the then-dominant conservative, hierarchical Qadiriyyah brotherhood, focusing on social reform and grassroots Islamic revival. Remember, just as Tijanis intended, they never came to dismantle already established principles and creeds of Islam rather to reform them. And there is nothing you add to Islam today that can make the religion more complete.
Over 700 years of Islam in West Africa before the formation of Tijjaniyya. That Tijjaniyya followers had early influence in Islam in Ebiraland can’t be entirely untrue. But where does that leave us as far as Islam in contemporary world? Knowledge is not an exclusive privilege of any Sect or movement and I believe there are many learned scholars of Islam who are of Tijjaniyya order. Good enough, there is no better time to really prove that than now. We must not see Islam as a subsidiary of any sect. Any Group or Movement you belong to, always tie it to Islam, the Belief Prophet Muhammad pioneered to perfection. No Islamic identity like Muslim. You can’t be a Tijjaniyya without first being a Muslim. You can’t be Sunni or Shiite or Ahamdiyya without attaining status of Muslim.
This Imamship is not a contest between Izala and Tijjaniyya and therefore shouldn’t be seen as superiority battle between Sheikh LUKMAN and Mallam Abere in Ebiraland. No! We must erase such mindset. Religion is primarily personal affair, then communal. To establish peaceful Muslim community, Islamic principles are to be followed. However, as lands became countries and states designed by political forces like colonialism and others, application of these Islamic principles are influenced to accommodate diversity of people enclosed in each political boundary. For instance, in Ebiraland, to administer authority on Islamic affairs, a King whose throne is founded on tradition and ethnic heritage, needs to consult Islamic scholars for healthy decision. Where such traditional king makes pronouncements that go against already established Islamic principles and guide, it can be reviewed, or even considered nullity.
Allah will judge us on the basis of good deeds- our fair affairs with fellow man, our sacrifices to uphold humanity and our sincere repentance not the Sect or Movement or Order you fought to project at all cost.
Anold Ali Ovurevu [email protected]