National Seminar on Muslims and Islamic Scholarship in Twentieth Century Nigeria

Abstract

This seminar was organized by the Center for Islamic Studies (CIS), Usmanu Danfodiyo University (UDU), Sokoto, Nigeria. Many important personalities and academics of merit attended. The main theme was divided into seven subthemes: Islamic scholarship in modem Nigeria, intellectual contributions of notable Muslim scholars, Muslim relations with non-Muslims, Muslim religious groups and national unity, the influence of foreign Muslims on Muslims in Nigeria, contemporary innovation (bidah) and the challenge of Islam, and Muslims and religious practices. Twenty-two papers were presented. During the opening ceremony, speeches were made by Zayyanu Abdullahi (vice-chancellor of Usmanu Danfodiyo University) and Sambo W. Junaid (director, Center of Islamic Studies, Usmanu Danfodiyo University). The paper by Colonel Yakubu Mu’azu (governor of Sokoto State) was delivered by his representative, Muhammad Lawa Maude (commissioner for works, housing, and environment). The representative of Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki (sultan of Sokoto) Magajin Rafi of Sokoto also attended the opening ceremony. In the first session, M. G. Maitafsir (Faculty of Education, UDU) presented “Islamic Scholarship in Nigeria Today: A Way Forward.” He discussed the problem facing Islamic scholarship and offered solutions. Bello D. Bada (Department of Modem European Languages, UDU), speaking on “The Role of Hausa Proverbs in the Propagation of Islam in Nigeria,” explained how some Hausa proverbs containing codes of “do’s” and “don’t’s” similar to Islam help to establish the Islamic faith and practices. Habib al Hassan (Translation Bureau UNESCO, UDU), in his “The Knowledge of HisLsb and Its Teachers in Hausaland (1900-1914),” pointed out that many Nigerian scholars specialize in this area. In a similar paper, “How Hisab is Performed in Hausaland (1900-1914),” he showed through figures and illustrations how mathematics is mixed with magic to find certain hidden facts and to perform certain good or bad actions ...