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 Shia Islamportal |
Shia Islam in Africa is the continent's second most widely professed sect of Islam behind Sunni Islam.
| Part of a series on Shia Islam |
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| Shia Islamportal |
Shia Islam in Africa is the continent's second most widely professed sect of Islam behind Sunni Islam.
The "African Shia Islamic Movement" is a Nigeria-based organization. Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky is the leader of the movement. [1] It was founded in the 1980s, after Zakzaky traveled to Iran and was inspired by the 1979 Iranian Revolution. [2] In 2014, a procession of Shias celebrating Quds Day attempted to pass a military checkpoint. A standoff ensued, with the Nigerian soldiers firing warning shots at the protesting Shias, who reportedly responded by throwing rocks at the soldiers, who then opened fire, reportedly killing 35 Shias, among them three of Zakzaky's children. [3] In 2015, IMN protestors blocked a public road which a convoy containing Nigerian general Tukur Buratai was attempting to pass. The incident was described by the Nigerian military as an assassination attempt, a charge which the IMN denies. [4] [5] In retaliation, the Nigerian military launched a series of raids in the ancient town of Zaria, claiming it was in an effort to preempt attacks from the IMN. These raids resulted in the deaths of reportedly as many as 300 Nigerian Shias. Zakzaky himself was wounded and captured, along with one of his wives, and charges of murder were brought against him over the road blocking incident earlier that year. [6] In 2019, protests broke out once more as a delegation belonging to the IMN stormed the National Assembly in Abuja to protest the continued incarceration of Zakzaky. The resulting melee killed at least two, though details of the incident are unclear. [7] These protests moved the Nigerian government to officially ban the IMN on July 28, 2019, citing "acts of terrorism and illegality." [8] Exactly two years later, Zakzaky would be released, after a court cleared him of all charges. [9]
Shia Islam in Senegal is practiced by both native Senegalese people, and the Lebanese community in Senegal. [10] One of their primary leaders was Sheikh Abdul-Mun'am Az-zain, who primarily served the Lebanese community but was also open to spread it to the Senegalese. The Sheikh built Shi'a schools and mosques and also provided scholarships to Senegalese students. 1% of Senegalese people practice Shi'a Islam. Major Shia organizations in Senegal include the Mozdahir International Institute, headed by Senegalese Shi'i religious leader Cherif Mohamed Aly Aidara. [11]
Historically, Egypt was ruled for two centuries by the Ismaili Shia Fatimid Caliphate. Egypt came under Sunni control with the rise of Saladin and the Ayyubid Sultanate in the 12th century. This history has created a complicated situation in Egypt with regards to the Sunni-Shia divide, with a common saying being "Egypt is Sunni by Sect, Shia in temperament." [12] An accurate estimation of the current number of Shia Muslims in Egypt is difficult to attain, ranging from as few as 50,000 to as many as 2 million adherents. Today, Shias face persecution in modern Egypt, though the situation for them may be slowly improving. While President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Egypt's powerful Salafist movement have both characterized Shias as having deviated from proper Islamic tradition, and accused the sect of working with Iran to spread a renewed, Shia Persian Empire, actual treatment of Shias by the Egyptian government has been less harsh since the ousting of Mohammed Morsi in 2013. [13] Sunni-Shia tensions in Egypt had previously reached a breaking point when a Salafi mob, motivated by anti-Shia rhetoric by the Muslim Brotherhood and President Morsi, lynched four Shias in Cairo in 2013. [14] Hosni Mubarak's administration, meanwhile, imprisoned more than 300 Shias in 2009 without justification. [15]
According to two studies by the Pew Research Center, around 10% of Muslims in Tanzania are Shia. [16] [17]
During the Muslim movement in the United States during the 20th century, the African American community was also introduced to Shia Islam. The majority of African American in that time were not aware of the Sunni-Shia divide, although most became Sunni due to how it was more widespread, a lack of access to Shia learning materials, as well as the stigma associated with Shia Islam. The 1979 Iranian Revolution gave Shia Muslims a voice within the Muslim community. This was the time when African Americans were first exposed to Shia Islam, and by 1982, more than one thousand African Americans had accepted Shia Islam in Philadelphia alone. Many Salafi and Wahhabi preachers were unhappy about the growth of Shia Islam, and began telling African American Muslims that it was disbelief, which alienated African American Shias from their community. [18] African American Sunnis, encouraged by Sunni extremist missionaries, often attacked African American Shias in prisons. [19]
A popular African American Shia preacher is Amir Hakeem, who joined the Nation of Islam in prison and later converted to Shia Islam before being released. Hakeem became an assistant at a mosque in Watts and hosts charity work as well as teaching gang members in Los Angeles about Shia Islam. He stated that the Shia community of Watts is predominantly African Americans. [20]
Malcolm Shabazz, the grandson of Malcolm X, also converted to Shia Islam and had died as a Shia Muslim. [21]
Jamaica has a Muslim population of around 1,500. Hosay is a Shia Muslim tradition which was brought to Jamaica and the Caribbean by the South Asian community. [22] [23] [24]
In East Africa, there is a large community of Ismaili Shias, mostly being Indian diaspora in Africa, most of which being a result of a deliberate effort by Aga Khan III, the 47th imam of the Nizari Ismaili sect of Islam. However, Shias have lived in East Africa as early as the sixteenth century, with one story claiming the first Shia to migrate to the region having done so while assisting Vasco da Gama.
You want to know the first member of our family to be in Africa and when? Well, hisname was Mohamed, and he was known as ‘Kana Maalim’. That name means “Master ofthe Tiller’, because in the language of Gujarbhadalat, which is where we Badalas arefrom, the word for tiller, or rudder, is ‘sukhan’. He was the who showed Vasco De Gamathe way from Malindi to India'' [25]
Shias began migrating in greater numbers to East Africa with the establishment of the Omani Sultanate in 1840, becoming merchants and readers along the coast. A few decades later, the immigration of Ismaili Shias from India to East Africa greatly increased, as the Aga Khan's efforts to encourage migration began. [26] British official Sir Bartle Frere estimated that more than 700 Ismaili families lived in Zanzibar in 1876, an increase of about three hundred in the past 16 years, a wave of immigration which can be traced directly to "the advice of the imam (Aga Khan III)." [27] The Ismaili community in western India had been stricken with poverty and famine, and the edicts of the imam encouraging migration were done in an attempt for his followers to find greater economic opportunity while remaining under British protection. [28] The current Aga Khan remains active in the region, and has founded a development network dedicated to improving the economic conditions of Ismaili communities around the world, including the East African countries of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, and Mozambique, where most of the migrants who left India in the late 19th and early 20th centuries moved to. [29]
In 1972, Ugandan President Idi Amin ordered the expulsion of all persons of Asian descent from Uganda, which included the Nizari Ismailis. The Aga Khan IV called then-Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, whose government accepted thousands of Nizaris into Canada. [30]
Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (khalīfa) and the Imam after him, most notably at the event of Ghadir Khumm, but was prevented from succeeding Muhammad as the leader of the Muslims as a result of the choice made by some of Muhammad's other companions (ṣaḥāba) at Saqifah. This view primarily contrasts with that of Sunnī Islam, whose adherents believe that Muhammad did not appoint a successor before his death and consider Abū Bakr, who was appointed caliph by a group of senior Muslims at Saqifah, to be the first rightful (rāshidūn) caliph after Muhammad. Adherents of Shia Islam are called Shia Muslims.
Isma'ilism is a branch or sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the Twelver Shia, who accept Musa al-Kadhim, the younger brother of Isma'il, as the true Imām.
A madhhab, is a school of thought within Islamic jurisprudence.
Aga Khan is a title held by the Imām of the Nizari Ismāʿīli Shias. Since 1957, the holder of the title has been the 49th Imām, Prince Shah Karim al-Husseini, Aga Khan IV. Aga Khan claims to be a direct descendant of Muhammad, the last prophet according to the religion of Islam.
In Shia Islam, the Imamah is a doctrine which asserts that certain individuals from the lineage of the Islamic prophet Muhammad are to be accepted as leaders and guides of the ummah after the death of Muhammad. Imamah further says that Imams possess divine knowledge and authority (Ismah) as well as being part of the Ahl al-Bayt, the family of Muhammad. These Imams have the role of providing commentary and interpretation of the Quran as well as guidance.
Shah Karim al-Husayni, is the 49th and current Imam of Nizari Ismailis. He has held the position of Imam and the title of Aga Khan since 11 July, 1957, when, at the age of 20, he succeeded his grandfather, Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan III. The Aga Khan claims direct lineal descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, Ali, who is considered an Imam by Nizari Ismailis, and Ali's wife Fatima, Muhammad's daughter from his first marriage.
The Nizaris are the largest segment of the Ismaili Muslims, who are the second-largest branch of Shia Islam after the Twelvers. Nizari teachings emphasize independent reasoning or ijtihad; pluralism—the acceptance of racial, ethnic, cultural and inter-religious differences; and social justice. Nizaris, along with Twelvers, adhere to the Jaʽfari school of jurisprudence. The Aga Khan, currently Aga Khan IV, is the spiritual leader and Imam of the Nizaris. The global seat of the Ismaili Imamate is in Lisbon, Portugal.
Jamatkhana or Jamat Khana is an amalgamation derived from the Arabic word jama‘a (gathering) and the Persian word khana. It is a term used by some Muslim communities around the world, particularly sufi ones, to a place of gathering. Among some communities of Muslims, the term is often used interchangeably with the Arabic word musallah. The Nizārī Ismā'īlī community uses the term Jama'at Khana to denote their places of worship.
The Khoja are a mainly Nizari Isma'ili Shia community of people from the western Indian subcontinent. Khojas predominantly reside in India, Pakistan and eastern Africa.
The Musta‘lī are a branch of Isma'ilism named for their acceptance of al-Musta'li as the legitimate nineteenth Fatimid caliph and legitimate successor to his father, al-Mustansir Billah. In contrast, the Nizari—the other living branch of Ismailism, presently led by Aga Khan IV—believe the nineteenth caliph was al-Musta'li's elder brother, Nizar. Isma'ilism is a branch of Shia Islam.
Several different denominations and sects of Islam are practised within Syria, whom collectively, constitute approximately 87% of the population and form a majority in most of the districts of the country.
Satpanth is a Sanskrit term used initially by Nizari Isma'ilis and Ismaili Sufis to identify their faith formed over 700 years ago by Pir Sadardin. Although the term is today used mainly by its subgroup formed in the 15th century by his grandson Pir Imam Shah which itself consists of various sub-sects, and differs from the mainstream Nizari Khojas in that they reject the Aga Khan as their leader and are known more commonly as Imamshahi. Uniquely, the term Satpanth has been historically used by Ismaili, as well as by adherents of subgroups. There are villages in Gujarat which are totally Satpanthi such as Pirana near Ahmedabad where Imam Shah is buried. Satpanthi dargahs are known to be venerated with a stark contrast in the devotees, with outward Muslims who may wear a hijab, and outward Hindus wearing traditional garb such as the sari.
Although the majority of the Nigerian Muslim population is Sunni, there is a small Shia minority, particularly in the northern states of Kano and Sokoto. However, there are no actual statistics that reflect a Shia population in Nigeria, and a figure of even 5% of the total Nigerian Muslim population is thought to be too high “because of the routine conflation of Shi’a with Sunnis who express solidarity with the Iranian revolutionary program, such as those of Zakzaky’s Ikhwani.”
Ibraheem Yaqoub El-Zakzaky is a Nigerian religious leader. An outspoken and prominent Shi'a leader in Nigeria, he was imprisoned several times for his struggle against injustice, especially the system of corruption in his country. He claims that only Islam can proffer solution to the complex socio-political problems, which has over the years stagnated the country's development plans. In a lecture he has delivered in marking the occasion of Sheikh Uthman Bn Fodio Week organized by the Academic Forum of Islamic Movement, Zakzaky disclosed that he is continuing the Jihad of Uthman Bn Fodio to make sure that Islam becomes the ruling religion in not only Nigeria but the whole West Africa. In a lecture delivered on the same occasion in Sokoko, one of his proponents, Dr. Nasir Hashim has claimed that Zakzaky’s dream is the only hope for Africa.
Nizari Ismaili Muslims around the globe are governed by one universal constitution known as "The World Constitution".
The History of Nizari Isma'ilism from the founding of Islam covers a period of over 1400 years. It begins with Muhammad's mission to restore to humanity the universality and knowledge of the oneness of the divine within the Abrahamic tradition, through the final message and what the Shia believe was the appointment of Ali as successor and guardian of that message with both the spiritual and temporal authority of Muhammad through the institution of the Imamate.
The Imamate in Nizari Isma'ili doctrine is a concept in Nizari Isma'ilism which defines the political, religious and spiritual dimensions of authority concerning Islamic leadership over the nation of believers. The primary function of the Imamate is to establish an institution between an Imam who is present and living in the world and his following whereby each are granted rights and responsibilities.
The Aga Khan Case was an 1866 court decision in the High Court of Bombay by Justice Sir Joseph Arnould that established the authority of the first Aga Khan, Hasan Ali Shah, as the head of the Khoja community of Bombay.
Haji Bibi v. His Highness Sir Sultan Mohamed Shah, the Aga Khan, often referred to as the Haji Bibi Case, was a 1908 court case in the Bombay High Court heard by Justice Russell. The case was fundamentally a dispute over the inheritance of the estate of Hasan Ali Shah, a Persian nobleman with the title Aga Khan I and the hereditary leader of the Nizari Ismailis. A number of the properties and other monetary assets had been passed down to Aqa Ali Shah, Aga Khan II and then to his grandson, Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III. The plaintiffs included Haji Bibi who was a widowed granddaughter of Aga Khan I and a few other members of the family that all claimed rights to the wealth. The decision is notable as it confirmed the Aga Khan III's exclusive rights to the assets of his grandfather and to the continued religious offerings by his followers, including some Khojas, as the 48th Imam of the Nizaris.
Women of the Ismaili sect are part of Shia Islam. Some subsects have women's rights issues, others observe a relatively progressive environment within their sects, which is also dependent on the laws in the countries practicing this sect.
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