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Abstract
This paper examines the level of religious encounters among people of diverse faiths in Osogbo. It addresses the open exchange and interrelationship of adherents of different faiths within the city as well as the level of misunderstanding that exists from a Muslim perspective. The study is historical and descriptive. It is historical in the sense that it assesses newspaper reports, oral interviews, and court records while a descriptive approach was used in analyzing all the issues related to concepts and ideas of religious encounters. It reveals that the actions and inactions of people of other faiths in Osogbo are threats to social cohesion in the community. The study shows areas of conflict with the Muslims in Osogbo despite the open relationship among people of diverse faiths. The paper, therefore, recommends that for a good relationship to be sustained in Osogbo, there is a need for adherents of the three religions to keep off confrontational approaches and embrace dialogue and mutual understanding to promote peaceful co-existence within the community.
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Copyright (c) 2022 Mumini O. Rauf, AbdulGafar Olawale Fahm
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References
- Abubakar, Shina. “One Dead, 14 Injured During Religious Crisis in Osogbo.” Vanguard News, June 28, 2021. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/06/one-dead-14-injured-during-religious-crisis-in-osogbo/.
- Adejumo, A. B. “Osun Festival and Fertility: A Celebration in Yoruba Mythology.” Africana Marburgensia 22, no. 2 (1989): 45–52. https://www.africabib.org/rec.php?RID=066601746.
- Adewoyin, Yemi, Ekene Michael Mokwenye, and Ndidiamaka Vivian Ugwu. “Environmental Ethics, Religious Taboos and the Osun-Osogbo Grove, Nigeria.” Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development 11, no. 4 (2020): 516–27. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCHMSD-01-2020-0019.
- Afolabi, Kayode. Osun Osogbo: Sacred People and Sacred Spaces. Charleston, United States: BookSurge Publishing, 2006.
- Agbola, Tunde. “Osogbo.” Cities 9, no. 4 (1992): 249–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/0264-2751(92)90024-Y.
- Ajaegbu, Okechukwu. “Religion and National Development in Nigeria.” American Academic & Scholarly Research Journal 4, no. 4 (2012): 50–56. http://www.aasrc.org/aasrj/index.php/aasrj/article/view/329.
- Akinyemi, D. Y. “Islamic View of Religious Crisis in Nigeria: An Historical Perspective.” Religions’ Educator 8, no. 1 (2005): 92–103.
- Akpanika, Ekpenyong Nyong. “Religious and Political Crises in Nigeria: A Historical Exploration.” IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS) 22, no. 9 (2017): 65–74. https://doi.org/10.9790/0837-2209026574.
- Bello, W. O. Advent of Islam in Osogbo and the Lists of Imams. Osogbo, Nigeria: Peaceful Press, 2001.
- Bruner, Jason, and David Dmitri Hurlbut. “New Approaches to ‘Converts’ and ‘Conversion’ in Africa: An Introduction to the Special Issue.” Religions 11, no. 8 (2020): 389. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11080389.
- Çancı, Haldun, and Opeyemi Adedoyin Odukoya. “Ethnic and Religious Crises in Nigeria.” African Journal on Conflict Resolution 16, no. 1 (2016): 87–110. https://www.accord.org.za/ajcr-issues/ethnic-religious-crises-nigeria/.
- Falade, S. Ade. The Comprehensive History of Osogbo: A Honest and Diligent Person Is the Enemy of the Townspeople. Osogbo, Nigeria: S.A. Falade, 2000.
- Gbadamosi, Tajudeen Gbadebo Olusanya. The Growth of Islam Among the Yoruba, 1841-1908. London, United Kingdom: Longman, 1979.
- Godwin, Ameh Comrade. “Osun Hijab Drama: Christian, Muslims Unions in War of Words.” Daily Post Nigeria (blog), June 28, 2016. https://dailypost.ng/2016/06/28/osun-hijab-drama-christian-muslims-unions-in-war-of-words/.
- Ibitoye, M. A. Osun: A Study in the Mysteries of an African Goddess. Ado Ekiti, Nigeria: Ekiti State University, 2011.
- Jagunmolu, Mallam Abdulfattahi. Personal Communication, January 21, 2017.
- Johnson, Samuel. The History of the Yorubas: From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the British Protectorate. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 1966.
- Jones, Joni L. “Performing Osun without Bodies: Documenting the Osun Festival in Print.” Text and Performance Quarterly 17, no. 1 (1997): 69–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/10462939709366170.
- Kolawole, Alhaja Lateefat. Personal Communication, July 23, 2017.
- Liasu, Y.O. Personal Communication, May 28, 2017.
- Makinde, Abdul Fattah ’Kola. A Study of the Life and Arabic Works of Alhaji Ashiru Uthman of Osogbo. Ibadan, Nigeria: University of Ibadan, 1990.
- Makinde, Abdul Fattah ’Kola. “The Emergence Growth of Islam in Osogbo: Islam and Society in Osun State.” In Eminent Muslims in Osun State : Essays in Honour of HRM Oba Raufu Olayiwola Olawale Adedeji II, Akinrun of Ikirun, edited by Siyan Oyeweso. Abuja, Nigeria: Megapress Limited, 2012.
- Makinde, Abdul Fattah ’Kola. “The Institution of Sharīʿah in Oyo and Osun States, Nigeria, 1890–2005.” Ph.D. Thesis, University of Ibadan, 2007. http://catalog.ihsn.org/citations/60292.
- Masondo, Sibusiso. “Indigenous Conceptions of Conversion among African Christians in South Africa.” Journal for the Study of Religion 28, no. 2 (2015): 87–112. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24805693.
- Ministry of Local Government and Information. Oyo State Town Series. Ibadan, Nigeria: Oyo State Ministry of Information, 1977.
- Nkomazana, Fidelis, and Senzokuhle Doreen Setume. “Missionary Colonial Mentality and the Expansion of Christianity in Bechuanaland Protectorate, 1800 to 1900.” Journal for the Study of Religion 29, no. 2 (2016): 29–55. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24902913.
- Noibi, Dawud O. S. “The Crisis Over Hijab in Osun State: Our Response - Muswen.” HTML. The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), June 28, 2016. https://www.nscia.com.ng/news/the-crisis-over-hijab-in-osun-state-our-response-muswen.
- Nolte, Insa, Nathaniel Danjibo, and Abubakar Oladeji. “Religion, Politics and Governance in Nigeria.” Monograph. Vol. 39. Religions and Development Research Programme. Birmingham, United Kingdom: University of Birmingham, 2009. http://www.religionsanddevelopment.org/files/resourcesmodule/@random454f80f60b3f4/1269512095_working_paper_39_for_the_web___2__2_.pdf.
- Nolte, Insa, Olukoya Ogen, and Rebecca Jones, eds. Beyond Religious Tolerance: Muslim, Christian and Traditionalist Encounters in an African Town. Religion in Transforming Africa 2. Rochester, United States: James Currey Ltd, 2017.
- Ogundiran, Akinwumi. “The Making of an Internal Frontier Settlement: Archaeology and Historical Process in Osun Grove (Nigeria), Seventeenth to Eighteenth Centuries.” African Archaeological Review 31, no. 1 (2014): 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-014-9152-9.
- Ogundiran, Akinwumi. “The Osun-Osogbo Grove as a Social Common and an Uncommon Ground: An Analysis of Patrimonial Patronage in Postcolonial Nigeria.” International Journal of Cultural Property 21, no. 2 (2014): 173–98. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739114000058.
- Okonkwo, Emeka, and Afamefuna Eyisi. “Pilgrimage Circuit of Osun Osogbo Sacred Grove and Shrine, Osun State, Nigeria.” International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage 8, no. 4 (2020): Article 9. https://doi.org/10.21427/5h0v-g023.
- Olugunna, Deji. History of Osogbo. Osogbo, Nigeria: Osogbo Fad’s Press, 1987.
- Olugunna, Deji. Osogbo: The Origin, Growth & Problems. Osogbo, Nigeria: Osogbo Fad’s Press, 1959.
- Oluwole, Josiah. “Osun Hijab Crisis: Students Attend Schools in Church Garments.” HTML. Premium Times Nigeria, June 14, 2016. https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/205276-osun-hijab-crisis-students-attend-school-church-garments.html.
- Omojola, Bode. “Ọ̀ṣun Òṣogbo: Power, Song and Performance in a Yoruba Festival.” Ethnomusicology Forum 20, no. 1 (2011): 79–106. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41303565.
- Osogbo Cultural Group. Osun Festival Osogbo. Osogbo, Nigeria: Igbalaiye Printing Press, 1985.
- Osogbo Local Government. 365 Days of Adejare of Osogbo. Ibadan, Nigeria: Dan Communications Co., 1989.
- Peel, J. D. Y. Religious Encounter and the Making of the Yoruba. African Systems of Thought. Bloomington, United States: Indiana University Press, 2003.
- Pew Research Center. “Tolerance and Tension: Islam and Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa.” HTML. Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project (blog), April 15, 2010. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2010/04/15/executive-summary-islam-and-christianity-in-sub-saharan-africa/.
- Probst, Peter. Osogbo and the Art of Heritage: Monuments, Deities, and Money. Bloomington, United States: Indiana University Press, 2011.
- Probst, Peter. “Picturing the Past: Heritage, Photography, and the Politics of Appearance in a Yoruba City.” In Reclaiming Heritage: Alternative Imaginaries of Memory in West Africa, edited by Ferdinand De Jong and Michael Rowlands. London, United Kingdom: Routledge, 2007.
- Seriki, A.S. Islamic Organisation in Osogbo. Ilorin, Nigeria: University of Ilorin, 1989.
- Woosnam, Kyle M., Kayode D. Aleshinloye, and Naho Maruyama. “Solidarity at the Osun Osogbo Sacred Grove—a UNESCO World Heritage Site.” Tourism Planning & Development 13, no. 3 (2016): 274–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/21568316.2015.1104380.
- Yunus, Alhaji Muhammadu-Qosim. Personal Communication, June 7, 2017.
- Yusuf, Alhaji (Chief) AbdulJeleel. Personal Communication, December 23, 2016.
References
Abubakar, Shina. “One Dead, 14 Injured During Religious Crisis in Osogbo.” Vanguard News, June 28, 2021. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/06/one-dead-14-injured-during-religious-crisis-in-osogbo/.
Adejumo, A. B. “Osun Festival and Fertility: A Celebration in Yoruba Mythology.” Africana Marburgensia 22, no. 2 (1989): 45–52. https://www.africabib.org/rec.php?RID=066601746.
Adewoyin, Yemi, Ekene Michael Mokwenye, and Ndidiamaka Vivian Ugwu. “Environmental Ethics, Religious Taboos and the Osun-Osogbo Grove, Nigeria.” Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development 11, no. 4 (2020): 516–27. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCHMSD-01-2020-0019.
Afolabi, Kayode. Osun Osogbo: Sacred People and Sacred Spaces. Charleston, United States: BookSurge Publishing, 2006.
Agbola, Tunde. “Osogbo.” Cities 9, no. 4 (1992): 249–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/0264-2751(92)90024-Y.
Ajaegbu, Okechukwu. “Religion and National Development in Nigeria.” American Academic & Scholarly Research Journal 4, no. 4 (2012): 50–56. http://www.aasrc.org/aasrj/index.php/aasrj/article/view/329.
Akinyemi, D. Y. “Islamic View of Religious Crisis in Nigeria: An Historical Perspective.” Religions’ Educator 8, no. 1 (2005): 92–103.
Akpanika, Ekpenyong Nyong. “Religious and Political Crises in Nigeria: A Historical Exploration.” IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS) 22, no. 9 (2017): 65–74. https://doi.org/10.9790/0837-2209026574.
Bello, W. O. Advent of Islam in Osogbo and the Lists of Imams. Osogbo, Nigeria: Peaceful Press, 2001.
Bruner, Jason, and David Dmitri Hurlbut. “New Approaches to ‘Converts’ and ‘Conversion’ in Africa: An Introduction to the Special Issue.” Religions 11, no. 8 (2020): 389. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11080389.
Çancı, Haldun, and Opeyemi Adedoyin Odukoya. “Ethnic and Religious Crises in Nigeria.” African Journal on Conflict Resolution 16, no. 1 (2016): 87–110. https://www.accord.org.za/ajcr-issues/ethnic-religious-crises-nigeria/.
Falade, S. Ade. The Comprehensive History of Osogbo: A Honest and Diligent Person Is the Enemy of the Townspeople. Osogbo, Nigeria: S.A. Falade, 2000.
Gbadamosi, Tajudeen Gbadebo Olusanya. The Growth of Islam Among the Yoruba, 1841-1908. London, United Kingdom: Longman, 1979.
Godwin, Ameh Comrade. “Osun Hijab Drama: Christian, Muslims Unions in War of Words.” Daily Post Nigeria (blog), June 28, 2016. https://dailypost.ng/2016/06/28/osun-hijab-drama-christian-muslims-unions-in-war-of-words/.
Ibitoye, M. A. Osun: A Study in the Mysteries of an African Goddess. Ado Ekiti, Nigeria: Ekiti State University, 2011.
Jagunmolu, Mallam Abdulfattahi. Personal Communication, January 21, 2017.
Johnson, Samuel. The History of the Yorubas: From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the British Protectorate. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 1966.
Jones, Joni L. “Performing Osun without Bodies: Documenting the Osun Festival in Print.” Text and Performance Quarterly 17, no. 1 (1997): 69–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/10462939709366170.
Kolawole, Alhaja Lateefat. Personal Communication, July 23, 2017.
Liasu, Y.O. Personal Communication, May 28, 2017.
Makinde, Abdul Fattah ’Kola. A Study of the Life and Arabic Works of Alhaji Ashiru Uthman of Osogbo. Ibadan, Nigeria: University of Ibadan, 1990.
Makinde, Abdul Fattah ’Kola. “The Emergence Growth of Islam in Osogbo: Islam and Society in Osun State.” In Eminent Muslims in Osun State : Essays in Honour of HRM Oba Raufu Olayiwola Olawale Adedeji II, Akinrun of Ikirun, edited by Siyan Oyeweso. Abuja, Nigeria: Megapress Limited, 2012.
Makinde, Abdul Fattah ’Kola. “The Institution of Sharīʿah in Oyo and Osun States, Nigeria, 1890–2005.” Ph.D. Thesis, University of Ibadan, 2007. http://catalog.ihsn.org/citations/60292.
Masondo, Sibusiso. “Indigenous Conceptions of Conversion among African Christians in South Africa.” Journal for the Study of Religion 28, no. 2 (2015): 87–112. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24805693.
Ministry of Local Government and Information. Oyo State Town Series. Ibadan, Nigeria: Oyo State Ministry of Information, 1977.
Nkomazana, Fidelis, and Senzokuhle Doreen Setume. “Missionary Colonial Mentality and the Expansion of Christianity in Bechuanaland Protectorate, 1800 to 1900.” Journal for the Study of Religion 29, no. 2 (2016): 29–55. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24902913.
Noibi, Dawud O. S. “The Crisis Over Hijab in Osun State: Our Response - Muswen.” HTML. The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), June 28, 2016. https://www.nscia.com.ng/news/the-crisis-over-hijab-in-osun-state-our-response-muswen.
Nolte, Insa, Nathaniel Danjibo, and Abubakar Oladeji. “Religion, Politics and Governance in Nigeria.” Monograph. Vol. 39. Religions and Development Research Programme. Birmingham, United Kingdom: University of Birmingham, 2009. http://www.religionsanddevelopment.org/files/resourcesmodule/@random454f80f60b3f4/1269512095_working_paper_39_for_the_web___2__2_.pdf.
Nolte, Insa, Olukoya Ogen, and Rebecca Jones, eds. Beyond Religious Tolerance: Muslim, Christian and Traditionalist Encounters in an African Town. Religion in Transforming Africa 2. Rochester, United States: James Currey Ltd, 2017.
Ogundiran, Akinwumi. “The Making of an Internal Frontier Settlement: Archaeology and Historical Process in Osun Grove (Nigeria), Seventeenth to Eighteenth Centuries.” African Archaeological Review 31, no. 1 (2014): 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-014-9152-9.
Ogundiran, Akinwumi. “The Osun-Osogbo Grove as a Social Common and an Uncommon Ground: An Analysis of Patrimonial Patronage in Postcolonial Nigeria.” International Journal of Cultural Property 21, no. 2 (2014): 173–98. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739114000058.
Okonkwo, Emeka, and Afamefuna Eyisi. “Pilgrimage Circuit of Osun Osogbo Sacred Grove and Shrine, Osun State, Nigeria.” International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage 8, no. 4 (2020): Article 9. https://doi.org/10.21427/5h0v-g023.
Olugunna, Deji. History of Osogbo. Osogbo, Nigeria: Osogbo Fad’s Press, 1987.
Olugunna, Deji. Osogbo: The Origin, Growth & Problems. Osogbo, Nigeria: Osogbo Fad’s Press, 1959.
Oluwole, Josiah. “Osun Hijab Crisis: Students Attend Schools in Church Garments.” HTML. Premium Times Nigeria, June 14, 2016. https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/205276-osun-hijab-crisis-students-attend-school-church-garments.html.
Omojola, Bode. “Ọ̀ṣun Òṣogbo: Power, Song and Performance in a Yoruba Festival.” Ethnomusicology Forum 20, no. 1 (2011): 79–106. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41303565.
Osogbo Cultural Group. Osun Festival Osogbo. Osogbo, Nigeria: Igbalaiye Printing Press, 1985.
Osogbo Local Government. 365 Days of Adejare of Osogbo. Ibadan, Nigeria: Dan Communications Co., 1989.
Peel, J. D. Y. Religious Encounter and the Making of the Yoruba. African Systems of Thought. Bloomington, United States: Indiana University Press, 2003.
Pew Research Center. “Tolerance and Tension: Islam and Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa.” HTML. Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project (blog), April 15, 2010. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2010/04/15/executive-summary-islam-and-christianity-in-sub-saharan-africa/.
Probst, Peter. Osogbo and the Art of Heritage: Monuments, Deities, and Money. Bloomington, United States: Indiana University Press, 2011.
Probst, Peter. “Picturing the Past: Heritage, Photography, and the Politics of Appearance in a Yoruba City.” In Reclaiming Heritage: Alternative Imaginaries of Memory in West Africa, edited by Ferdinand De Jong and Michael Rowlands. London, United Kingdom: Routledge, 2007.
Seriki, A.S. Islamic Organisation in Osogbo. Ilorin, Nigeria: University of Ilorin, 1989.
Woosnam, Kyle M., Kayode D. Aleshinloye, and Naho Maruyama. “Solidarity at the Osun Osogbo Sacred Grove—a UNESCO World Heritage Site.” Tourism Planning & Development 13, no. 3 (2016): 274–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/21568316.2015.1104380.
Yunus, Alhaji Muhammadu-Qosim. Personal Communication, June 7, 2017.
Yusuf, Alhaji (Chief) AbdulJeleel. Personal Communication, December 23, 2016.
