Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The main thrust of this paper is to challenge the thesis that the extension of Shari’ah to the penal codes in northern Nigeria can be classified under rubric of what political scientists call asymmetrical federalism. In this paper, the status of asymmetrical arrangements in the literature will be reviewed in order to place the discussion in analytical perspectives. Having examined the trajectory of Shari’ah since pre-colonial era, the paper argues that the often assumed dominance of religion in the colonial administration in Northern Nigeria had less contribution from the institution of Shari’ah than it is normally acknowledged in the literature. While locating the examination of the operation of Shari’ah within the secular foundation of the contemporary nation-statism, the paper argues that Shari’ah, by introducing contradictions that are informed by religiously-informed paradigms, has displaced the symmetrical forms of Nigerian federalism such as secularism and uniform citizenship, and therefore represents atypical form of federalism.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The era of globalization has created a context where
state authority has been undercut and local forces have been empowered.
In Africa, the reduction in authoritarian regimes and the emergence of
globalization and democratization worked to reveal cleavages along
ethnic and religious lines. At the same time, the global economy and
structural adjustment reforms have created dramatic economic
disparities between and within African nations that are historically
linked in ethnic and cultural ways. West Africa experienced some of
these tumultuous changes and some of them can be attributed to the
instability associated with democratic reform in regions that have had
very little experience with the concept. Regional integration in West
Africa has been heavily debated topic due to the wide range of
institutional, legal and infrastructural barriers that divide the
countries that comprise the sub-region. Massive profit making
opportunities are salient in instances where economic and political
disparities between neighboring countries are present. It is oftentimes
profit making opportunities by political elites that fuel opposition to
the cause for regional integration.
The application of Shari’a (Islamic law) in the Hausa region of
Northern Nigeria has dramatically changed the quotidian life in the
region. In an attempt to eliminate what is determined to be societal
ills, some states have adopted Shari’a and subsequently outlawed
activities such as drinking, prostitution and gambling in addition to
less controversial habitudes such as praise singing and integration of
the sexes in public places. The neighboring country of Niger, which has
a large Hausa population as well, has, by contrast, been reticent to
base its legal codes on Qur’anic law, which is due in large part to the
political legacy of the French colonial government. Niger’s reluctance
to mimic Northern Nigeria’s lead has rendered it a safe haven for
Nigeria’s outlawed vices and as bars, brothels and informal casinos
were shut down in Nigeria, the same establishments were opened in
Niger. The activities that have been transferred across the border to
Niger have provided a made a substantial economic impact on Niger’s
border towns. The movement of illicit activities from Nigeria to Niger
serves to demonstrate a case of counter regional integration. Rather
than bringing together the two states it forces them further apart.
Niger ostensibly uses its status as a secular state as a comparative
economic advantage vis a vis a the religious reform carried out in
Nigeria. This paper will examine how changes in regional Nigerian
politics have had a profound on politics and the economy of Niger. The
paper will also look at how the changes in Niger have brought about a
strengthening of neo-patrimonialism in instances where rent-seeking
possibilities arise.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Abdullahi An-Nai’m (2008) defines a secular state as “one that is neutral regarding religious doctrine, one that does not claim or pretend to enforce Shari’a—the religious law of Islam—simply because compliance with Shari’a cannot be coerced by fear of state institutions or faked to appease their officials.” Along these lines, and not long after independence, Senegal implemented a controversial Family Code in an attempt to strengthen the secular character of society and guarantee the equality of all citizens. Yet as recently as 2003, a coalition of Muslim leaders again called for the revision of the Family Code in order to recognize Shari’a as the main source of family law for Muslims. This paper explores the sources of popular support in urban Dakar for enforcing Shari’a laws for Muslim citizens, and whether such support does indeed signify a challenge to Senegal’s secular state. The data for this essay comes from my dissertation fieldwork carried out in Dakar during 2004-05, and includes interviews with 800 men and women randomly sampled across Dakar. I offer an analysis of the political and religious values underlying citizens' preferences and justifications.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The registers of Cairo�s shari�ah court record that on 3rd November 1647, a man called Ahmed was evicted from the Salibat Tulun neighbourhood of Cairo, at the request of prominent local residents. He was accused of various misdeeds, including drinking wine, gathering unrelated men and women at his house, not attending mosque, and playing flute and drums. This is an example of a legal procedure � the petition to evict an immoral neighbour � that was used frequently across the Ottoman Empire.

This procedure is striking in terms of both the evidence presented and the substance of the charges. Under the shari�ah, testimony must be first-hand and specific. A witness must assert that he or she saw a specific person commit a specific act at a specific place and time. In Ahmed�s case, however, the testimony presented met neither of these requirements. Ahmed was accused of a pattern of behaviour rather than a specific act, and many of the witnesses stated that he was �known� to behave in these ways, not that they had seen him do so. Effectively, the witnesses testified to his reputation. The charges made against Ahmed included acts that were formally illegal (i.e. wine-drinking), but also those that simply violated social expectations (i.e. playing drums).

My paper examines this procedure through a study of Ahmed�s case along with several other examples drawn from the court records of 17th-century Cairo. I ask who in the community had the authority to establish reputations, and to set social expectations.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper attempts to analyze the power lines of the new relationship between politics and religion in the context of the Shi'a Islam starting from the paradigmatic example of the Iranian revolution.