A HISTORICAL ASSESSMENT OF PERCEIVED ISLAMOPHOBIA IN NIGERIA, 1986-2019

Abstract

Nigerian Muslims, throughout the history of Nigeria, have somehow always played pivotal roles in the social, political and economic transformation of the Nigerian society and promoted their faith in a way that served the society at large. The Muslim population in Nigeria could be upto 99.1 million presently and thrives under constant peace, security and prosperity. Despite numerous terrorist attacks perpetuated in Northern Nigerian states where the population is predominantly Muslim, the Muslim community in Nigeria is attacked and harassed by certain individuals, organizations, groups and institutions that seem to believe that Muslims and their religious faith are a menace to society and a threat to the national stability of the nation. What could amount to Islamophobia in Nigeria must be addressed and properly assessed in a manner that identifies the exact cause of the hateful sentiment targeted against Muslims or the Islamic faith in Nigeria. The study explores the core definitions of Islamophobia explained by various international scholars and academic experts. The study presents the origin and causes of aspects of Islamophobia that took root in the nation and continues to create more tensions today despite efforts made by political leaders and activists, particularly politicians and activists from the Muslim community to tackle it from within the system both at the federal, state and local levels. Recommendations are added in this paper to resolve this potential problem of Islamophobia in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, particularly in the South-eastern and South-South regions.