Religious Diversity in Sharia-Compliant Cities in Northern Nigeria

Abstract

This paper examines religious diversity through everyday life experiences of various religious or not-so religious groups and how they negotiate cultural and theological differences in the context of the sharia implementation in urban northern Nigeria. More specifically, it analyses how the sharia (implementation of Islamic law) reconfigures inter-faith relations, especially between Muslim and Christian minorities. Initially in tended to reinforce strict conservative practices in urban centres, the reform has equally facilitated religious pluralism and hybrid practices such as the invention of Jesus Mawlid, which is observed by both Muslims and Christians as well as the blending of religion with previously considered irreligious urban cultures.