Although there have been general assumptions of a hegemonic Igbo Christian identity, historical documents depicts that conversions to Islam began in the late 1930s to 1940s in Igboland which is situated in the southern part of Nigeria. Igbo land happens to be the only region in the country that was not invaded by the nineteenth-century Islamic jihadist sect led by Usman Danfodio.
At exactly four decades after the advent of Islam in Igboland, Igbo territories began to show clear evidence of indigenous Muslim practise.
Some may begin to ask,how one can be both Igbo and Muslim? It is imperative to note that there have been a complex interplay of religious and ethnic identities of Igbo Muslims.
During the 1990s, Igbo Muslims began to disentangle ethnicity from religion which paved way for the development that owes much to the progress of Islamic education in Igboland and the emergence of Igbo Muslim scholars and clerics.
Nothwithstanding, Igbo reactions to conversions to Islam and the perceived threat of these conversions to Igbo Christian identity still remains a topic for religious and philosophical debate.
Often considered as a cradle for christainity in Nigeria, Igboland has recently witnessed a dramatic increase in Igbo Christians converting to Islamic religion. Yet, despite this historic change, it is sad to say that there has been limited research into the growth of Islam in the area and the possible implications this has for Christianity in Igboland.
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COMMENTS
+234-814222****
07-20 17:00:22this is how Islam started everywhere! Very soon those insulting Muslim or persecuting their relatives because of Islam will realize the truth and accept Islam, is only a matter of time. On this note, I am appealing to my fellow Muslim to disregard the insult from the few uneducated Igbo and focus on enlighten them. Igbo people are good and hard-working, we can see from those already accepted Islam in their Homelands and here in the north. They didn't accept Islam for money, in fact they spend their money for Islam. Kudos to Igbo
KingsleyKingston_02
07-20 16:21:57Any Igbo man or woman in that Muhammadan cult must be on drug. No doubt you have some few mad people in that strange idea of a rascal from the Arabian peninsula. Islam has no plzce in Igboland, it is satanic with high level stupidity.
+234-0906054****
07-20 15:37:39Any Ibo man or woman that claims to be a Muslim is not taken serious in Ibo land. They are like outcasts and hardly be respected in the community. A professed pagan has more respect in Ibo community than such person