The Socio-religious status of Muslim Women in Yoruba land with reference to the work of Shaykh al-Albani

Abstract

This thesis engages in a comparative phenomenological study of the socio-religious status of Muslim women in contemporary Yoruba land, Nigeria and the book, Jilbāb al-Mar’ah al-Muslimah fī al-Kitāb wa al-Sunnah. It studies the socio-religious developments and conditions of Muslim women since the Sokoto Caliphate in Nigeria; with particular reference to the Southwestern part of Nigeria. The research begins with a short introduction. It then turns to the socio-religious status of Muslim women in Yoruba land. The advent of Islam in Nigeria and the Islamization carried by Usman Dan Fodio is examined. The place of women both before and after the Sokoto Islamization is ascertained so as to locate the impact of its legacy on the prevailing conditions of Muslim women in the study area. It focuses on Muslim women and their activeness in Islamic organizations. The image of Islam portrayed by these women contradicts that of secular feminists who still portray Islam in Nigeria, especially, the role played by Muslim women using long established stereotypes by orientalists during their studies on Muslim societies. A discussion on the revival of Islam in Nigeria follows. It analyzes the fundamental factors, which contribute towards the revival of Islam. It further examines the complex phenomenon of Muslim women’s ongoing reaffirmation of their identity in Islamic religious belief. The new trends in the changing roles of Muslim women in Yoruba land and their perception of the feminist movement is also examined. This reveals the extent to which these women are complacent or worried with their socio-religious roles and are motivated either by Islam or the feminist movement in their feminist aspirations. In doing so, it adopts the interview method to examine the socio-religious status of Muslim women in the area as perceived by these women themselves. The report of the interviews conducted is analytically presented. The study also offers an overview of feminism with special focus on the new trends among Muslim women referred to as Islamic feminism. It traces the origin and development of feminism from the eighteen century so as to understand the postmodern concept of gender feminism. It reveals both the views of secular feminists who want women to be completely free and Islamic feminists who want to live in the shade of Islamic teachings. The work of Shaykh al- Albānī also forms the core of this thesis where his views on Muslim women in the above book are critically presented. The thesis traces the historical background and milieu in which the book was written. It investigates the factors that warranted the writing of the book in order to ascertain the actual contributions of the book to the conditions of Muslim women. Using the views of Muslim women in the study area as basis of comparison, the thesis provides a critical and comparative analysis of the contributions of the book to Islamic feminism. Despite his fame as a conservative Wahhābī scholar, the work of the Shaykh shows analytically the extent to which he has responded to Islamic feminist aspirations. Finally, the research discloses the impact of the book in the educational activities of Muslims in Yoruba land especially the Muslim students’ society of Nigeria. It concludes with the demand by Muslim women in Yoruba land for a return to the pristine Islam which they believe will meet their feminist aspirations.