mapping of proliferation of jumu’at mosques in sokoto

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Sahel Journal of Geography, Environment and Development Vol. 1: No. 2December

ISSN: Online 2756-536X Print: 2756-5378

2020

Mapping of Proliferation of Jumu’at Mosques in Sokoto Metropolis

Ibrahim, S. A..i& Lambu, I. B. .2

.iDepartment of Geography, Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto2Department of Geography, Bayero University, Kano

Corresponding Author’s email: [email protected]

ABSTRACTThis paper assessed the proliferation of Jumu’at mosques in Sokoto Metropolis. Specifically, theobjectives include mapping out the Jumu’at mosques in the study area and determining the level ofconformity with the standard rule of Maliki school of thought which prescribes a three (3) kilometredistance between one mosque away from the other so as to decongest Jumu’at mosques in a particulartown and control its proliferation. Interviews and mapping and ground truthing were instruments usedin carrying out this research. Buffer zone of 3km distance is used in order to ascertain the level ofproximity among the Jumu’at mosque in the study area. The findings revealed that all the mosquesoverlapped in three (3km) buffer zone, and majority of the mosques are in less than one kilometre (1km)distance away from each other. Some mosques are at less than ¼ km in proximity. It however revealedthat the rapid increase of religious sects contributes tremendously to this proliferation of the Jumu’atmosques. Other important factors are urbanization and increase in population density. The paperrecommends that no sect should be entitled to more than one Jumu’at mosque in a particular clusterarea within the metropolis.

Keywords: Jumu’at Mosque, Proliferation, Proximity and Mapping

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Islam as a religion is one of the cultural and religious beliefs which provides guidelines forhuman actions and standard in which people’s conduct and behaviour can be determined(Hussain, 2012). Religion helps to provide the concern which is necessary for order andstability in society. Social life sometimes come with challenges as a menace to a people’s wayof life. Religion appears to be a universal trait (Hussain, 2012) which is present at varyingdegree in all cultures. In religion human beings are clearly distinguished from other animals. Ifreligion is broadly defined as the impulse for coherence and meaning, then all human beingsare religious.

Sacred space in turn is a concept which Anthropologists, Sociologists, Psychologists andHistorians of religion have analyzed extensively (Harry, 2014). Their works suggest that asacred space is one which focuses attention on the objects and the actions performed withinit. There is an enormous range of different types of sacred spaces from individual rooms,within a building to single structures often known as shrine (for example Temples, Saints,Tombs, Churches, Synagogues, Mosques) to entire cities or vast inhabited spaces (Harry,2014). Many sacred spaces are sites of pilgrimage, often at specific times and as such caninteract with sacred time.

Religion has been increasingly focusing in modern scholarship. It is equally a subject fordiscussion in the media. People are interested in religion for its gigantic benefits, such asteaching of good attitudes towards one another, promoting ethics in political life, the messageof forgiveness and inner strength (Habila, 2013). Nigeria is a country where different religiousadherents coexist and mix freely to carry out their day-to-day activities (Habila, 2013).Religions particularly Islam and Christianity emphasize the removal of all the individual and

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local differences, diverse modes of thinking as well as living and establishment of a well-balanced social unity. Today the serious disregard and infringement of freedom of religion byboth state and non-state actors have kindled hatred and caused proliferation of Jumu’atMosque especially in the cities.

Literature is replete with works on Jumu’atmosque in many part of the world. According toIslamic practice, there must be at least one Jumu’atmosque in any given locality with thecondition of validity of certain number of people for the congregation of such Jumu’atprayerin Maliki jurisprudence. Al-sawy (2006) asserts that there should not be more than oneJumu’atmosque in a particular town. On the other hand, Hambali scholars like IbnQudama areof the view that there is no harm for the proliferation of jumu’ah mosque if there is need for itand people can maintain decorum (Bn Muhammad, 2014). IbnQudama particularly maintainsthat if the distance is below farskhand people are below (40) in number in their village, theyshould go to nearby town for Jumu’atprayer. However, Zarbazo (1994) added that in a largecity or area where it is quite difficult for everyone to attend one jumu’ah mosque,establishment of new mosque is allowed, as there is no authentic evidence explicitly showingthat only one Jumu’ahmust be held in each locality.

According to Abubakar (2018), Muhammad et al. (2015) and Lambu (2013), there are manyadverse effects of having too many Jumu’at Mosques in a particular community withoutfollowing the necessary legal steps for the establishment. The adherents of various religioussects are happy when the Imam of a particular Jumu’at Mosque happens to be their member.Each sect/group is competing for the establishment of their own Jumu’at Mosque. This isparticularly true of the Izala and Salafiya group in Sokoto metropolis. The major and mostvisible condition necessitating the opening of new mosques in Nigeria these days is not morethan the religious segregation among Muslim in the areas of sectarianism, which of courseweakens the strength of the Muslims in nations (Abubakar, 2018). Similarly, the proliferationof smaller Jumu’at Mosque in the study area prompts the following questions:

1. What influences the distribution of Jumu’atMosques in the study area?2. Does the distribution comply with the Maliki standard for citing Jumu’atMosques in

the study area?

2.0 MATERIAL AND METHODS

2.1 StudyArea

Sokoto State, is located in the North-West Geo-political zone between latitudes 12 O 00’N and13O58’ and between longitudes 4O8’E and 6O54’E. It shares boundaries with the Republic ofNiger to the North, Kebbi State to the West and South-West, and Zamfara State to the East.The population in Sokoto metropolis consists of primarily Hausa/Fulani (majority),Zabarmawa(minority) and other ethnic groups in Nigeria. Other tribes from Western Africaare found in Sokoto metropolis particularly from Niger and Benin Republic. This multiculturalenvironment is one of the reasons for the alteration and mixing up of the real culture in themetropolis (Abubakar, 2015). Based on the 2006 population census, the state has a totalnumber of 3,696,987 people, comprising 1,872,057 and 1,824,930 for males and femalesrespectively (Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette, 2009). The growth rate of populationin 2019 was projected as 3.01 and the projected population was expected to be 5,475,895(projected FRNOG, 2019).

The early mosque established in Sokoto metropolis was attached to the Sultan’s palace, sothat the rulers can effectively control the followers and their Imams. According to bnMuhammad (2014) it was after Nigeria’s Independence in 1960 that some mosques started to

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flourish in the state especially by the Yoruba community. By late 90s, SalafandIzalaMovements had overtaken the large population of the jumu’ah mosques in the city.Presently, there are sixty (61) jumu’ah mosques in Sokoto city.

Figure 1: Geographical Location of Study Area

Majority of the city's population are Muslims. Last (2014) argued that the Muslim Ummah inNorthern Nigeria has never been without religious dissidence. The number of jumu’atmosques in the entire city may be attributed to the Islamic political empire established in themetropolis after the 1804 jihad of Shehu Usman BnFodiyo. Therefore, the religious culture ofthe indigenous people of Sokoto State is deeply rooted in Islam. Culturally, the state ishomogeneous. The people of the state are Muslims and thereby abide by Islamic injunctionswith respect to code of conduct and behavior. The major aspects of Islamic culture are dailyprayer and weekly Jumu’atprayer. The first Jumu’atmosques established in Sokoto metropoliswere Sultan Bello and ShehuDanfodio mosques, which were established in 1809 and 1811respectively. Since then, no other mosque was established in the metropolis until 1973, aninterval period of 162 years when Ansaruddeeen mosque of Yoruba Muslim was established inAhmadu Bello Way. Moreover, between 1973 to date 61Jumu’atmosques were established inthe city. Proliferation of religious sects began in late 70s and early 80s thereby increasingplaces for Islamic and Christian worship in the metropolis.

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Figure 2: Sokoto Metropolis Showing Distribution of Jumu at mosque

Source. Field work, 2020.

2.2 Methods of Data Collection and Analysis

In order to ascertain the distribution of Jumu’atmosques in Sokoto metropolis, a survey andground truthing was carried out, while recording the co-ordinates of eachJumu’atmosque formapping (Figure 2).

Sampled locations include Hajiya Halima 1 and 2, Girafshi 1 and 2, Sa’adAbubakar andAbubakarAlsadiqJumu’atmosques, AbubakarGummi and Musa LukuwaJumu’atmosques,Ansaruddeen and Sultan MaccidoJumu’atmosques. Oral interviews were conducted out withsome Imams of Jumu’atmosques that are in more proximity with one another in order to findout the history and reasons for their establishment. Historically, Muslims in Northern Nigeriaare adherents of Maliki School of Jurisprudence. The Sokoto caliphate strictly adopts thisjurisprudence which believes that, three (3) km distance should be maintained where morethan one Jumu’atmosques exist in a particular town. Buffering was used to ascertain the levelof distance between the JM in the study area. However, Nearest Neighbour analysis was usedto examine the distribution pattern of Jumu’atmosques in the study area. The NearestNeighborhood Analysis (NNA) was used to determine the level of randomness clustering anddispersal nature of settlement points in the study area. The Nearest Neighborhood Analysis isgiven as:-

Rn= 2đ √n/A

Rn= Description of the distribution

đ = Mean distance between the nearest neighbors

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n= Number of settlements in the study area

A= Area under study

The results obtained from the nearest neighborhood analysis were used diagrammatically inthe form of NNA graph to show settlement patterns in the study area.

3.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The result shown by Figure 3 indicates that the standard distance of 3km provided by MalikiSchool of Thought which is pre-dominant in Northern Nigeria is not maintained in the studyarea.

Figure 3: Buffer zone of 3km for Jumu’at Mosque

Source: Field Work, 2020

When the same data was subjected to 1km buffering, many mosques were still overlapped(Figure 4). The study found that more than half of the Jumu’atmosques belong to Sunnifollowers (Izala and Salafiya) and the capacity of most of these mosques are too small tocontain the large population.

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Figure 4: Buffer Zone of 1km for Jumu’at Mosque

Source: Fieldwork, 2020

The oral interviews conducted, revealed that conflicts and misunderstanding among theleaders of a particular mosque leads to the establishment of some mosques in the study area.For example, Sheikh Musa AyubaLukuwaJumu’atmosque established in 2007 was a faction ofSheikh AbubakarGummiJumu’atmosque established in 1997 as a result of leadership crises.Ansarudden Society Jumu’atmosque established in 1972 is the first Yoruba Jumu’atmosque inthe metropolis but now split into three (3): Anwarul-Islam (1975) and TawakaltuAlallahi(2002) which are all located in the same cluster area of less than 1km distance. During theoral interview, an Imam in one of the Jumu’atmosques, blames politics and language barrierfor the establishment of Hajiya Halima 2 mosque in 1997 from Hajiya Halima 1, in closeproximity to each. However, some Muslim communities are of the opinion that the majorcause of the proliferation of Jumu’atmosques in Sokoto city is the expansion of the town andthe population density. This claim is in line with the findings of Wada et al., (2015) who opinedthat demographic change, rapid urbanization and emergence of new settlements necessitatedthe building of new Jumu’atmosques in different locations in Kano city.

Imams opined that the formation of Izala in 1978 contributed to the proliferation of mosquesin Northern Nigeria in general and Sokoto in particular. Before the arrival of theIzalamovement, Sufi groups dominated the city. However, the only two JM namely (Shehu andBello mosque) are in existence to the extent that it is difficult for any new sect to survive. Theonly way that Izala could get followership was through building their own mosques andschools in the Sufi dominated areas. Similarly, the split of Izala sect into two (Jos and Kaduna)also lead to the rapid increase in Jumu’at mosques. Thirdly, educational tourism by peopleespecially to Saudi Arabia contributed a lot to the formation of Salafiya Group andestablishment of more mosques in this the metropolis. Financial gain was also recognised bythe respondents as a reason for the proliferation of Jumu’at mosques in the metropolis. Other

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factors include physical distance, language barrier, increase in population and density,secularization and sectarian differences. Figure 5 shows the distribution of Jumu’at Mosquesin Sokoto metropolis and year of establishment.

Figure 5: Distribution of Jumu’at Mosques and Year of Establishment

Source: Fieldwork, 2020.

The data indicates that from 1809 – 1830 only two (2) mosques were established. Since then,no other Jumu’at Mosque was established until the 1970s when four Jumu’at Mosques werecreated. The proliferation began from 1978 up to 1999, resulting in the establishment offifteen (15) mosques. Between 1999 and 2020, more than forty (40) Jumu’at Mosques werebuilt in the metropolis.

The point index of the nearest neighbor ratio as indicated on the plotted graph (Figure 6) is1.023. Given a z-score of 0.3159 and a p= value of 0.75, this indicates the clustered pattern ofJumu’at Mosques.

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Figure 6: Nearest Neighbor Analysis

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FIG 5: Sultan Bello Mosque (1809)

Plate 2: ShehuUsmanu Mosque (1811) , the Second Jumu’at Mosque in the Metropolis

Plate 1: Sultan Bello Mosque (1809) the First Jumu’ah Mosque

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4.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The study examined and mapped the proliferation of Jumu’at Mosques in Sokoto Metropolis.The study found that many mosques were too close to each other in the study area. The pointindex of the nearest neighbor ratio as indicated on the plotted graph (Figure 6) is 1.023. Givena z-score of 0.3159 and a p= value of 0.75, this indicates the clustered pattern of Jumu’atMosques, well below the standard 3 km interval recommended between

Plate 3 Sheikh IsmailaIdris Jos Jumu’ah Mosque (2012)

Plate 4: Nana Aisha Jumu’ah Mosque (2020)

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Jumu’atmosques.The study concludes that the establishment of Jumu’atmosques in Sokotometropolis does not conform to physical planning laws and result in the proliferation ofnumerous small mosques with alot of noise pollution. The study therefore recommends thatGovernment, through the Sultanate Council and state legislative house regulate the unhealthyproliferation of Jumu’atmosques. Similarly, the Government should establish and enforcestandard policies for the approval of new Jumu’atmosques based on large carrying capacity.This will minimize the proliferation and existence of smaller Jumu’atmosques.It is alsorecommended that all sects be only entitled to one Jumu’atmosque within a particular clusterin the metropolis.

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As-sawy, A.A. (2006). Lilam Al-AnamBimaja’afil Al-jumu’ah Min Al-Ahkaam. Dar ibn Rajab,Cairo. P. 27-28.

Bn Muhammad A. (2014). The Proliferation of Jumu’ah Mosques in Sokoto Metropolis and itsEffects on Muslim Unity (1808-2013). M.A. Dissertation Department of Islamic Studies.UsmanuDanfodio University, Sokoto, SokotonState, Nigeria.

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https://sites.utexas.edu/religion-theory/bibliographical-resources

mapping of proliferation of jumu’at mosques in sokoto

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