نشریه مطالعات قرآنی نامه جامعه
پیاپی 119 (پاییز 1395)

The presence and interference of some western countries caused to grow, develop, and strengthen the Jihadi-Takfiri movements beside the Islamic movements. In Nigeria, one of the most important North-West African countries, two Salafi-Jihadi groups of the Society of Ahl al-Sunna for the Invitation & Jihad (Boko Haram) and the Society of Ansar al-Moslemin in the country of Sudan are responsible for Salafi-Jihadi movements. The Boko Haram mostly concentrates on the near enemy, the Nigeria's Muslims, especially the Shiites. By contrast, the Ansar al-Moslemin focuses on confronting the west enemy, corrupt government, and non-Muslims in Nigeria. This procedural difference can be clearly seen between two groups of ISIS and al-Qaeda as the leaders of those two societies. The most important factors in the formation of these groups are the following: Islamic radicalism in the late of twentieth century, the concerns of Muslims about widespread propaganda of Christians, the growth of different religions, the extension of propaganda and authority of America and other world powers in this region, being affected by the propaganda of deviant sects such as Wahhabism, and the support of rich Arab governments. This study, with the aim of identifying the stream of radical Salafism in Nigeria, tries to discover the process of formation and extension of two main Salafi-Jihadi groups of the Society of Ahl al-Sunna for the Invitation & Jihad (Boko Haram) and the Society of Ansar al-Moslemin in the country of Sudan in Nigeria. In this study, data gathering was done by searching in written sources and Internet sites and first, the Society of Ahl al-Sunna for the Invitation & Jihad (Boko Haram), its history, its activities, its confrontation with the Shiites, and its ideology are discussed and then, the Society of Ansar al-Moslemin in the country of Sudan, its history, its activities, its ideology, and its relations with al-Qaeda and Boko Haram are discussed.

According to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the government's main purpose is the security and peace and there should never be the superiority among different people and ethnic groups. According to the constitution of this country, any discrimination is prohibited, all people in the society have the right to life, and the torture and arrest are prohibited. In the Nigeria's constitution, the religious patience and justice are a part of the national ethics and the constitution clarifies the government's human actions with emphasis on the human sanctity and munificence. The Nigerian government and state officials are obliged to maintain the security of all ethnic groups including the Shiites. This study tries to point out the Nigerian government's responsibilities to protect the Shiite's life such as their freedom in doing religious practices, the prohibition of any torture and arrest of Shiites, the establishment of justice and the equality among Shiites and other groups and religions, religious patience, the importance of protecting the Shiite's life by government, and dealing with the elements that endanger their safety according to the Nigeria's legal rules, especially its constitution, Islamic juridical fundamentals, and the view of some Sunni scholars. This study also provides some instances of the Nigerian government's inefficiency in keeping the Shiite's security and life.

In the realm of contemporary international law, paying attention to the rights of minorities and/or to the cultural and religious rights of human groups is known as a formal realm and there is an emphasis on the significance of observing the minimum behavioral standards in behaving with them. But there is a problem with all institutes observing the prohibition of discrimination against the minorities. The problem is that their predicted mechanisms are either limited to some non-binding recommendations or finally turned to those of a political institute. However, the world viewpoints about the traditional concepts of supporting the minorities have been changed in the world of rights. Shia, one of the important religious and ethnic groups in Nigeria, has been incredibly spread and at the same time, with the growth of the hopes and wishes of the people seeking the truth, the opposition of opponents against the Shiites and their leaders has been increased. Investigating these oppositions precisely such as the failed assassination of Sheikh Zakzaky, the attack on the peaceful Quds day protests in 2014, the attack on the Shiite's Hussainia are contrary to the international human rights law and the rights of religious and ethnic minorities. For decreasing such assaults, the following are recommended: intervention, official and diplomatic practices in supporting the support groups of human rights consciously and integratedly, using information and communication tools such as independent news networks and/or cyberspace for media coverage, declaring and illustrating the Shiite's innocence and human rights violation in Nigeria. Therefore, this research first explains both the cultural rights of minorities in doing religious practices and their different freedoms and then focuses on the human rights violation of religious minorities in Nigeria.

No doubt, the effect and development of Islamic revolution of Iran is obviously seen in Nigeria, as the greatest Muslim country in Africa. It seems that the abundance of Muslim population in Nigeria, deviant religious tendencies, the common enemies of the Iran's and Nigeria's Muslims, and the similarity between the functions of Pahlavi and Nigerian governments are some effective factors of Islamic revolution on Nigeria. After the victory of Islamic revolution of Iran and sending its revolutionary messages about the revival of Islamic identity and the resistance against oppression and colonialism, the people all around the world, especially Africa, received these messages and began to do revolutionary actions. Therefore, the beginning of movements seeking Islam and reviving Islamic teachings by following Islamic revolution, the spread of Shia, and the tendency to Mahdavi idealism are some reflections of Islamic revolution in Nigeria. In addition, Islamic revolution caused some Islamic movements to be formed in Nigeria that they had some effects on Islamic movement in Northern Nigeria, Nigerian universities, movement of Muslim students, and the establishment of Nigerian scholar's association. In this research, they are analyzed with the library method and with a descriptive approach.

The most populous African country and the third Muslim country in the world is Nigeria and the community of Muslims is in the North of this country. There are two important and different ideas about the when and how of the entrance of Islam to Nigeria. Some believe that it happened after the Prophet Muhammad's death and some believe that it happened after the Muslim merchants entered this country through the North in the seventh century A.H. The remarkable point about the entrance of Islam to Nigeria is that although at the beginning, the Muslim's population was low until the era of Usman dan Fodio, Muslims entered this country with the love of Ahl al-Bayt. The different Sufi sects such as Tijanieh and Qaderieh have been spread with the love of Ahl al-Bayt. The most important factors of growth of Shia in Nigeria are the following: the immigration of Imamzadegan and the establishment of Edrissian and Fatimid governments. The scientists divide the presence of Shia in Nigeria into three historical sections. The third section is related to the year 1999 when Nigerian people and Muslims were mostly affected by the waves of Islamic awakening and Islamic revolution of Iran and most of them turned to Shia. Other factors of why and how of the formation and extension of Shia thought in Nigeria, which have been discussed in this research with the library method and with a descriptive approach, are the following: Khoja and Lebanese Shiites and the presence of Muslim merchants and different Sufi sects.

Since several years ago, Islam has been spread in many African countries and the people in this continent, with different customs and tribal traditions, have accepted Islam as a divine religion. In spite of the presence of Fatimid government in the north of Africa and the role of Tasavof with its Shiite tendencies like the issue of Imamat, the African Muslim's limited awareness of Shiite thought was not proposed in the political and juridical level and after the victory of Islamic revolution of Iran, the topic of Islamism and paying attention to the Ahl al-Bayt's knowledge have been entering a new phase and African countries like Benin have turned to Shia. Before the victory of revolution, there are no political relations between Iran and Benin and the Benin's Muslims could not be directly aware of the current issues in Iran. After the establishment of Islamic Republic of Iran, many people from African countries including Benin came to Qom Seminary and began to learn Islamic knowledge. In addition, for spreading the Ahl al-Bayt's knowledge in Benin, a number of managers and missionaries have been sent to there and some Islamic centers and schools have been established there. In this research, the constructive relations with Friday prayer Imams, Tijani communities, some regional principals, missionaries, regional graduates, and University of Benin are introduced as the developer factors of the Ahl al-Bayt's knowledge in Benin.