Yan Tatsine

The Yan Tatsine were followers of the controversial Nigerian Muslim leader Maitatsine, that first appeared around the early 1970s. They consisted largely of a following of youths, unemployed migrants, and those who felt that mainstream Muslim teachers were not doing enough for their communities.

As his following increased in the 1970s, so did the number of confrontations between Yan Tatsine and the police. By December 1980, continued Yan Tatsine attacks on other religious figures and police forced the Nigerian army to become involved. Subsequent armed clashes led to the deaths of around 5,000 people, including Maitatsine himself.[1] Maitatsine died shortly after sustaining injuries in the clashes either from his wounds or from a heart attack.[2]

After Maitatsine's death

Despite Mohammed Marwa's death, Yan Tatsine riots continued into the early 1980s. In October 1982 riots erupted in Bulumkuttu, near Maidaguri, and in Kaduna, to where many Yan Tatsine adherents had moved after 1980. Over 3,000 people died. Some survivors of these altercations moved to Yola, and in early 1984 more violent uprisings occurred in that city. In this round of rioting, Musa Makaniki, a close disciple of Maitatsine, emerged as a leader and Marwa's successor.[1][2] Ultimately more than 1,000 people died in Yola and roughly half of the city's 60,000 inhabitants were left homeless. Makaniki fled to his hometown of Gombe, where more Yan Tatsine riots occurred in April 1985. A final riot occurred in Funtua, Kaduna state in 1987.[3] After the deaths of several hundred people Makaniki retreated to Cameroon, where he remained until 2004 when he was arrested in Nigeria,[4] where he was sentenced in 2006,[1] but later released.[5] Another leader of Yan Tatsine, Malam Badamasi, was killed in 2009.[6]

Ideology

Maitatsine was known for his controversial preachings on the Qur'an; he claimed to be a prophet,[7] and saw himself as a mujaddid in the image of Sheikh Usman dan Fodio.[8] The group were Quranists, seemingly rejecting the hadith and the sunnah and regarded the reading of any other book but the Koran as paganism. They spoke against the use of radios, watches, bicycles, cars and the possession of more money than necessary.[9][1][10] In 1979, Maitatsine even rejected the prophethood of Mohammed and portrayed himself as an annạbi (Hausa for "prophet").[1]

Some analysts view the terrorist group Boko Haram as an extension of the Maitatsine riots.[11]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 J. Peter Pham, 19 Oct 06.In Nigeria False Prophets Are Real Problems, World Defense Review.
  2. 1 2 Hiskett, Mervyn (October 1987). "The Maitatsine Riots in Kano, 1980: An Assessment". Journal of Religion in Africa 17: 209–23. doi:10.1163/157006687x00145. JSTOR 1580875. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
  3. ↑ http://books.openedition.org/ifra/788?lang=en#cite
  4. ↑ KAYODE FASUA (Mar 3, 2013). Maitatsine: Tale of religious war in the North. National Mirror Online.
  5. ↑ Timawus Mathias. Musa Makaniki: Discharged and acquitted. Daily Trust, Wednesday, 09 May 2012 05:00.
  6. ↑ Abiodun Alao, Islamic Radicalisation and Violence in Nigeria, Retrieved March 1, 2013
  7. ↑ Isichei, Elizabeth (October 1987). "The Maitatsine Risings in Nigeria 1980-1985: A Revolt of the Disinherited". Journal of Religion in Africa 17 (3): 194–208. doi:10.1163/157006687x00136. Retrieved 2011-09-04.
  8. ↑ Adesoji, Abimbola (Summer 2011). "Between Maitatsine and Boko Haram: Islamic Fundamentalism and the Response of the Nigerian State". Africa Today 57 (4): 98–119, 136. Retrieved 2011-11-13.
  9. ↑ Kastfelt, Niels (1989). "Rumours of Maitatsine: A Note on Political Culture in Northern Nigeria". African Affairs 88 (350): 83–90. Retrieved 2011-09-04.
  10. ↑ Dr. Aliyu U. Tilde. "An in-house Survey into the Cultural Origins of Boko Haram Movement in Nigeria (Discourse 261)". MONDAY DISCOURSE WITH DR. ALIYU U. TILDE. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  11. ↑ Johnson, Toni (31 August 2011). "Backgrounder: Boko Haram". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 2011-09-01.
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