Incursion of Shi’ism in Sunni Dominated Societies: A Study of Gombe Metropolis

Abstract

Sunni sect is considered to be the most dominant sect in Nigeria since the introduction of Islam in the 11^th century up to 20^th century when Shi’ism was embraced by a group of Nigerian youths in tertiary institutions who distinguished themselves by calling people to the true teachings of Islam amidst clash of ideologies of Marxism and Capitalism. Their primary motive was to capture state power and to establish an Islamic state devoid of anti-Islamic ideologies. The introduction of Shi’ism in Nigeria by these young Islamic activists generated a great tension and created a wide ground for theological debates to date. This paper therefore, attempts to study the introduction of Shi’ism in Gombe town, its prospects and challenges as well as the relationship between the Shi’ites and the Sunnis in the city. The work suitably adopted historical method of finding data; using primary sources such as interviews, observations and audio recordings, the research found that Shi’ism was accepted in Gombe since the late 1980s and to present time there are three Shi’ite organizations in Gombe which have some similarities and dissimilarities as well. The research finally recommends among other things, that in order to achieve unity among Muslims of different sects, adherents of the sects should guard their tongues against provoking utterances to their brethren of other sect.