The Muslim response to the Pentecostal surge in Nigeria: Prayer and the rise of charismatic Islam

Abstract

Abstract The paper postulates the emergence of a charismatic form of Islam in Western Nigeria, indexed by new modalities of prayer, modes of worship and proselytizing, organizational features, and repertoires of devotion that closely approximate forms and expressions normally exclusively associated with Pentecostal Christianity. It is argued that this new formation of Islam, while apparently triggered by Pentecostalism’s recent success in a competitive religious field, is not simply mimetic; but also reflects internal discourses and tensions within Islam, which unfold against the backdrop of political competition with Christianity in Nigeria.