State Repression and Religious Conflict: The Perils of the State Clampdown on the Shi’a Minority in Nigeria

Abstract

In Nigeria, there is an increasing population of the followers of Shi’a Islam, which is largely promoted by the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) led by Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky. Given its anti-state ideology and anarchical conducts, there have been a series of clashes between the Shi’a group and the Nigerian state. Since December 2015, the government both at the national and state levels began a coercive repression of the IMN following a clash that led to the death of over 500 members of the group. This paper analyses the ongoing state repression of the Shi’a Muslims in Nigeria. It argues that the increasingly violent actions by the state against the group are a recipe for a large-scale conflict, which may assume the following dimensions: a new wave of religious terrorism (after Boko Haram), a Sunni-Shi’a conflict, and international proxy wars in Nigeria. The paper concludes that a practicable way to stem the imminent violence is for the government to establish a dialogue with the group on how to ensure its compliance with the state laws and not totally outlaw it.