| مستخلص: |
This article presents information on the history of the caliphate of Sokoto, Nigeria. The Sokoto caliphate was a nineteenth-century West African state that for nearly a century extended a particular form of Islamic rule across much of the Sudanic region south of the Sahara and north of the West African forest zones. Formed following a successful jihad proclaimed by leader Usman dan Fodio and initially led by his kinsmen, Sokoto was intended to be a theocratic state unifying Usman's people, the Fulani, and enforcing their political hegemony over other societies, especially the Hausa states that had previously dominated the region. Himself the son of a Fulani teacher, Usman dan Fodio studied with a variety of shaykhs in the Quranic schools of what is now northern Nigeria. As his knowledge grew, so did his reputation among the Sufi Muslims who shared his devotion to the Islamic Qadiriya Sufi brotherhood popular in the region. As his fame spread and the numbers of his followers grew, the local Hausa ruler of Gobir, a nominal Muslim, made efforts to prevent his further teaching. The situation deteriorated until conflict between Usman's followers and the state, ostensibly over the enslavement of Muslims, led to war in 1804. |
