In search of a public sphere: The fundamentalist challenge to civil society in Nigeria

Patterns of Prejudice

Volumn 38, Issue 2, 2004, Pages 177-198

  Obadare, Ebenezer ^a  

^a LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Civil society; Islamic fundamentalism; Miss World 2002; Nigeria; Public sphere; Secularization

Indexed keywords

EID: 2642585911     PISSN: 0031322X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/00313220410001692367     Document Type: Review

References (114)

1. After a military era that lasted the better part of two decades, the country eventually returned to civil rule on 29 May 1999. In April 2003 the regime of President Olusegun Obasanjo secured a second term following a bitterly disputed election.
2. Jan H. Boer rightly, if in a somewhat inflammatory manner, refers to Nigeria's 'decades of blood'; see his Nigeria's Decades of Blood 1980-2002: Studies in Christian-Muslim Relations (Belleville, Ontario: Essence Publishing 2003).
3. The sharia bandwagon was led by the Zamfara state governor, Sani Ahmed Yerima, who made the initial announcement on 22 October 1999. The sharia bill itself was passed into law in January 2000.
4. See Lamin Sanneh, 'Shariah sanctions as secular grace? A Nigerian Islamic debate and an intellectual response', Transformation, vol. 20, no. 4, October 2003, 232-44.
5. These issues are developed in greater detail in Ebenezer Obadare, 'From students to disciples: religious fundamentalism and the structural transformation of Nigerian university campuses', in Adigun Agbaje, Larry Diamond and Ebere Onwadiwe (eds), Nigeria's Struggle for Democracy and Good Governance. A Festschrift for Oyeleye Oyediran (Ibadan: Ibadan University Press 2004), 375-96.
6. See, for example, Kunle Amuwo, General Babangida, Civil Society and the Military in Nigeria. Anatomy of a Personal Rulership Project, Travaux et Documents no. 48 (Bordeaux: Centre d'étude d'Afrique noire 1995). See also A. A.Yusuf, 'From citadels of learning to battleground: an exploration of students' unrest in Nigeria', Indian Journal of Politics, vol. 26, nos 2-4, 1992, 63-83.
7. See, for example, Kunle Amuwo, General Babangida, Civil Society and the Military in Nigeria. Anatomy of a Personal Rulership Project, Travaux et Documents no. 48 (Bordeaux: Centre d'étude d'Afrique noire 1995). See also A. A.Yusuf, 'From citadels of learning to battleground: an exploration of students' unrest in Nigeria', Indian Journal of Politics, vol. 26, nos 2-4, 1992, 63-83.
8. See Anthony Giddens and Christopher Pierson, Conversations with Anthony Giddens. Making Sense of Modernity (Cambridge: Polity Press 1998), 130.
9. See Jibrin Ibrahim, 'The state and religion in Nigeria: forces and dynamics', Afrika Zamani, no. 5, 1997. The term 'profane' is used throughout to mean 'secular' or 'areligious', as opposed to, for example, 'irreverent'.
10. See, for example, Toyin Falola, Violence in Nigeria: The Crisis of Religious Politics and Secular Ideologies (Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press 1998); Simeon O. Ilesanmi, Religious Pluralism and the Nigerian State, Monographs in International Studies: Africa Series, no. 66 (Athens, OH: Ohio University Center for International Studies 1997); Rotimi Suberu, 'Religion and politics: a view from the South', in Larry Diamond, A. Kirk-Greene and Oyeleye Oyediran (eds), Transition without End: Nigerian Politics and Civil Society under Babangida (Ibadan: Vantage Publishers 1997), 477-508; and Omar Farouk Ibrahim, 'Religion and politics: a view from the North', in Diamond, Kirk-Greene and Oyediran (eds), 509-34.
11. See, for example, Toyin Falola, Violence in Nigeria: The Crisis of Religious Politics and Secular Ideologies (Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press 1998); Simeon O. Ilesanmi, Religious Pluralism and the Nigerian State, Monographs in International Studies: Africa Series, no. 66 (Athens, OH: Ohio University Center for International Studies 1997); Rotimi Suberu, 'Religion and politics: a view from the South', in Larry Diamond, A. Kirk-Greene and Oyeleye Oyediran (eds), Transition without End: Nigerian Politics and Civil Society under Babangida (Ibadan: Vantage Publishers 1997), 477-508; and Omar Farouk Ibrahim, 'Religion and politics: a view from the North', in Diamond, Kirk-Greene and Oyediran (eds), 509-34.
12. See, for example, Toyin Falola, Violence in Nigeria: The Crisis of Religious Politics and Secular Ideologies (Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press 1998); Simeon O. Ilesanmi, Religious Pluralism and the Nigerian State, Monographs in International Studies: Africa Series, no. 66 (Athens, OH: Ohio University Center for International Studies 1997); Rotimi Suberu, 'Religion and politics: a view from the South', in Larry Diamond, A. Kirk-Greene and Oyeleye Oyediran (eds), Transition without End: Nigerian Politics and Civil Society under Babangida (Ibadan: Vantage Publishers 1997), 477-508; and Omar Farouk Ibrahim, 'Religion and politics: a view from the North', in Diamond, Kirk-Greene and Oyediran (eds), 509-34.
13. See, for example, Toyin Falola, Violence in Nigeria: The Crisis of Religious Politics and Secular Ideologies (Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press 1998); Simeon O. Ilesanmi, Religious Pluralism and the Nigerian State, Monographs in International Studies: Africa Series, no. 66 (Athens, OH: Ohio University Center for International Studies 1997); Rotimi Suberu, 'Religion and politics: a view from the South', in Larry Diamond, A. Kirk-Greene and Oyeleye Oyediran (eds), Transition without End: Nigerian Politics and Civil Society under Babangida (Ibadan: Vantage Publishers 1997), 477-508; and Omar Farouk Ibrahim, 'Religion and politics: a view from the North', in Diamond, Kirk-Greene and Oyediran (eds), 509-34.
14. This article is by no means suggesting that secular co-existence in Nigeria is threatened by Islamic fundamentalism alone, as this is obviously not the case. For discussions of how Christian extremism deepens social tensions, see, for example, Henry Bienen, 'Religion, legitimacy, and conflict in Nigeria', Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 483, January 1986, 50-60, and John Hunwick, 'An African case study of political Islam: Nigeria', Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 524, November 1992, 143-55.
15. This article is by no means suggesting that secular co-existence in Nigeria is threatened by Islamic fundamentalism alone, as this is obviously not the case. For discussions of how Christian extremism deepens social tensions, see, for example, Henry Bienen, 'Religion, legitimacy, and conflict in Nigeria', Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 483, January 1986, 50-60, and John Hunwick, 'An African case study of political Islam: Nigeria', Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 524, November 1992, 143-55.
16. See Sola Akinrinade, 'Ethnic and religious conflict in Nigeria: what lessons for South Africa?', Strategic Review for Southern Africa, vol. 22, no. 2, November 2000.
17. See Agaju Madugba, 'Anarchy in the name of religion', Guardian (Lagos), 25 February 2000, 19; Matthew Hassan Kukah, 'Kaduna crisis: matters arising', Guardian on Sunday (Lagos), 27 February 2000, 17.
18. See Agaju Madugba, 'Anarchy in the name of religion', Guardian (Lagos), 25 February 2000, 19; Matthew Hassan Kukah, 'Kaduna crisis: matters arising', Guardian on Sunday (Lagos), 27 February 2000, 17.
19. See Andrew Iro Okungbowa, 'Tales of ethno-religious clashes', Guardian on Sunday (Lagos), 29 December 2002; and Boer, Nigeria's Decades of Blood, 114-39.
20. See Andrew Iro Okungbowa, 'Tales of ethno-religious clashes', Guardian on Sunday (Lagos), 29 December 2002; and Boer, Nigeria's Decades of Blood, 114-39.
21. Jan Boer lists ten major religious clashes between 1982 and 2002 (Boer, Nigeria's Decades of Blood, 38).
22. See Helon Habila, 'Ignoring Nigeria', Prospect Magazine, January 2003.
23. Sanneh, 236.
24. Mehdi Mozaffari, 'Islam and civil society', in Klaus Ferdinand and Mehdi Mozaffari (eds), Islam: State and Society (London: Curzon Press 1988).
25. For instance, John Paden has identified seven cross-cutting tendencies within the Muslim community in northern Nigeria. These are: the traditional non-sectarian mainstream Muslim groups; the Sufi brotherhoods; the anti-innovation legalists, especially the Izala; intellectual reformers; anti-establishment syncretists; Shi'ites; and unemployed urban youth and Qur'anic student movements; see John Paden, 'Islam and democratic federalism in Nigeria', Africa Notes, no. 8, March 2002, 2. See also Ousmane Kane, Muslim Modernity in Postcolonial Nigeria: A Study of the Society for the Removal of Innovation and Reinstatement of Tradition (Leiden: Brill 2003).
26. For instance, John Paden has identified seven cross-cutting tendencies within the Muslim community in northern Nigeria. These are: the traditional non-sectarian mainstream Muslim groups; the Sufi brotherhoods; the anti-innovation legalists, especially the Izala; intellectual reformers; anti-establishment syncretists; Shi'ites; and unemployed urban youth and Qur'anic student movements; see John Paden, 'Islam and democratic federalism in Nigeria', Africa Notes, no. 8, March 2002, 2. See also Ousmane Kane, Muslim Modernity in Postcolonial Nigeria: A Study of the Society for the Removal of Innovation and Reinstatement of Tradition (Leiden: Brill 2003).
27. John O. Voll, 'Religion and politics in Islamic Africa', in Mathew C. Moen and Lowell S. Gustafson (eds), The Religious Challenge to the State (Philadelphia: Temple University Press 1992), 228.
28. Raymond Hickey, 'The 1982 Maitatsine uprisings in Nigeria: a note', African Affairs, vol. 83, no. 331, April 1984, 252.
29. See text of 1990 press statement issued by the Council of Ulama (quoted in Sanneh, 236).
30. Voll, 227.
31. Cited in Kane, 186.
32. Sanneh, 241. Sanneh also notes that southern Christian leaders actually defend secularity on 'pragmatic grounds of equality under the law, national stability and participation in public life, rather than for theological reasons' (241).
33. It is useful to point out that, even in the West, there exists a massive debate on secularity and its philosophical assumptions; see, for example, Dilip Parameshwar Gaonkar (ed.), Alternative Modernities (Durham, NC and London: Duke University Press 2001).
34. For more on the press and politics in Nigeria, see Fred Omu, Press and Politics in Nigeria, 1859-1937 (London: Longman 1978) and Adigun Agbaje, The Nigerian Press, Hegemony and the Social Construction of Legitimacy, 1960-1983 (New York: Edwin Mellen Press 1992).
35. For more on the press and politics in Nigeria, see Fred Omu, Press and Politics in Nigeria, 1859-1937 (London: Longman 1978) and Adigun Agbaje, The Nigerian Press, Hegemony and the Social Construction of Legitimacy, 1960-1983 (New York: Edwin Mellen Press 1992).
36. For the average northern view of what is regarded as the 'Lagos-Ibadan' press, see Ibrahim Ado-Kurawa, Shari'ah and the Press in Nigeria: Islam versus Western Christian Civilisation (Kano: Kurawa Holdings Limited 2000).
37. Until Babangida's intervention, the country had maintained an observer status in the OIC; see Adebayo Oyebade, 'Reluctant democracy: the state, the opposition, and the crisis of political transition, 1985-1993', in Adebayo Oyebade (ed.), The Transformation of Nigeria: Essays in Honor of Toyin Falola (Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, Inc. 2002), 137-65.
38. The 'Nigerian' delegation was led by Alhaji Rilwanu Lukman, the then petroleum minister.
39. This line of reasoning is taken further in William Reno, Warlord Politics and African States (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers 1998). Apparently we have not heard the last of the OIC controversy. At a meeting held on Sunday, 14 June 2003, between president, Olusegun Obasanjo and Islamic traditional leaders from the North, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Maccido, demanded that the president attend future meetings of the Islamic body. He (the president) replied that he was not opposed to Nigeria's membership, otherwise he would not have 'invited the Islamic Bank to Nigeria'. See Sani Babadoko, 'I can't release Bamaiyi, Al-Mustapha - Obasanjo', Daily Trust (Abuja), 15 Decembers 2003.
40. This line of reasoning is taken further in William Reno, Warlord Politics and African States (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers 1998). Apparently we have not heard the last of the OIC controversy. At a meeting held on Sunday, 14 June 2003, between president, Olusegun Obasanjo and Islamic traditional leaders from the North, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Maccido, demanded that the president attend future meetings of the Islamic body. He (the president) replied that he was not opposed to Nigeria's membership, otherwise he would not have 'invited the Islamic Bank to Nigeria'. See Sani Babadoko, 'I can't release Bamaiyi, Al-Mustapha - Obasanjo', Daily Trust (Abuja), 15 Decembers 2003.
41. See Ukoha Ukiwo, 'Politics, ethno-religious conflicts and democratic consolidation in Nigeria', Journal of Modern African Studies, vol. 41, no. 1, 2003, 124.
42. See, for example, Adebayo O. Olukoshi, 'A transition to nowhere: electoral politics in Nigeria during the Abacha years, 1993-8', in Michael Cowen and Liisa Lakso (eds), Multi-party Elections in Africa (Oxford: James Curry 2002), 217-50; Wole Soyinka, The Open Sore of a Continent: A Personal Narrative of the Nigerian Crisis (New York: Oxford University Press 1996); and Ukiwo.
43. See, for example, Adebayo O. Olukoshi, 'A transition to nowhere: electoral politics in Nigeria during the Abacha years, 1993-8', in Michael Cowen and Liisa Lakso (eds), Multi-party Elections in Africa (Oxford: James Curry 2002), 217-50; Wole Soyinka, The Open Sore of a Continent: A Personal Narrative of the Nigerian Crisis (New York: Oxford University Press 1996); and Ukiwo.
44. 'Extremists in Nigeria', Washington Post, 29 November 2002.
45. See Jibrin Ibrahim.
46. Chief Abiola died in jail on Tuesday 7 July 1998, apparently of a heart attack, days before his scheduled release.
47. This is Olusegun Obasanjo's second coming having ruled the country before as military head of state between 1976 and 1979.
48. For more on this connection, see Wale Adebanwi, 'Sharia or "pariah" citizens? Muslim legal code and the negotiation of citizenship in Nigeria', paper presented at the Fifth International Society for Third Sector Research (ISTR) conference, Cape Town, South Africa, 7-11 July 2002.
49. It is important to note here that even there, i.e. London, public opinion was equally divided. Indeed, there were many with broadly 'feminist' sympathies who were in concurrence with the Islamic fundamentalist opposition to the pageant; see, for example, Libby Purves, 'Third World reveals Miss World ugliness', The Times (London), 26 November 2002, and Rod Liddle, 'The ugly side of Miss World', Guardian (London), 26 November 2002.
50. It is important to note here that even there, i.e. London, public opinion was equally divided. Indeed, there were many with broadly 'feminist' sympathies who were in concurrence with the Islamic fundamentalist opposition to the pageant; see, for example, Libby Purves, 'Third World reveals Miss World ugliness', The Times (London), 26 November 2002, and Rod Liddle, 'The ugly side of Miss World', Guardian (London), 26 November 2002.
51. See Nduka Nwosu, 'Faces of a lost pageant', Guardian (Lagos), 30 November 2002.
52. She was eighteen, according to some accounts.
53. See the interview with Lateef Adegbite, 'Let's never have Miss World here again', Newswatch (Lagos), vol. 36, no. 23, 9 December 2002.
54. See Jan H. Boer, 'The anatomy of Miss World', January 2003, available at www.gamji.com/amnews19.htm (viewed 12 February 2004).
55. At the time of writing, the legal status of the sharia criminal code remains unresolved. While the president has declared it unconstitutional and seems to favour a political resolution, the justice minister has affirmed its constitutionality. See Modupe Oduyoye, The Shariy'ah Debate in Nigeria October 1999-October 2000 (Ibadan: Sefer Books 2000).
56. The other proposed venue was Calabar, the capital of Cross-River state, deep in the south-east.
57. Boer, The anatomy of Miss World'.
58. See ThisDay (Lagos), 8 August 2002.
59. The organizers seemed to have anticipated this objection with their decision to cancel the swimsuit segment of the contest. Instead, there was a photo shoot (with the contestants in swimsuits) at Calabar, a safe distance from the controversial Abuja. See Laura McClure, 'What would Mohammed do?', Salon.com (online magazine), 4 December 2002, available at www.salon.com/mwt/ feature/2002/12/04/islamic_women/ (viewed 9 February 2004).
60. See Janine di Giovanni, 'Divine injustice', The Times (London), 30 November 2002, 27.
61. Nigeria boasts of at least two national beauty contests, Miss Nigeria and Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria. Miss Nigeria is organized yearly by Daily Times of Nigeria (DTN), a publication in which the federal government has the majority of shares. The Miss Nigeria competition dates back to 1960, the year of the country's independence. In fact, the 1960 contest was attended by Prime Minister Alhaji Tafawa Balewa, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the then premier of the northern region, and several northern emirs. See 'Sultan's call for boycott of Miss World pageant political', 27 September 2002, available at www.onlinenigeria.com/links/adv.asp?blurb=129 (viewed 10 February 2004).
62. A good example is what took place in November 2003 when placard-carrying youths protested Nigeria's hosting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). The youths denounced the Commonwealth for being 'anti-Islam'. Inevitably, there were placards with the legends: 'No to the Commonwealth and Its Allies' and 'Death to the United States and Israel'; see Saxone Akhaine and Muyiwa Adeyemi, 'Protest rocks Kaduna over CHOGM', Guardian (Lagos), 22 November 2003.
63. See Saxone Akhaine, 'Sharia council, medical experts okay polio vaccine', Guardian (Lagos), 18 November 2003.
64. Ukiwo, 125.
65. See Boer, 'The anatomy of Miss World'.
66. Isioma Daniel, 'Miss World 2002. The world at their feet', ThisDay (Lagos), 16 November 2002.
67. Interview with Lateef Adegbite, 'Let's never have Miss World here again'.
68. Quoted in Saxone Akhaine, 'Muslims protest, torch ThisDay office', Guardian (Lagos), 21 November 2002.
69. I b i d.
70. Quoted in ibid.
71. Quoted in 'I lit the match', Guardian (London), 17 February 2003.
72. See Daniel Balint-Kurti, 'Nigerian sharia state holds firm, on fatwa', available at www.alertnet.org (viewed 4 December 2002). In the streets, protesters also passed their own fatwa on both the publisher of ThisDay, Nduka Obaigbena, and the editor of the newspaper, Eniola Bello; they however called on the federal government to call the two to order to prevent the sentence from being carried out (see Akhaine).
73. See the article by Wole Shadare, Guardian (Lagos), 27 November 2002.
74. I b i d.
75. See, for example, Reuben Abati, 'The Word', Guardian (Lagos), 29 November 2002, and Laolu Akande, 'Soyinka decries handling of Miss World riots by government, leaders', Guardian (Lagos), 12 February 2003. Needless to say, international opinion was also divided; see Andrew Sullivan, 'The left's fatwa on our freedom', The Sunday Times (London), 1 December 2002.
76. See, for example, Reuben Abati, 'The Word', Guardian (Lagos), 29 November 2002, and Laolu Akande, 'Soyinka decries handling of Miss World riots by government, leaders', Guardian (Lagos), 12 February 2003. Needless to say, international opinion was also divided; see Andrew Sullivan, 'The left's fatwa on our freedom', The Sunday Times (London), 1 December 2002.
77. See, for example, Reuben Abati, 'The Word', Guardian (Lagos), 29 November 2002, and Laolu Akande, 'Soyinka decries handling of Miss World riots by government, leaders', Guardian (Lagos), 12 February 2003. Needless to say, international opinion was also divided; see Andrew Sullivan, 'The left's fatwa on our freedom', The Sunday Times (London), 1 December 2002.
78. See Paul Nwabuikwu, 'Beyond religion', Guardian (Lagos), 27 November 2002.
79. See Nwosu.
80. Cameron Duodu, 'Ugly saga of Miss World reveals split', Observer (London), 24 November 2002.
81. Interview with Lateef Adegbite, 'Let's never have Miss World here again'.
82. I b i d.
83. 'Talkabout Africa exclusive: Isioma Daniel has no regrets', BBC press release, 13 March 2003, available at www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/ stories/2003/03_march/13/ws_talkabout_africa.shtm (viewed 10 February 2004). Daniel's interview with the BBC was broadcast on the BBC African Service's programme Talkabout Africa, 12 March 2003.
84. 'Talkabout Africa exclusive: Isioma Daniel has no regrets', BBC press release, 13 March 2003, available at www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/ stories/2003/03_march/13/ws_talkabout_africa.shtm (viewed 10 February 2004). Daniel's interview with the BBC was broadcast on the BBC African Service's programme Talkabout Africa, 12 March 2003.
85. There is a serious body of work on the social meanings of humour; see, for example, Chris Powell and George E. C. Paton (eds), Humour in Society: Resistance and Control (Basing-stoke: Macmillan 1998); Jerry Palmer, Taking Humour Seriously (London: Routledge 1993); and Simon Critchley, On Humour (London: Routledge 2002).
86. There is a serious body of work on the social meanings of humour; see, for example, Chris Powell and George E. C. Paton (eds), Humour in Society: Resistance and Control (Basing-stoke: Macmillan 1998); Jerry Palmer, Taking Humour Seriously (London: Routledge 1993); and Simon Critchley, On Humour (London: Routledge 2002).
87. There is a serious body of work on the social meanings of humour; see, for example, Chris Powell and George E. C. Paton (eds), Humour in Society: Resistance and Control (Basing-stoke: Macmillan 1998); Jerry Palmer, Taking Humour Seriously (London: Routledge 1993); and Simon Critchley, On Humour (London: Routledge 2002).
88. Giddens and Pierson.
89. See Anthony Giddens, Modernity and Self-Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press 1991), 20-1.
90. Ibid., 142.
91. See Gabriel A. Almond and R. Scott Appleby, Strong Religion: The Rise of Fundamentalisms around the World (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press 2003); see also Steve Bruce, Fundamentalism (Cambridge: Polity Press in association with Blackwell 2000); Karen Armstrong, The Battle for God: A History of Fundamentalism (New York: Ballantine Books 2001); and Gerrie ter Haar and James J. Busuttil (eds), The Freedom to Do God's Will: Fundamentalism and Social Change (London and New York: Routledge 2003).
92. See Gabriel A. Almond and R. Scott Appleby, Strong Religion: The Rise of Fundamentalisms around the World (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press 2003); see also Steve Bruce, Fundamentalism (Cambridge: Polity Press in association with Blackwell 2000); Karen Armstrong, The Battle for God: A History of Fundamentalism (New York: Ballantine Books 2001); and Gerrie ter Haar and James J. Busuttil (eds), The Freedom to Do God's Will: Fundamentalism and Social Change (London and New York: Routledge 2003).
93. See Gabriel A. Almond and R. Scott Appleby, Strong Religion: The Rise of Fundamentalisms around the World (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press 2003); see also Steve Bruce, Fundamentalism (Cambridge: Polity Press in association with Blackwell 2000); Karen Armstrong, The Battle for God: A History of Fundamentalism (New York: Ballantine Books 2001); and Gerrie ter Haar and James J. Busuttil (eds), The Freedom to Do God's Will: Fundamentalism and Social Change (London and New York: Routledge 2003).
94. See Gabriel A. Almond and R. Scott Appleby, Strong Religion: The Rise of Fundamentalisms around the World (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press 2003); see also Steve Bruce, Fundamentalism (Cambridge: Polity Press in association with Blackwell 2000); Karen Armstrong, The Battle for God: A History of Fundamentalism (New York: Ballantine Books 2001); and Gerrie ter Haar and James J. Busuttil (eds), The Freedom to Do God's Will: Fundamentalism and Social Change (London and New York: Routledge 2003).
95. See Richard T. Antoun, Understanding Fundamentalism: Christian, Islamic, and Jewish Movements (Boston: Rowman and Littlefield 2001), xii.
96. For a discussion of some of these properties, see Almond and Appleby.
97. Following Manuel Castells's definition of 'fundamentalism' as 'a reactive movement'; see M. Castells, The Rise of the Network Society (Cambridge, MA and Oxford: Blackwell 1996), 25.
98. See Ebenezer Obadare, White Collar Fundamentalism: Youth Religiosity and Uncivil Society in Nigeria, Occasional Paper Series (Pretoria: African Association of Political Science 2004). For a theoretical comparison of Islamic and Christian fundamentalisms, see Anthony Giddens, Sociology, 2nd edn (Cambridge: Polity Press 1993).
99. See Ebenezer Obadare, White Collar Fundamentalism: Youth Religiosity and Uncivil Society in Nigeria, Occasional Paper Series (Pretoria: African Association of Political Science 2004). For a theoretical comparison of Islamic and Christian fundamentalisms, see Anthony Giddens, Sociology, 2nd edn (Cambridge: Polity Press 1993).
100. Antoun.
101. See Peter Berger, 'Social sources of secularization', in Jeffrey C. Alexander and Steven Seidman (eds), Culture and Society: Contemporary Debates (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1995), 243.
102. For an extensive discussion, see Miriam Hoexter, Shmuel N. Eisenstadt and Nehemia Levtzion (eds), The Public Sphere in Muslim Societies (New York: State University of New York Press 2002).
103. Miriam Hoexter and Nehemia Levtzion, 'Introduction', in ibid., 9. A separate debate exists over what is 'private', what is 'public', and what is the overlap between the two; see, for example, the collection of essays in Craig Calhoun (ed), Habermas and the Public Sphere (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press 1992).
104. Miriam Hoexter and Nehemia Levtzion, 'Introduction', in ibid., 9. A separate debate exists over what is 'private', what is 'public', and what is the overlap between the two; see, for example, the collection of essays in Craig Calhoun (ed), Habermas and the Public Sphere (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press 1992).
105. Neera Chandhoke, State and Civil Society: Explorations in Political Theory (New Delhi and London: Sage Publications 1995), 165.
106. See Fritz Erich Anhelm, 'Religion and civil society: what is the relationship between them?', in Civicus (ed.), Civil Society at the Millennium (Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press 1999).
107. See Iris Marion Young, Inclusion and Democracy (Oxford: Oxford University Press 2000), 168-73.
108. Michael Edwards, Civil Society (Cambridge: Polity Press 2004), 63.
109. For a discussion of the conflicting narratives, see, for example, John A. Hall, Civil Society: Theory, History, Comparison (Cambridge: Polity Press 1995).
110. Edwards.
111. Chandhoke, 247.
112. See Abdullahi An-Na'im, 'Religion and global civil society: inherent incompatibility or synergy and interdependence?', in Marlies Glasius, Mary Kaldor and Helmut Anheier, Global Civil Society 2002 (Oxford: Oxford University Press 2002), 60.
113. Edwards, 55.
114. See Axel Honneth, 'Conceptions of civil society', Radical Philosophy, vol. 64, summer 1996, 19-22.