Project Description

Though orthodox exegetical approaches to the Quran emphasize the abhorrence of God for violence and the normativity of peaceful faith relations, yet, strained relations with ‘the other’ and the emergence of fanatical ideologies that propel violence and terrorism have become a constant phenomenon in Nigeria. These unfortunate trends gesture towards at least three problematics or possibilities: (a) inadequate pedagogy and acute ignorance, on the part of religious scholars/teachers, of Quranic and apostolic injunctions on peaceful approach to faith discourses most especially in a multireligious setting like the city of Ibadan, (b) deliberate refusal on the part of religious scholars, and in response to historical-existential factors, to imbibe Quranic and apostolic injunctions on peaceful evangelical methodologies as tool for raising progressive missionaries, and/or (c) religious commercialisation in which the spiritual is circumscribed by the material. This project therefore seeks to examine the pedagogical factors that foster or obstruct the cultivation and promotion of positive peace by, and among, graduates of madrasah, and their implications on interfaith and interreligious dialogue in Nigeria.

Bio

Afis Ayinde Oladosu belongs to the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. His specializations and expertise are in Middle Eastern and North African Studies, Arab-Islamic Culture and Civilization in West Africa, Arab Literary Criticism, Islam in Nigeria, Gender and Race Studies. He also has keen interest in Peace Building and Inter-Faith Relations.