the 500 most influential muslims - The Royal Islamic Strategic ...

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HIS ROYAL EMINENCE
AMIRUL MU'MININ SHEIKH AS SULTAN
MUHAMMADU SA'ADU ABUBAKAR III
Sultan of Sokoto
Amirul Mu'minin Sheikh as Sultan Muhammadu
Sa'adu Abubakar III is the 20th Sultan of Sokoto. As
Sultan of Sokoto, he is considered the spiritual leader
of Nigeria's 74.6 million Muslims, who account for
roughly 50 percent of the nation's population. Although
the position of Sultan of Sokoto has become
largely ceremonial, the holder is still a central figure
for Nigerian Muslims.
Country: Nigeria
Date of Birth: 24 August 1956
Source of Influence: Lineage,
Development, Administrative
Influence: Central figure for
approximately 74.6 million
Nigerian Muslims
School of Thought: Traditional
Sunni, Maliki; Linked to the
Qadiriyyah Sufi order by lineage
Lineage Back to Sheikh Usman Dan Fodio
The Sultan of Sokoto is the spiritual leader of Nigeria's enormous Muslim community.
He gains this position by lineage. Abubakar is the 20th heir to the two-century-old throne
founded by his ancestor, Sheikh Usman Dan Fodio. Dan Fodio, (1754-1817 CE) was a
scholar, leader of the Maliki school of Islam and the Qadiri branch of Sufism, and Islamic
reformer of the nineteenth century. Dan Fodio believed that Islam should have a more
central role in the life of the people of West Africa and led an uprising to institute the
changes he sought. His figure and his writings are a very important chapter in the history
of Islam in West Africa, and Abubakar by lineage holds a key place in West African Islam,
and particularly for the Fulani and Hausa people who followed Dan Fodio.
A Respected Family
The position currently does carry with it some weight—though largely ceremonial since
British colonial rule diminished its political significance. Much of this clout is derived
from the respect that was earned by Siddiq Abu Bakar Dan Usman—17th Sultan and
father of Abubakar—who held the Sultanate for over fifty years. The rule of Abubakar's
father from 1938 to 1988 earned the position significant social capital and popularity
with ordinary Muslims.
Administrative Power
Abubakar holds important administrative influence in Nigerian religious life. Abubakar
is the titular ruler of Sokoto in northern Nigeria and also is the head of the Nigerian
National Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs. Leadership of this council means that the
Sultan of Sokoto remains the only figure that can legitimately claim to speak on behalf of
all Nigerian Muslims. This role has become increasingly influential over the years with a
rise in interreligious tensions between Nigeria's Muslim-majority North and Christianmajority
South. The late Sultan Siddiq Abu Bakar dan Usman was widely respected for
trying to ease tensions between Nigeria's Muslim and Christian communities, which
occasionally spill over into sectarian violence. Abubakar also possesses military experience
in conflict areas.
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