A Geopolitical Intervention in African Religious Studies

The study of Islam in Africa is undergoing significant transformation as global geopolitical dynamics influence local religious landscapes. The geopolitics of religion between Saudi Arabia and Iran has led to a flow of international students and ideas from the Middle East to Africa, including northern Nigeria. The extension of the Middle Eastern religious soft power on the African religious landscape has generated new trends in the study of Salafism, political Islam, religious extremism, Salafi transnational media, digital Salafism, religious conflicts, and the rise of Shiism in the region. This article reviews relevant scholarship on this subject and explores the impact of these interventions on religious identities in the Anguwan Rogo neighbourhood of Jos. By examining how these transnational Islamic ideologies shape local communities, the article highlights the complexities of religious identity formation in a context marked by both global influences and local realities. The article indicates how these global movements are appropriated, adapted, and contested within the socio-political landscape of Jos. These findings underscore the importance of understanding religious identity in Africa as a dynamic interplay between global trends and local contexts, offering new insights into new trends and developments in the academic study of religion in Africa.