Countering physical violence with rhetorical violence: Contextual analysis of a sermon by the Nigerian cleric, Shaykh Ja’far Mahmud Adam (d. 2007)

Shaykh Ja’far Mahmud Adam was a famous Muslim cleric whose missionary career has left an indelible mark on Nigerian Muslim society. An intrepid scholar who at times employed uncompromising language, his assassination in 2007 further enhanced his iconicity. Across Nigeria and even beyond, he remains a key scholarly reference. This paper discusses one of his sermons, known as the OPC sermon1, which has enjoyed wide circulation. One of the most strident speeches that Ja’far delivered amid a bloody turmoil that sprouted in southern Nigeria in 2000, the OPC sermon may be considered his harshest public talk. However, rather than further fuelling tension, it proved to be a peace-advocating intervention that eventually contributed to containing and preventing what could have become a large-scale conflict between major ethnic and religious communities. While my discussion focuses primarily on a clip of the sermon, other sources that my discussion considers include Human Rights Watch reports, public accounts, and comments related to the turmoil. The OPC sermon has so far received no academic attention. I contend that, stripped of its context, the sermon may be interpreted as a public expression that contributes to tension. I further argue that Ja’far’s OPC sermon prevented both reprisal attacks against innocent Nigerians and increased violence.