Political Islam and Democracy in Nigeria: Compatibility or Incompatibility? (Published)
The paper highlights the principles of Islam and that of democracy and argues that both are incompatible in a multi-religious country like Nigeria. Having discussed the concepts of political Islam, Sharia and democracy, the paper proceeds by identifying the inconsistency and ambiguity in the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria which, made the Sharia issue more problematic among the Christians and their Muslim counterparts. The paper prefers Nigeria being a Secular state rather than adopting a state religion which it believes can scuttle Nigeria’s nascent democracy.
Keywords: Democracy, Political Islam, Shariacracy