Situated within the Cross River State of Nigeria, the Upper Cross River area covers the northern half of Cross River State comprising Ugep, Obubra, Ikom, Ogoja, and Obudu divisions. Bounded on the north by the Benue r...Situated within the Cross River State of Nigeria, the Upper Cross River area covers the northern half of Cross River State comprising Ugep, Obubra, Ikom, Ogoja, and Obudu divisions. Bounded on the north by the Benue region, west by Ebonyi and Enugu states and east by the Republic of Cameroon, this unique area experienced colonial rule. Christianity established its dominance in this area during colonial times, leaving no room for Islam. However, following the 1967 to 1970 civil war, groups of Islamic traders, clerics, and businessmen started trickling into the area, and settling there. They began to spread their faith in the region hut could not establish their political presence there. Some familiarised themselves with the culture of the indigenous people, and won converts not by force, but via the proselytisation of their faith. Community leaders did not abandon the old verities which bound traditional society in the region together. The pattern was often a pragmatic choice--accepting the best of the faiths resulting in peaceful co-existence and assured social harmony in the region. Pockets of Islamic converts could be found in Ogoja, Obudu, and some strategic commercial locations in the region. Against this backdrop, the paper examines the co-existence of Islam in the Upper Cross River Region （UCRR） and the impact made economically, culturally and religiously on the peoples of the region. The research adopted secondary and primary sources of information in its methodology. It therefore established that the UCRR of Nigeria serves as an excellent example, or a convenient model for the study of mutual religious co-existence between adherents of the Islamic and other faiths in the region.展开更多
文摘Situated within the Cross River State of Nigeria, the Upper Cross River area covers the northern half of Cross River State comprising Ugep, Obubra, Ikom, Ogoja, and Obudu divisions. Bounded on the north by the Benue region, west by Ebonyi and Enugu states and east by the Republic of Cameroon, this unique area experienced colonial rule. Christianity established its dominance in this area during colonial times, leaving no room for Islam. However, following the 1967 to 1970 civil war, groups of Islamic traders, clerics, and businessmen started trickling into the area, and settling there. They began to spread their faith in the region hut could not establish their political presence there. Some familiarised themselves with the culture of the indigenous people, and won converts not by force, but via the proselytisation of their faith. Community leaders did not abandon the old verities which bound traditional society in the region together. The pattern was often a pragmatic choice--accepting the best of the faiths resulting in peaceful co-existence and assured social harmony in the region. Pockets of Islamic converts could be found in Ogoja, Obudu, and some strategic commercial locations in the region. Against this backdrop, the paper examines the co-existence of Islam in the Upper Cross River Region （UCRR） and the impact made economically, culturally and religiously on the peoples of the region. The research adopted secondary and primary sources of information in its methodology. It therefore established that the UCRR of Nigeria serves as an excellent example, or a convenient model for the study of mutual religious co-existence between adherents of the Islamic and other faiths in the region.
