SOCIO-RELIGIOUS IMPACT OF SALAFIYYAH DA WAH ON LAFIAGI MUSLIMS, KWARA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Over the years, various Muslim organizations and individuals have emerged at different times and
places advocating for a return to the practices and ideologies of the Muslim forbears. This trend has
been echoed and reechoed differently in various Muslim societies. Hence, this paper aims to explore
the emergence of Salafiyyah dacwah in Lafiagi Emirate and its socio-cultural and religious
implications. The paper also examines how the principles of Salafiyyah influenced local religious
practices, social dynamics, and community interaction. The research employs descriptive method to
achieve its aims. The study finds out that the Lafiagi Muslims had contact with Salafiyyah ideology
through the preaching of the non- Nupe scholars .The study concludes that Salafiyyah dacwah was
perceived by Nupe Muslims as a strange ideology to the to existing religious and sociocultural
practices and effected some changes thereof. Thus, through rigorous propagative efforts, Salafi
ideologies and practices successfully influenced local religious and socio-cultural practices. The
research therefore recommends that the Salafi group should focus on proper organization of its
dacwah activities and leadership, because having a central leader under whom the group will thrive
properly would help the group in navigating a lot of challenges, among other things.