ISLAMIC SCHOLAR GUNNED DOWN IN SOKOTO

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001558 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PINR KISL NI SUBJECT: ISLAMIC SCHOLAR GUNNED DOWN IN SOKOTO ABUJA 00001558 001.2 OF 002 THIS CABLE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: The Nigerian press reported that Umaru Hamza Dan-Maishiya, a prominent Islamic scholar and imam, died from wounds sustained after three gunmen opened fire as evening prayers at the Shehu Usmanu Dan Fodio Mosque in Sokoto on July 18. Nigerian daily This Day reports that two suspects have been arrested while another remains at large. Sultan of Sokoto Muhammadu Abubakar appealed for calm, noting that joint military and police patrols were being dispatched throughout Sokoto metropolis to attenuate tensions. The death of an outspoken Sunni scholar has precipitated fears that members of Sokoto's minority Shia community may be behind the attack. Following a formal announcement of Dan-Maishiya's death on July 19, a peaceful protest calling on the government to investigate the murder spiraled into a violent confrontation between several hundred of the city's Sunni and Shia youth; an unidentified man was reportedly killed in the violence. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) Dan-Maishiya's killing comes months after a similar shooting on April 13 that took the life of Kano-based Shaykh Ja'afar Adamu. On April 15, BBC News reported that several hundred "Nigerian Taleban" attacked a police outpost in the Panshekara suburbs of Kano city. Several "Taleban" and police officials were reportedly killed in the attack. Subsequent investigations revealed that the attackers may have, in fact, been acting alone and may have numbered fewer than twenty. The motivation for the attack remains unknown, however, indications have emerged that the attackers were protesting the security services' inability to protect Shaykh's Ja'afar's killing. ¶3. (SBU) Although the overwhelming majority of Nigerian Muslims adhere to Sunni Islam, a significant, vociferous minority of Shia Muslims reside in parts of the North, including Zaria, Bauchi, and Sokoto. While Sunni and Shia Muslims have generally maintained convivial relations in Sokoto, the sects clashed in June 2005 over a botched Shia attempt to take over the central Sultan Bello Mosque. Nigerian newspaper "Vanguard" claims that Dan-Maishiya was "said to have spearheaded" the 2005 take over of the mosque; however, former Secretary to the State Government (SSG) in Sokoto, Muhammadu Dingiyadi, who also served as the Democratic People's Party (DPP) gubernatorial candidate in April 2007 was rumored to have been behind the failed take over. In press reports at the time, Dingiyadi neither confirmed nor denied his alleged participation in the plot to capture the mosque nor did he dissociate himself from the Shia community, of which he was believed to be an integral member. Dingiyadi's presumed association with the Shia community and alleged involvement in the 2005 incident were seen to hamper his chances for victory at the April polls. ¶4. (SBU) In northern Nigeria, Sunni Islam is further delineated into three prevailing sects: Tijaniyya/Qadiriyya, tariqa, and Izala. Shia Islam, on the other hand, maintains its homogeneity and was introduced largely by Ibrahim Zakzaky in the early 1980s. Clashes between Sunni and Shia Muslims historically have occurred for political reasons, as the latter views perceived excesses of institutions such as the sultanate, the emirates, and other mainstream Islamic institutions and their leaders as "un-Islamic" or too closely allied with secular government. Sectarian differences within the Sunni community, by contrast, often concern doctrinal issues. Similar to Shaykh Ja'afar's death, in which members of the majority Tijaniyya/Qadiriyya sect of Sunni Islam were considered culpable, the press and contacts report that members of Sokoto's Shia community may have perpetrated Dan-Mashiya's killing in retaliation for his alleged anti-Shia statements. Shaykh Ja'afar, educated in Saudi Arabia, initially joined the Izala movement only to part ways in early 2006; the Shaykh espoused beliefs consistent with the Izala doctrine which mirrors closely the Wahhabi version of Sunni Islam and militated against Tijaniyya/Qadiriyya practices, which he characterized as exogenous to Sunni Islam. ¶5. (SBU) COMMENT: Though it is troubling that violence broke out in the streets of Sokoto and tensions are obviously running high, it appears that the Sultan is aware of the need to keep matters from escalating and the government has dispatched security forces to keep the peace. At this early stage in the investigation, it remains premature to declare that members of Sokoto's Shia community perpetrated ABUJA 00001558 002.2 OF 002 Dan-Maishiya's killing in retaliation for his presumed anti-Shia rhetoric. To be sure, differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims have historically been problematic, at times violent and bloody. While a connection between Dan-Maishiya's July 18 killing and Shaykh Ja'afar's April 13 murder has not been made nor have the perpretators in either case been identified or apprehended, this may signal a worrying trend wherein Islamic scholars are becoming the target of possible intra-religious dissension. END COMMENT. CAMPBELL