The Stages of Igbo Conversion to Islam

In recent years a very rare phenomenon was observed in Igboland, Southeastern Nigeria-the conversion of the Igbo to Islam. There exists a significant scholarly work on the stages of conversion or conversion process among different people group; however, to the best of our knowledge, little exists on the Igbo conversion to Islam. This could be as a result of the phenomenon being a relatively recent development in Igboland, commencing in the second half of the twentieth century (Uchendu in Soc Sci J 47(1):172-188, 2010). This article seeks to discover the stages of Igbo conversion to Islam; that is, the systematic phases involved in their conversion process to Islam To accomplish this, ethnographic interviews were conducted with thirty (30) former Igbo Christians, all now converts to Islam. Gerlach and Hine's (People, power, change: movements of social transformation, Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis, 1970) stages of conversion theory were applied to this study, and the findings showed that Igbo converts to Islam underwent six stages in their conversion process to Islam. These are: "Initial contact with a practicing Muslim; focus of need through demonstration; re-education through group interaction; decision and surrender; commitment event; and group support for changed cognitive and behavioral patterns (consequence)". The findings from this study reveal that tension and crisis do not often begin the stage of disaffiliating from one's original religion as some scholars claim. The study recommends that Igbo Christians should build strong ties with one another so that disaffiliation will not quickly occur

Epistemology · Ethnography · Igbo · Islam · Phenomenon · Political science · Power (physics) · Process (computing) · Religious conversion · Sociology · Surrender · Theology · Anthropology · Gender Studies · Law · Media, Religion, Digital Communication · Philosophy · Psychology · Religion and Sociopolitical Dynamics in Nigeria · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence

• Toward an Integrated Framework of Knowledge Transfer

  Open Access•Shih-Lung Hsu, Hsin-Mei Lin et al.•Review of Religious Research•2024

  Añadir item

• On Becoming a World-Saver

  John Lofland, Rodney Stark•Cults in Context•2018

  Añadir item

• People Power Change

  Luther P Gerlach•People Power Change•1970

  Añadir item

• Anthropology of Religious Conversion

  Lewis R Rambo, Charles E Farhadian et al.•The Oxford Handbook of Religious…•2014

  Añadir item

• Evidence for Islam in Southeast Nigeria

  Open Access•Egodi Uchendu•The Social Science Journal•2009

  Añadir item

• Becoming a World-Saver

  John Lofland, Rodney Stark•American Sociological Review•1965

  Añadir item

• Handbook of Religious Conversion

  John A Saliba, H Newton Malony et al.•Journal for the Scientific Study…•1993

  Añadir item

• Five Factors Crucial to the Growth and Spread of a Modern Religious Movement

  Luther P Gerlach, Virginia H Hine•Journal for the Scientific Study…•1968

  Añadir item

• The Lofland-Stark Conversion Model

  David A Snow, Cynthia L Phillips•Social Problems•1980

  Añadir item

• Revitalization Movements

  Open Access•Anthony F C Wallace•American Anthropologist•1956

  Añadir item