Fulani did not conquer the Hausa Muslim kingdoms during Shehu Dan Fodio’s jihad just by military strength alone.

Fulani did not conquer the Hausa Muslim kingdoms during Shehu Dan Fodio’s jihad just by military strength alone.

Fulani did not conquer the Hausa Muslim kingdoms during Shehu Dan Fodio’s jihad just by military strength alone.

In the book “The Transformation of Katsina 1400–1883” written by the renowned historian from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Dr. Yusufu Bala Usman, he clearly explains how the jihadist rebels used to enter towns when they came for jihad.

From the methods they followed, you can easily understand what their real aim was.

Was it truly about Islam, or was it a political move to seize power?

On page 110 of the book, Dr. Yusuf Bala Usman writes:

“Before the jihadists arrived with their weapons, they had a special way of preparing people’s minds.

Their supporters would first enter the town and begin spreading propaganda against the king and the people.

They would attack the king’s Muslim faith, no matter how devoted he was to Islam, and accuse him of mixing Islam with traditional practices and spirit worship (bori).”

They would then tell the people “The bond of Islam is stronger than tribal loyalty. Supporting the fulani jihadists is true Islam, while supporting the king is disbelief (kufr)”.

A Hausa man who is truly religious will always put his faith first. From that time, the Hausa people have always valued religion more than tribe. For a Hausa person, religion means everything. Knowing that religion is his weak point,Fulani took advantage of that weakness.

“When the group of jihadist rebels finally reached the outskirts of the town, they used another trick.

They would get one of their own to raise his voice and give the call to prayer (adhan).

This call to prayer would awaken strong religious feelings among the Hausa followers of the king and break the morale of those ready to fight to defend their king and his kingdom.

In this way, the town would be captured even before any real battle began.”

Anyone who thinks the Hausa kingdoms were conquered purely by military force is deceiving himself.

They made clever use of deception after understanding the greatest weakness of the religious Hausa man.

They used different methods to incite people to betray their own rulers by claiming the kings were no longer truly Muslim.

Even today, these same tactics are still being used to label any Muslim who tries to enlighten the Hausa people about the true history of the Fulani as an infidel or a paid agent.

If you even call for Hausa unity, they will immediately start calling you a pagan or a jews contractor.

Dr. Yusufu Bala Usman showed how the minds of the Hausa people at that time were divided between two choices: “Should we follow our king who has been branded a kafir, or should we follow these fulani jihadists who present themselves as the real Muslims?” And many people in the towns ended up following the jihadists.