Introduction: the Formation of Religious Minorities in Muslim Africa

Abstract

Minorities are not defined by mere numbers but must be considered as emergent formations within their wider surroundings. As such, minorities are defined by the relations to their majorities, especially by the differences to, but also by their exchanges with them, which have an impact on their lives and communal identities. Minorities emerge in larger processes and narratives by which their surrounding societies render themselves into imagined communities and thereby partake in the remaking of the wider social fabric. Focusing on religious minorities in Muslim Africa, this introduction to the special issue provides a framework for how to understand how various minorities form and how their minority status impacts how they live their religion, see themselves as members of society, and make claims towards the state. The introduction moreover reviews the scholarly work done on the different religious minorities found within Muslim Africa and presents the essays included in the special issue. Considering the resulting social dynamics and their surrounding debates, we move beyond an understanding of Muslim Africa as coined solely by its Sunni Muslim majority.