Paper short abstract:

This paper questions conventional assumptions of Christian-Muslim interactions in terms of a “clash of civilizations” and focuses instead on the convergence between the two religious traditions, thereby crossing boundaries and blurring sharp distinctions.

Paper long abstract:

The proposed paper presents an ethnographic case study to explore the rise and expansion of "Chrislam", a series of religious movements that mix Christian and Muslim beliefs and practices in their socio-cultural and political setting in Nigeria's former capital Lagos. Nigeria is an interesting context in which to study Chrislam because its population, which is almost equally divided between Christians and Muslims, has increasingly become involved in religious violence. However, my paper illustrates that religious clashes are just one aspect of Christian-Muslim manifold relations in Nigeria. Lagos presents a challenging site for mapping the spiritual means that Chrislam offers its worshippers to deliver them from the socio-political anxiety and economic hardships that characterize their everyday lives. At a time when born-again Christianity and reformist Islam are among the world's fastest-growing religious traditions, this paper suggests that the expansion of Chrislam has to be seen as a part of a wider move towards "Islamic Pentecostalism". Placing Chrislam worshippers' perceptions of their own religiosity and their lived experiences at centre stage, it questions conventional assumptions of Christian-Muslim interactions in terms of a "clash of civilizations" and focuses instead on the convergence between the two religious traditions, thereby crossing boundaries and blurring sharp distinctions.