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Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the crosscurrents between Islam and popular culture in the cosmopolis of northern Nigeria and attempts an understanding of the intricate intersections that steer the popular arts and entertainment vis-à-vis Islamic doctrine, r/evolving identities, and cultural forms.

Paper long abstract:

I explore the crosscurrents between Islam and popular culture in the cosmopolis of northern Nigeria and attempt an understanding of the intricate intersections that steer the popular arts and entertainment vis-à-vis Islamic doctrine, r/evolving identities, and cultural forms. I use the motif of 'un/becoming' to contend that the practice of Islam in northern Nigeria, particularly Kano state is at a critical crossroads for adherents caught between Puritanism and the socioeconomic opportunities that popular culture offers. In the paper, the concept of 'Un/Becoming' serves as a conceptual fulcrum that encapsulates the simultaneous processes of becoming 'a faithful' and unbecoming 'faithful' within the religious and cultural narrative. The paper unearths the tension between the preservation of authentic Islamic values and the transformative influence of a popular culture that challenges conventional boundaries while at the same time fostering a nuanced understanding of cultural r/evolution. The main method deployed in generating data is oral interviews with select popular music artistes who are Muslims and adherents of Islam. The key argument is that there is a dialectical relationship between Islam and popular culture, which is characterised by moments of conflict and harmony, adaptation and resistance, and fluidity and resilience that subsist within the hermeneutics of Islam.

Keywords: Islam, Kano, Popular Culture, Un/Becoming