Chrislam

Chrislam is a Christian expression of Islam, originating as an assemblage of Christian and Islamic religious practices in Nigeria; in particular, the series of religious movements that merged Christian and Muslim religious practice during the 1970s in Lagos, Nigeria. The movement was pioneered by the Yoruba people in south-west Nigeria. Chrislam works against the conventional understanding of Christianity and Islam as two separate and exclusive religions, seeking out commonalities between both religions and promoting an inclusive union of the two. Chrislam also occupies a distinct geographical space; Nigeria is often understood to be geographically and religiously polarized, with a predominantly Muslim North, and a predominantly Christian South.

Nigeria is religiously split mostly between Muslims and Christians. Nigeria is the most populous country of Africa, with over 213 million inhabitants as of 2021. Muslims and Christians each comprise roughly half of the total population. Muslim and Christian encounters in Nigeria have long underpinned sociocultural tensions in the country. Although this has created a political ground for religious and ethnic clashes, this has also required Muslims and Christians to long coexist in Nigeria. Whilst Nigerian Muslims and Christians have experienced periods of sectarian and inter-religious violence, Muslims and Christians have also experienced prolonged periods of social harmony.