Muhammadu Attahiru I

Muhammadu Attahiru (died 1903), was the twelfth caliph of the Sokoto Caliphate, ruling from October 1902 until March 15, 1903. He was the last independent caliph of Sokoto before the Caliphate was abolished by the British and turned into a Sultanate.^[1]

The Sokoto Caliphate leaders are partly Arabs and partly Fulani as stated by Abdullahi dan Fodio, brother of Usman dan Fodio who claimed that their family are part Fulani, and part Arabs, they claimed to descent from the Arabs through Uqba ibn Nafi who was an Arab Muslim of the Umayyad branch of the Quraysh, and hence, a member of the family of the Prophet, Uqba ibn Nafi allegedly married a Fulani woman called Bajjumangbu through which the Torodbe family of Usman dan Fodio descended.^[2] Caliph Muhammed Bello writing in his book Infaq al-Mansur claimed descent from Prophet Muhammad through his paternal grandmother's lineage called Hawwa (mother of Usman dan Fodio), Alhaji Muhammadu Junaidu, Wazirin Sokoto, a scholar of Fulani history, restated the claims of Shaykh Abdullahi bin Fodio in respect of the Danfodio family been part Arabs and part Fulani, while Ahmadu Bello in his autobiography written after independence replicated Caliph's Muhammadu Bello claim of descent from the Arabs through Usman Danfodio's mother, the historical account indicates that the family of Shehu dan Fodio are partly Arabs and partly Fulani who culturally assimilated with the Hausas and can be described as Hausa-Fulani Arabs. Prior to the beginning of the 1804 Jihad the category Fulani was not important for the Torankawa (Torodbe), their literature reveals the ambivalence they had defining Torodbe-Fulani relationships. They adopted the language of the Fulbe and much ethos while maintaining a separate identity.^[3] The Toronkawa clan at first recruited members from all levels of Sūdānī society, particularly the poorer people.^[4] Toronkawa clerics included people whose origin was Fula, Wolof, Mande, Hausa and Berber. However, they spoke the Fula language, married into Fulbe families, and became the Fulbe scholarly caste.^[5]

Caliphate[]

Revolt against British[]

Attahir succeeded the eleventh caliph Abderrahman Atiku in October 1902. During the last year of Abderrahman's reign, British General Frederick Lugard had been able to use rivalries between the emirs in the south with the Sokoto Caliphate to prevent a coherent defense against British troops.^[6] A British led force was quickly approaching the city of Sokoto with clear intentions to take it over.^[7] Attahiru I organized a quick defense of the city and decided to fight the advancing British army outside of the city of Sokoto. This battle ended quickly in favor of the British with superior firepower causing high casualties on the side of Attahiru I.^[7]

Since the British forces had invaded and taken over several parts of the Sokoto Caliphate, Attahir and his followers carried out a migration (hijra) towards the east, after escaping from Sokoto.^[8] The caliph was joined by thousands of Muslims of different classes. Attahiru I begun traveling through the rural regions of the Sokoto Caliphate pursued by the British gathering supporters for his movement. The British and emirs working with the British were shocked at the large number of people who joined Attahiru and his force grew to thousands.^[7][9]

Assassination[]

After the British learned that the migration could be a potential threat, they gathered strong forces to attack Attahir and his followers. Marching through Zamfara and Kano, the British became increasingly strong. On July 27, 1903, the Battle of Burmi took place, the last battle between of the caliphate.^[10][1] The Muslims, who fought with swords and arrows, were defeated by the British forces, who had superior armors and weapons. After Attahir prayed in a mosque, he came outside and the British soldiers were standing in front of him. The unarmed Attahir was shot through the head and his sons were also killed.^[10] The British then proceeded to decapitate the corpses of enemy commanders (Attahiru), taking photographs of the beheaded caliph and displaying them throughout Northern Nigeria to "convince the diehards of the futility of fighting."^[11] His son, Muhammad Bello bin Attahiru or Mai Wurno continued to lead the remaining members of the movement and eventually settled in Sudan, where many of the descendants still live today.^[12]

The British moved into the largely depopulated Sokoto and appointed Muhammadu Attahiru II the new sultan.^[7] Lugard essentially abolished the Caliph and retained the title Sultan as a symbolic position in the newly organized Northern Nigeria Protectorate.^[1]

References[]

Bibliography[]

• Hashmi, Sohail (2012). Just Wars, Holy Wars, and Jihads: Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Encounters and Exchanges. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199920822.
• Zaki, Ahmad (1987). American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 4:2. International Institute of Islamic Thought.

• Gott, Richard (3 November 2006). "Death of a sultan". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 April 2017.