ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the relations between state and Islam which can be applied to the study of relations between state and church and expose the origins of the calls for establishing Muslim states in West Africa. Each West African state has unique features. It shows that the massive conversions to both religions have been helped, monitored and used by colonial authorities. The chapter interrogates Africa's history in order to establish that secularity, respect for all faiths and freedom of religion are indigenous to the African continent. It addresses the question: if one cannot impute religious intolerance to African culture or tradition, what are the sources of the current problems in states where secularism is threatened by the call for the implementation of shari'a law? The chapter shows that the case of Nigeria should not, because of its specificity, be viewed as an exception, but as a precedent to be heeded.
