ABSTRACT
This paper is an attempt to analyse, at least in part, the complex relationship between religion and politics in early nineteenth century Bornu. It is well known that Islamic political theory, based on theocratic principles, does not recognize any incompatibility between the goals o f religion and those o f politics. In theory, the ruler o f an Islamic state was charged with defending the Shan'a. the final and most perfect form of Allah's law which would be revealed to man. The Muslim ruler could not legislate, although he was free to decree administrative rules which might ease the implementation of the Shari'a. In practice the exigencies of governing led rulers to depend more on their own administrative devices than the Shan a, whose jurisdiction often became narrowly restricted to matters of family law and inheritance. This restrictive tendency resulted partially from the fact that the Sh a ria was too explicit on some matters and therefore difficult to enforce. It also resulted from the need for governors and rulers to compromise w ith the demands and prejudices o f their subjects, who, particularly in the frontier regions o f the Islamic world, were not always willing to abandon their ancient customs although they claimed to have converted to Islam.
