'Islam does not belong to them': Ethnic and religious identities among male Igbo converts in Hausaland

Before the civil war, conversion to Islam for Igbo men resident in the pred ominantly Hausa city of Kano in northern Nigeria usually meant becoming Hau sa. More recent converts, however, have retained their Igbo identity and cr eated an organisation, the Igbo Muslim Community. Three case studies from t he first group detail the process and criteria of becoming Hausa, including immersion in Hausa economic and social networks; three case studies from t he second group demonstrate that, while Hausa-centred networks remain impor tant, converts have worked to construct new, Igbo-centred support structure s. The watershed in the changing relationship between religious and ethnic affiliation for Igbo converts is the end of the war in 1970 and resultant c hanges in Igbo perceptions of Muslims, and changes in Igbo community struct ures.