Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, home to an estimated 200 million people. According to a 2011 report by the Pew Research Center, Nigeria is also home to the world’s sixth largest Muslim community. Pew also projects that Nigeria will have a slight Muslim majority by 2030. Islam arrived in Nigeria in the 11th and 12th centuries through trade, migration, and through the travels of the scholar-mystic-wayfarer along trade routes, through the regions of Kanem and Bornu had been in contact with Muslim traders as early as the 9th century. As Islam spread, Muslim West Africa became deeply tied in with Islamic networks that stretched across North Africa and the Mediterranean to the Middle East, as well as an important trans-Saharan network that enabled and necessitated Arabic literacy as the lingua franca of trade. The following are the Islamic Organizations which Nigeria belongs and their responsible agencies:
1. Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
The OIC has a membership of 57 states from four continents and it models the collective voice of the Muslim world.
Responsible Agency: Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs
2. Islamic Development Bank (IsDB)
The Islamic Development Bank is a multilateral development finance institution geared towards Islamic finance. It is located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Membership of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is mandatory for enlistment as a member of the bank.
Responsible Agency: Federal Ministry of Finance
3. International Islamic Finance Corporation (ITFC)
The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation’s objective is develop and expand intra-Organisation of Islamic Cooperation trade among Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) members, by extension, improve the conditions of all people.
Responsible Agency: Federal Ministry of Finance
4. Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD)
ICD “fund projects that are aimed at creating competition, entrepreneurship, employment opportunities and export potential. We also bring additional resources to projects, encouraging the development of Islamic finance, attracting co-financiers and advising governments and private sector groups on how to establish, develop and modernize private enterprises and capital markets. “
Responsible Agency: Federal Ministry of Finance
5. Islamic Corporation for Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC)
The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) is an international institution with full juridical personality to provide investment and export credit insurance for Islamic states.
Responsible Agency: Federal Ministry of Finance
6. Islamic Education Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO)
ICESCO is a Morocco based international non-profit organization with special emphasis in the fields of education, science and culture.
Responsible Agency: Federal Ministry of Education
7. Islamic Centre for Development of Trade (ICDT)
ICDT, was founded in Casablanca in 1984, with the mission of promoting Trade & Investments in OIC Countries.
Responsible Agency: Ministry of Industry Trade & Investment
8. Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation
Among other things, the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC) seeks to strengthen cooperation among the Member States.
Responsible Agency: Ministry of Industry Trade & Investment
9. Islamic University of Technology, Dhaka
Islamic University of Technology (IUT) is an educational and research institution of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The institution’s objective is weaved around contributing in the development of human resources of the member states of the OIC.
Responsible Agency: Federal Ministry of Education
10. Islamic Fiqih Academy
“International Islamic Fiqh Academy is an international Islamic institution for the advanced study of Islamic jurisprudence and law based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.”
Responsible Agency: Federal Ministry of Education
11. Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries, Ankara
Part of its mandate is to collate, process and disseminate socio-economic statistics and information on and for the utilisation of the member countries.
Responsible Agency: Federal Ministry of Education
12. Research Centre for Islamic History, Arts and Culture (IRCICA)
The main functions of IRCICA is to “act as a focal point and meeting place for scholars, researchers, artists, institutions, organizations, and other parties within and outside the Member States which deal with studies and research on various aspects of Islamic civilization.”
Responsible Agency: Federal Ministry of Education
13. Islamic Solidarity Fund, Jedda
The Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD) is involved in reducing poverty in its member countries by providing financial support.
Responsible Agency: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
