This article analyses how the circulation of ideas and hybrid rituals between Shia Muslims and Christians reveals a much more intentional political process whereby minority religious groups consciously create shared experiences and a sense of commonality in the face of political marginalization in northern Nigeria. One example is the Shia invention of Jesus’s Mawlid (Jesus’s birthday), which they perform in a different way from the conventional Christmas but that is attended by some Christians. Also, some Christians participate in the annual celebration of Mawlid al-Nabiy (the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday), organized by Shias. Despite the adherents of the two religions participating in mixed religious practices, they continue to see themselves separately as Muslims and Christians. Reactions to these hybrid rituals impact relationships among the mainline Sunni groups. Sufis (Tijanis and Qadiris), who were previously united in the face of the anti-Sufi reform movement (Izala), now diverge over how to respond to Shia Islam. While they disagree with Shias intellectually, not everyone supports the attacks against Shias by Salafi activists. These dynamics add to the understanding that the concept of ‘tolerance’ is not sophisticated enough to capture all forms of religious coexistence in Nigeria.

本文分析了什叶派穆斯林和基督徒之间思想和混合仪式的传播如何揭示一个更有意向的政治过程，少数宗教团体在尼日利亚北部面临政治边缘化时有意识地创造共享经验和共同感。一个例子是什叶派发明的耶稣圣纪节（耶稣的生日），他们以与传统圣诞节不同的方式进行庆祝活动，但也有一些基督徒参加。此外，一些基督徒参加一年一度的Mawlid al-Nabiy庆祝活动（先知穆罕默德的生日），由什叶派组织。尽管这两种宗教的信徒参加了混合宗教活动，但他们继续将自己视为穆斯林和基督徒。对这些混合仪式的反应会影响主流逊尼派团体之间的关系。苏菲派 ( Tijanis和Qadiris ) 之前在反苏菲派改革运动 (Izala) 面前团结一致，现在在如何应对什叶派伊斯兰教上出现分歧。虽然他们在理智上不同意什叶派，但并不是每个人都支持萨拉菲活动家对什叶派的攻击。这些动态加深了人们的理解，即“宽容”的概念还不够复杂，无法捕捉到尼日利亚所有形式的宗教共存。