Evangelical Mission and Islamophobia: Analysing Missiological Approaches to Muslim Communities in Northern Nigeria

This study critically analyses the missiological approaches employed by evangelical mission agencies working among Muslim communities in northern Nigeria and evaluates the extent to which some of these approaches reflect or reinforce Islamophobic assumptions. With approximately half of Nigeria's population being Muslim and significant evangelical mission activity directed toward this demographic, the theological and relational ethics of mission engagement are matters of considerable importance. Using a critical qualitative design, the study examines published missiological literature, training manuals, and field reports from ten evangelical mission agencies operating in the North West and North East zones, supplemented by thirty interviews with missionaries, Muslim leaders, and Nigerian missiologists. The study applies intercultural theology and insider movement scholarship to evaluate the relational and theological assumptions embedded in these approaches. Findings indicate a spectrum ranging from dignity-affirming relational mission models to approaches characterised by adversarial framing, dehumanising generalisations, and culturally insensitive engagement strategies. The study argues that Islamophobic tendencies in mission praxis undermine both the integrity of the gospel witness and the safety of Christian-Muslim relations in volatile northern contexts. It recommends the development of a contextual ethics of mission framework for evangelical agencies working in Muslim majority settings in Nigeria. Keywords: evangelical mission, Islamophobia, northern Nigeria, missiology, Christian-Muslim engagement