Kala Kato

Kala Kato, an off-shoot of the Yan Tatsine, is an Islamist Quranist group which has been based in northern Nigeria for decades.^[1] It is a Qur'an alone movement predominantly based in Niger and Nigeria. The term translates as "a mere man said it" in the Hausa language (referring to the hadith attributed to Muhammad).^[2]

One of the most well-known Hadith rejecting leaders in Nigeria was Maitatsine and Musa Makaniki. Other Hadith rejectors include a scholar Malam Isiyaka Salisu.^[3] Other notable Nigerian Hadith rejectors include High Court judge Isa Othman^[4][5] and scholar Mallam Saleh Idris Bello.

Overview

The movement is an off-shoot of the Yan Tatsine Qur'anist jihadist group. As Maitatsine's support increased in the 1970s, so did the number of confrontations between Yan Tatsine and the police and Sunnis and Shias. By December 1980, continued Yan Tatsine attacks on other religious figures and police forced the Nigerian army to become involved. Subsequent armed clashes led to the deaths of around 5,000 people. Some analysts view the Sunni Salafist wahhabi group Boko Haram as an extension of the Maitatsine riots.

The group is noted for their jihadist attacks against Sunnis, Shias, the Nigerian army, and Christians.^[6] The Kala Kato group believe in establishing an Islamic state. Considering everyone not following their Qur'an alone beliefs heretical and infidels, Kala Kato's ideology has led to sectarian tensions and violence against Nigerian security forces, Sunnis and Shias.^[7] In December 2009 38 people were killed and 20 arrested in the Bauchi and its environs. A Kalo Kato leader, Mallam Bamadasi, was also killed.^[8] Another leader of Kala Kato had been arrested in connection with the killings of several Boko Haram members. Bomb-making tools and explosives, AK47 rifles with several rounds of ammunition were recovered from the leader's home, according to the police, along with a number of swords, daggers and gun powder.^[9] The militant group has also been known for the kidnappings of Sunni individuals, as well as human trafficking and robbery.^[10].^[11]

The movement is most prevalent in Bauchi and Kaduna and Kano, as well as in the Samuru area of the ancient Nigerian city of Zaria. They reside in northern Nigeria, although followers of the group also exist in Chad, Cameroon (the hometown of Maitatsine), Sudan and Burkina Faso. The Kala Kato group claims to be an off-shoot of the Yan Tatsine, and contrary to belief, the group does not regard Maitatsine as a Prophet after Muhammad, nor does it claim Maitatsine ever taught such a thing. Asked about his views on Hadiths Malimu states, "If other Prophets were satisfied with one revelation, then why should our own be two; Qur’an and Hadiths. It is not true that we don’t believe in Hadiths, but we don’t use Hadiths as a guide to the way we worship Allah. We restrict ourselves to what the Qur’an says". Other distinct practises include the fact that Kalo Kato don't eat fish unless after being slaughtered as in the case of ram or cow. They believe the Quran has directed the slaughtering of all animals including aquatics before they become pure for consumption and this is why the group doesn’t consume ice fish. Like the Yan Tatsine, Kala Kato pray five times a day, facing Mecca. Kala Kato also rejects ritual baths, funeral prayers or putting a shroud for their dead ones as these rituals were not mentioned in the Quran.^[12]

References