10th U6+ Consortium of African Universities International Conference

Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the contribution of women to the socio-religious aspect has greatly increased base on the interpretations of Islamic principles on women’s leadership roles. Despite the patriarchal systems that keeps female religious authority down, Sufi matrons are now seen as powerful figures in domestic conflict mediation in Muslim Yorubaland. This paper discusses the mediator roles of Sufi matrons in managing marital and family conflicts in Muslim communities especially from the perspective of justice-oriented dimensions of their interventions and their faith-based fairness. It also considers the moral dilemmas faced by their mediation works and evaluates how their capabilities in today's Muslim family life can be enhanced. The research utilizes a qualitative approach and the data are taken from the Sufi groups and by using several methods of examination, one of which is the analysis of religious texts within the context of Maqāṣid al-Sharī‘ah. The study shows that Sufi matrons are used as mediators that focus on mediation to allow reconciliation for peace to rain and enhance psychology comfort to keep families together and community harmony. The source of their interventions is deeply rooted in their spiritual status with ethical character and the cultural ways of restorative justice. Nonetheless, the patriarchal mindset the lack of proper acknowledgement at institutional levels and the debates about female religious leadership have limited their involvement. The paper concludes by stating that the domestically based and Sharī‘ah compliant mediation settings that include the Sufi matrons would be a very effective way to resolve domestic conflicts in Muslim Yorubaland. It proposes extensive research policy acknowledgment with organized mediation-related education so that these parts of their work will help restorative justice and everlasting peace-building.