Wikipedia's first sentence called it “sunni”. Today it says “considered too high by demographic experts and religious researchers”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2010 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2010
Though the majority of the Nigerian Muslim population is Sunni (95%), there is a significant Shia minority, particularly in the states of Kano and Sokoto .1Members of the Nigerian Shia community have been persecuted in some cases, but in other cases have united with Nigerian Sunni in the Islamic Movement in Nigeria. Cleric Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky is a primary figure in the movement. Shia Islam was "almost unknown" in Nigeria until the 1980s, when Ibraheem Zakzaky introduced a syncretic blend of Shia and Sunni Islam. Zakzaky's gained a following among those disenchanted with the political and religious establishment, and where commonly identified as shia (due to similarities with Khomeni's rhetoric). The state government of Sokoto has reacted to the rise of Shia Islam in the state by taking such measures as demolishing the Islamic Center in 2007 . Furthermore, clashes between Sunni and Shia residents followed the assassination of Imam Umaru Danmaishiyya , who was known for his fiery anti-Shia preaching .2
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 369886272.
The opening as it stood in 2015 6 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Though the majority of the Nigerian Muslim population is Sunni (60 million), there is a significant Shia minority, particularly in the northern states of Kano and Sokoto .However, there are no actual statistics that reflect a Shia population in Nigeria, and a figure of even 5% of the total Nigerian Muslim population is thought to be too high “because of the routine conflation of Shi’a with Sunnis who express solidarity with the Iranian revolutionary program, such as those of Zakzaki’s Ikhwani.” "Mapping the Global Muslim Population: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Muslim Population" .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 654146080.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Shia sect in Nigeria Although the majority of the Nigerian Muslim population is Sunni , there is a significant Shia minority, particularly in the northern states of Kano and Sokoto . However, there are no actual statistics that reflect a Shia population in Nigeria, and a figure of even 35% of the total Nigerian Muslim population is thought to be too high “because of the routine conflation of Shi’a with Sunnis who express solidarity with the Iranian revolutionary program, such as those of Zakzaky’s Ikhwani.” "Mapping the Global Muslim Population: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Muslim Population" .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 964404078.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Shia sect in Nigeria Although the majority of the Nigerian Muslim population is Sunni , there is a small Shia minority, particularly in the northern states of Kano and Sokoto . However, there are no actual statistics that reflect a Shia population in Nigeria, and a figure of even 5% of the total Nigerian Muslim population is thought to be too high “because of the routine conflation of Shi’a with Sunnis who express solidarity with the Iranian revolutionary program, such as those of Zakzaky’s Ikhwani.” "Mapping the Global Muslim Population: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Muslim Population" .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1093316735. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “sunni”. Today it says “considered too high by demographic experts and religious researchers”. Read the current article and compare.
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since October 7, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
sunni
Now
considered too high by demographic experts and religious researchers
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
