Religious+Conflict+and+Violence

**__Return to Public Policy in Nigeria__**

Religious Conflict and Violence

History of Conflict

The British divided Nigeria into three primary units and purposefully polarized the ethnic groups in each area to better rule the territory. This in turn led to the intensification of ethnic identification now also connected with regionalism. The stronger influence of the British in the south further entrenched this ethno-regional federalism by adding a religious dynamic.
 * 1973- North-South dispute over Census
 * 1980s- Maitatsine riots, 1987 Kafanchan-Kaduna conflict
 * 2000: Thousands killed in northern Nigeria as non-Muslims oppose introduction of Sharia law in Kaduna.
 * September 2001: Christian-Muslim chuches and mosques burned after Muslim prayers in Jos. 1,000+ people are killed,
 * November 2002: Nigeria abandons the Miss World contest in Abuja following riots over an offensive news article.
 * May 12, 2004: Muslim and Christian fighters clash in the northern city of Kano after attacks on Muslims in the Middle Belt. 500-600 killed
 * February 2006: Muslim protest against Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad turns violent. Revenge attacks follow in the south.
 * November 2008: Disputed local election kills 700+ people in Jos.
 * July 26: Boko Haram, a group that demands the adoption of Sharia across Nigeria, orchestrates attacks in Bauchi.
 * March 7, 2010: Hundreds killed after clashes between inhabitants of rural region around Jos.
 * December 24, 2010: Christmas eve bombings near Jos.

Underlying Problems The heart of the problem is not religion per se but:
 * Ethnicity- Interestingly in the North minority status tend to be based on religion, as ethnic divisions assume lesser importance while in the south ethnic divisions tend to coincide more closely with religious divisions. This may be a result of Islam's more developed history in Northern Nigeria contrasted with European based Christianity or the historical ties between religion and politics originating with the Sokoto caliphate. In this sense a Hausa-Fulani would most likely distinguish themselves as Muslim while a Yoruba would claim this title as their primary identifier.
 * Economic distribution- Land and resource conflicts can evolve into interfaith fighting, as seen in the plateau states between the Muslim herders and the Christian farmers.
 * Poverty- Poverty can affect this in a number of ways including resource disputes but also by its relationship with other issues such as education, region, and vocation.
 * Geographic mixing (people moving from traditional regions)- This modern phenomenom is being observed worldwide with rapid urbanization. Also many had never been able to move before modern technology. The resulting mixing is exacerbating Nigerian religious divides.
 * Illegitimate Constitution- Some have observed that religious differences became so important because of the lack of a legitimately respected constitution (it kept changing under the military governments). People clasped ethno-religious identificatiers because that was all they had.
 * Most experts agree that political divisions express themselves in religious violence.

Intriguing discussion of the relationship between religion and government from a Nigerian perspective. (He also touches on the underlying sources of conflict attributed to religion.)

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Characteristics of Nigerian Muslims
 * 50.4% majority Sunni, still significant minority Shia
 * Had an established political system, Sokoto caliphate, when the British came (British used it to rule indirectly)
 * Some northern Muslims feel the southerners living amongst them are exploiting their region for economic gain and in fact feel superior to the residents of places like Kano.
 * Supreme council for Sharia in Nigeria (tries to promote Sharia in other Nigerian states.
 * [|Boko Haram], [|Maitatsine], [|Darul Islam] Radical Islamic sects, rising in popularity mainly due to poverty
 * Sharia reimplementation was partly a reaction to Christian rule under Obasanjo
 * Muslims tend to consolidate (although translations lead to fracturing in sects, which of course cause fundamentalist regression)
 * Most Northern Muslims believe Nigeria should stay together ostensibly because it is the will of God and not just oil.
 * New Sultan of Sokoto, head Muslim in Nigeria, is a modern man who wrote a dissertation on Religious violence in Nigeria as a national security issue clearly showing his desire to work for peaceful relations with Christians.

Characteristics of Nigerian Christians
 * 48.2%
 * Igbo tend to be Catholic (13.7% of total), Protestantism (15% of total) other (19.6%)
 * Christianity infused with Ethnic practices is also popular. (Aladura is an example)
 * Both groups have had intrafaith divisions. pentocostals (different from US) for Christian. Preach with economics infused into religion (if you follow my religion you'll be rich with me).
 * Miracles has resonance because medical system stinks.
 * Most muslims can accept old Christian but new Pentocostal Christians are infringing on Muslim territory and therefore they are responding violent. Pentocostalism is also within the Churchs. 60% of Protestants 30% of Catholics.
 * Proselytization is capital crime in many Muslim regions meaning this evangelic Christianity is causing conflict.
 * Pentocostal preachers are disposed to listen to "African" problems such as poverty. They are willing to pray for people that they get a job, etc. More of a Deal with true issues the people have at times sacrificing some principles. Religion catered to the masses.
 * Health, wealth, and easy marriage

Current Policies

The tenuous state of Nigeria's vestigial cleavages has made careful containment of interfaith conflicts a necessity. Democratic and autocratic leaders alike have been forced to quickly enlist the army to quell religious riots. As the great stabilizer, Obasanjo tried to address the roots of the issue while quickly ending actual conflict before it engulfed the nation. On October 1, 2001, the President announced the formation of a National Security Commission to address the issue of interfaith and ethnic violence. Following further riots, President Olusegun Obasanjo procured the establishment of a peace and reconciliation committee in some middle belt states. After heavy lobbying the largely Christian southern half of the emirate of Zazzau was reorganized so that the residents were largely exempted from sharia law. These diplomatic measures have been applauded by men such as Jacob Olupona, a native Nigerian now head of African religions at Harvard, who encourage even more actions in each state. Jonathan has continued the use of force in subduing rioters.

Of course, Nigeria's election laws were created to hopefully resolve the "national question" and jump-start the development of ideological parties. The President is required to receive at least 25% of the vote in 2/3 of the states and legislators must receive 5% of the vote in 2/3 of the states. By providing for religious and regional rotation of power as well requiring as a multi-state constituency, these moves have helped increase Nigerian identification with their country. Finally, much of the pressure for acceptance has come from religious leaders, the majority of whom are non-radical. These Nigerians have supported an air of tolerance, which has proved easier to maintain outside of a region that where economic or political conflicts could employ religion to legitimize their claim.

Public Opinion


 * 92% of Nigerian Muslims claimed to identify themselves most strongly with their religion, then with their family/ethnic group, and lastly with their country. (Virtually the same proportion, 87%, of Nigerian Christians said the same.)**


 * yet,**


 * (75% or more) would not contemplate the "dismemberment" of the country**
 * This is largely attributed to gains in the "federal character" of the country under the democratic regime.**

44% vote religion can be criticized, 54% say government should punish those who criticize as defamation



This poll, taken in 2010 after a series of bombings, shows that a large majority of Nigerians do not feel safe.

38% of Christians associated the word violent with Muslims 13% of Muslims associated the word violent with Christians

About 5% of the total population said violence against civilians in defense of religion is justified often and 17% sometimes About 23% reported being very concerned with extremist groups and 28% somewhat concerned

In terms of the other religion 8% of Muslims reported knowing a "great deal" about Christianity and 26% "some" 14% of Christians reported knowing a "great deal" about Islam and 28% "some"

Approximately 49% of the total population says that Christianity and Islam are very different

About 29% of Christians said it was not okay if political leaders were a different religion About 33% of Muslims reported it was not okay if political leaders were a different religion

Christians are much more likely to report having witnessed "religious healings" 72% to 34% or a devil be expelled 49% to 20% This has been attributed partially to a rise in Pentocostalism along with greater mixing between Christianity and traditional religions

Gallup Video (Hope for Democracy and success of the state, overall satisfaction)

[] __**http://features.pewforum.org/africa/country.php?c=160**__

 3. Current stances of the national political parties on the issue.

Constructed around personalities of their leaders, few Nigerian parties offer competing policy options for dealing with religious conflict. As party "manifestos" shift with the views of the presiding leaders it is most illustrative to view the opinions of the president on such issues. In his campaign Jonathan has urged his countrymen to identify as Nigerians and remain tolerant of others religions. As the PDP attempts to straddle the north-south divide, an exceedingly daunting task as Jonathan's nomination violates the principle of alternation, it emphasizes the importance of religious tolerance. As the ruling party it benefits greatly from domestic stability and national consensus. The Party aims to keeps its political power by presenting itself as the party of Nigerian solidarity. Ribadu of the ACN party, a classically liberal party, supported religious tolerance and rather vehemently opposed corruption in the presidential debate. CPC Buhari was a dictatorial leader who seems to protect federal strength. Shekarau of the ANPP is the leader of Kano state, a Sharia state, as such has been criticized for his pro-Muslim bias, which he has reacted to be emphasizing, what he considers, the safety of Kano state for minority citizens.

[|Presidential Debate between ACN (Ribadu) vs. CPC (Buhari) vs. ANPP vs. (Shekarau]__[|)]__

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At ~ 31 mins Shekarau﻿ addresses the minority situation in Kano state.

Implications

Solving the problem of religious violence in Nigeria means dealing with the myriad issues associated with it. First, Nigerian elites must respect Constitutional practices and diminish the role of the patron-client system. By instilling trust in the institutions of government the citizens will more readily identify with the entity itself. This would have the added bonus of building social capital between North-south, Muslims and Christians, Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa-Fulani as each began to believe the others would rule fairly with a national focus. Next, poverty must be squarely dealt with, either through government imposed industrialization or bottom up efforts. After dealing with these two, the other stressors such as ethnicity and geographic mixing would hopefully be lessened as well. Ultimately, the choice lies with the citizen's of this divided country and whether they will demand a level of civility and equity from their leaders and neighbors as would be praised by both Jesus and Mohammad.

__**Links**__

[| http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1971010,00.html] [| http://www.wsws.org/articles/2000/feb2000/nige-f28.shtml] [| http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/nigeria-1.htm] [|www.crise.ox.ac.uk/pubs/workingpaper6.pdf] (pdf 27 pages, history of identity and violence in Nigeria)

__Audio/Video Symposiums__

[|First few minutes is a summary of Nigerian situation]

[|Panel Discussion on Religion in Nigeria]