Nigeria: Did Muslims Plan Religious Violence?

An uneasy calm has settled over the plateau states of northern Nigeria. It was in that region last March that week-long religious riots left at least 25 people dead, 152 churches and four mosques burned, and a large number of businesses, homes, and vehicles destroyed (CT, April 17, 1987, p. 43).

At first, it was thought the violence was sparked by uncomplimentary statements about the Quran made at a Christian meeting held at a teachers’ college. But four months after the turmoil took place, evidence suggests that the rioting was not a spontaneous reaction. Rather, it may have been a planned attack against things militant Muslims see as corrupting Islam.

The targets included churches and homes of Christians, as well as hotels, bars, and restaurants associated with alcohol and prostitution, vices outlawed by Islam. Most of those businesses were operated by less devout Muslims and others who moved into the area from southern Nigeria.

Several observers said the rioters must have known their targets in advance in order to miss, to a large degree, homes and businesses owned by Muslims from the North. A source in Nigeria said there is evidence that many involved in the initial rioting in Kafanchan were outsiders brought in by bus. In other cities—Zaria, Kaduna, Kano, Funtua, Kankia, and Katsina—mobs of local residents roamed the streets, burning churches, homes, businesses, and occasionally, people who got in the way.

When army troops and police finally responded to the situation with orders to “shoot on sight,” hundreds of rioters, ages 9 to 14, were arrested. Many told police they were paid the equivalent of $1.25 and given gasoline and matches to burn certain targets. Some have led authorities to the homes of influential Muslims who they say hired them.

The Christian community in Zaria was especially devastated, with only two churches left standing. Among the 72 destroyed were Catholic, Baptist, Anglican, Pentecostal, and the Evangelical Church of West Africa. Homes used as Christian meeting places were also burned. In Funtua, nearly all the homes owned by Muslims from southern Nigeria were destroyed. The only church and hotel that escaped destruction were situated next to the homes of Muslims from the North.

Christians have been uneasy since January 1986, when President Ibrahim Babangida, a Muslim, secretly enrolled Nigeria in the Organization of Islamic Conference, a group dedicated to the furtherance of Islam. Muslims represent about half of Nigeria’s 90 million people and live primarily in the North. Extremist groups have pressured Babangida to establish a Muslim state. But he recently said: “This country has no state religion, but will continue to provide an umbrella under which all religions can thrive.” Christians presently make up about 34 percent of the population.

The government has said it will punish those responsible for the religious violence. It set up a panel to investigate the incidents, and some $5 million has been promised to help rebuild churches that were burned.

Said Assemblies of God missionary John York: “If Christians react … positively [to the strife], if we move in compassion rather than retaliation, … then out of these ashes things are going to grow.”

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