Catholic Information Service for Africa (Nairobi)
19 November 2008
analysis
From: Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians oppressed for their Faith 2007/2008. By the Catholic pastoral charity, Aid to the Church in Need
Victory for Umaru Yar'Adua in the April 2007 presidential elections could prove crucial in determining the outcome of Nigeria's long-running religious tensions. A Muslim, Yar'Adua was governor of Kastrina when the state adopted Shari'a Islamic law back in 2000, one of 12 to do so. But Yar'Adua insisted at the time that non-Muslims in his state would be guaranteed security and independence. Now, many expect him to uphold the rights of Christians as well as Muslims, noting how his bid for the presidency was backed by then incumbent, Olusegun Obasanjo, a leading Christian. As President, Yar'Adua has pledged to uphold his predecessor's commitment to social and religious cohesion.
But for Nigeria's large Christian population, religious freedom in a Shari'a system is hugely problematic and as yet there is no sign that the tensions of the past will disappear. In principle, Shari'a law does not apply to non-Muslims in civil and criminal matters. And yet, the lives of many non-Muslims in Nigeria have been affected in various ways. In Kano State, public consumption and distribution of alcohol is banned; in other states, alcohol can only be consumed inside federal buildings like police stations.
One priest told Aid to the Church in Need that indigenous people from Kano who refuse to abandon their Christian names risk losing rights and privileges. According to sources in Yobe state, a Christian name alone bars an applicant from a government post, In Zamfara State, many public facilities are strictly segregated by sex. Meantime, in Maiduguri, Borno State, a source close to ACN spoke of a ban on Christian public rallies and outdoor services. The source said indigenous people in the region who had converted to Christianity risked being killed by extremists.
Christian communities in the 12 Shari'a states have experienced widespread religious intolerance and discrimination. These include Christian students and teachers facing trumped up charges for blaspheming against Islam, a court action which forced them to leave school. Elsewhere, Christians are repeatedly denied permits to build churches and cemeteries.
Church buildings are destroyed after being judged illegal. Christian teenagers are abducted and forced to convert, especially girls given in marriage to Muslim men. And Muslims who convert to Christianity are intimidated and receive death threats. In some cases, Christians are forced to go before Shari'a courts, even though they have the right not be judged by such tribunals. Other reports describe how Christian girls are compelled to wear Islamic dress in public schools.
But work to ease inter-religious tension continues. Inter-faith dialogue is strong, thanks to initiatives by non-governmental organisations such as Kano's Inter-Ethnic Forum and Kaduna's Inter-Faith Mediation Centre and Muslim/Christian Dialogue Forum. In Kano and Kaduna, sectarian violence has broken out periodically and was particularly bad in 2004. In June 2007 incoming President Umaru Yar'Adua pledged to set up an Advisory Inter-Faith Council to prevent inter-communal violence.
One case illustrates the extreme situation some Christians face. In December 2006, a 15-year-old Muslim named Farida converted to Christianity. Her husband immediately divorced her. Returning to her family home, she was told to revert to Islam. Matters came to a head when Farida's mother asked her to boil some water. The mother then asked her to choose between Islam and being scalded with water. When Farida refused to convert, her mother poured the boiling water on her. Farida's upper torso was seriously injured and she had third degree burns on her arm. Taken into hiding by the Church, she has since given birth to a baby girl.
January 2007: A high school chapel in Wusasa, Kaduna state, was set ablaze for the third time. In the latest incident, the chapel was attacked by Muslim students. It had been set upon only a month previously. On both occasions, the building was saved thanks to staff and students at the school. The building had only been rebuilt five months previously. Before the most recent arson attempt, letters were left in the chapel warning of an attack unless staff and students left the school.150
March 2007: An Evangelical teacher in Gombe state was accused of desecrating a copy of the Qur'an. She was beaten and killed, and her body was burnt at a high school in the town of Gandu. Two days later, a church was set ablaze in the same town. 16 people arrested for the teacher's murder were later released. Later, her attackers were heard chanting the names of other Christian teachers. The teachers began a strike calling for better police protection and justice for the murder of their colleague.
March 2007: A Christian boy kidnapped in November 2006 escaped and returned to his family home. Resisting calls to convert, 13-year-old Victor Udo Usen fled to a shop run by his mother in Sokoto state. His parents arranged for him to be evacuated from the city.152
June 2007: Pastor Adamu Sunday Peni, from Kebbi State, spoke out against the exclusion of Christians from state government posts. In the entire state public service there is only one non-Muslim
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