Africa: The High Cost of Religious Intolerance

By Eunice Kilonzo

LAGOS---Nigeria, the largest and most populous country in Africa has had religious intolerance conflicts that have not only culminated in hatred and suspicion between different religions largely Christians and Muslim, but also in fatalities. For instance, in 2010, attackers wielding machetes killed hundreds of people following pre-dawn clashes between Islamist pastoralists and Christian villagers. Then the recent being the Boko Haram terror in Nigeria’s capital, Lagos where Churches have been targets of the religious outfit. The group is fighting to establish Islamic law across Nigeria.  Its name means "Western education is sinful." Boko Haram has been responsible for a rash of killings which have targeted security officers, politicians and clerics in Nigeria’s north in recent months.

Unfortunately, the second largest state, Ethiopia also officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is going down the same path. The second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 85.2 million people, and the tenth-largest by area is not only facing a flood problem but also a looming diarrhoea outbreak. To add salt to injury, religious intolerance has translated to conflicts among its citizens. For instance, more than 4,000 Christians in and around Asendabo, Jimma Zone have been displaced as a result of attacks that began on March 2 to date. This comes after Muslims accused a Christian of desecrating the Quran by tearing up a copy, sources said. Local Imams say the incidents were sparked when word came out that Muslim labourers working at a construction site at a Protestant church claimed to have found pages from the Koran used as toilet paper.

Despite appeals for restraint, they say an angry mob quickly gathered as calls for attacks blared from the loudspeakers of nearby mosques.

“The atrocity is still going on, and more people are suffering,” said a source in Addis Ababa who is in close contact with area church leaders.

The Christian killed, believed to have been a member of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and has not yet been identified.

“One Orthodox believer, whose daughter is a member of Mekane Yesus Church, has been killed,” an Ethiopian church leader told Compass. “Ministers were injured, and many more believers have been displaced.”

A pastor based in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa noted that evangelical church leaders have reported the attacks to authorities and asked officials for help, but no action had been taken. These developments are worrying because, Ethiopia has a Christian majority, but a third of the population is Muslim. Ethiopia is the site of the first hijra in Islamic history and the oldest Muslim settlement in Africa at Negash.

An angry mob of machete-wielding Muslim youths descended on Abera Gutema’s family's dwelling and chased him out, before burning and looting his property. Abera, a Christian, escaped through a back door, clutching his infant son Eyoel in one hand. By the time the smoke cleared, all that remained of his hard-earned belongings had been reduced to rubble, not to mention the theft of 100,000 birr ($6,000) - his lifetime savings.

“They were our friends, our neighbours with whom we shared everything,” said Abera, his eyes watering with tears.

“I never thought that this day would ever come.” He concluded amidst tears.

This is despite the fact that churches and mosques sprawl together and, with a history of intermarriage, many Ethiopians boast about a long period of religious tolerance. Abera was one of more than 4,000 members of local Protestant denominations displaced by the bout of religious violence. A total of 69 churches, a Bible school and an office were eventually burned to the ground, and one Christian was killed.

'It was shocking. I've heard them say those who don't take part were not true Muslims,' said Abera, now housed in a makeshift shelter along with his wife and child.

In light of this, an Ethiopian court sentenced 579 Muslim extremists to between three and 18 months in prison for violence that lasted an entire week against Christians. That left one dead, and 69 churches burned to the ground. Jonathan Racho, a Regional Manager for a local Christian organization said:

 “We welcome the decision of Ethiopian courts. We hope that the decision sends a strong message to radical Muslims that violence against innocents will not go unpunished.”

According to the 2007 National Census, Christians make up 62.8 per cent of the country's population (43.5 per cent Ethiopian Orthodox, 19.3 per cent other denominations), Muslims 33.9 per cent, practitioners of traditional faiths 2.6 per cent, and other religions 0.6 per cent. This is in agreement with the updated CIA World Factbook, which states that Christianity is the most widely practiced religion in Ethiopia. According to the latest figures Muslims constitute 32.8 per cent of the population. However, there are regions where Muslims make up the majority consequently Christians are known to face persecution. Ethiopia’s constitution, laws and policies generally respect freedom of religion, but occasionally some local authorities infringe on this right, according to the U.S. Department of State’s 2010 International Religious Freedom Report.

Other African Countries that have experienced religious conflicts include Sudan, between the South and the North. Most notable being the civil war in Sudan has a significant religious component among Muslims, Christians and Animists. But inter-tribal warfare, racial and language conflicts are also involved. The Rwanda genocide was mainly an ethnic conflict between the Hutu majority and the Tutsi minority. The religious split in the country (75 per cent Christian, mostly Roman Catholic, and 25 per cent indigenous) appears to not have been a significant factor. Others include Côte d'Ivoire, Somalia, South Africa and Uganda.