Saturday, August 9, 2014

Nigerians now calling on authorities to talk to the Boko Haram militants.

First it was the Christian area in Kano. Then the market in Jos and the villages of Shawa and Alagarno. Once again, authorities suspect that Boko Haram is behind the attack. And many Nigerians fear that the terrorists are trying to create a divide between the already fragile relationship between Muslims and Christians in the country. Pastor Yohanna Buro, who lives in the north-Nigerian city of Kaduna, has observed the growing fear and enmity in his community. In Kaduna State, the Muslim and Christian communities each make up about 50 percent of the population. "You begin to see a Muslim blaming a Christian of being part of a conspiracy - between the Jews, Christians and the West - against the Hausa-Fulani Muslims in northern Nigeria," says Buro. He therefore calls for the government to engage in talks with Boko Haram. His opinion is shared by other religious leaders like Pastor James Wuye and Imam Muhammad Ashafa. In the past decade, Kaduna repeatedly became the scene of political and religious fighting. Several thousands were killed during this period. As a result, the onetime enemies, Wuye and Ashafa, decided to resolve their differences and work towards a peaceful co-existence of the two religious groups. The two leaders facilitated an interreligious dialogue in Kaduna and were awarded for their efforts by the German Africa Foundation (DAS) in 2013. Read More

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