SUMMARY
The conflict between Christians (Nigeria) and Muslims (Nigeria) in Nigeria is part of a bigger context of ethnic and religious tensions that are present in the Nigeria society. These tensions have on certain occasions escalated into armed conflict. The conflicts often start with a seemingly trivial disagreement and then rapidly deteriorate into religious clashes. The fact that Christianity and Islam are the prominent religions in Nigeria and that the religions are represented in different parts of the country has on several occasions led to mobilization along religious lines. Another fact that might explain the presence of religious conflicts in Nigeria is the fact that a majority of the 200 ethnolinguistic groups in Nigeria adhere to either Christianity or Islam; thereby it is possible to frame ethnic conflicts in Nigeria as being centered on religious issues. That might very well be the case, and in fact true in some cases, it should however be thoroughly investigated so that it is not a “meta identity” given to the group due to lacking information from news media. Nevertheless, there are Christians (Nigeria) - Muslims (Nigeria) conflicts in Nigeria, the point is that a majority of the ethnic and communal clashes in Nigeria can be described using this overarching labeling. This specific conflict has however been deemed to revolve solely around the issue of religion and is therefore labeled Christians (Nigeria) - Muslims (Nigeria).
The history of the violence and violent interaction of these groups is sketchy, at best. Since they are not formally organized, and are defined by broad categories, it is hard to identify any leaders or tactics in connection to the violence. It is possible to divide better parts of the Nigerian populace using the religious criterion making these groups perhaps more of an ad hoc construction of belonging than actual groups organized and capable of mass mobilization. In this particular case the core issue that instigated the violence had religious overtones, thereby dividing the Nigerian population along the lines of the two major religions in the country. The religious divide that is present in Nigeria should not be seen as an exclusive categorization of actors involved in violence. There are several cases of ethnic and communal conflicts were both belligerents adhere to the same religion, on other occasions the parties to a conflict are in fact divided concerning religion, but the issue at stake might be other than religion, for example control of the land. Religious identity should, therefore, be seen as one of many and possibly overlapping identities that actors involved in non-state conflicts in Nigeria might identify themselves with, or be identified as by others.
As described above, trivial arguments have been the instigation of violent episodes on several occasions in Nigeria’s past. In this case it was an argument over how to make use of a slaughterhouse that got out of hand and started the conflict. The initial dispute concerning the slaughterhouse in 1991 soon escalated into full-fledged religious riots. During a few days in late April 1991 approximately 150 people lost their lives. The pattern of seemingly trivial disagreements escalating beyond control, dividing the population along religious lines continued. In the following year, 1992, an argument over the use of a water reservoir escalated and similar riots took place. Following the disturbances in the early nineties there was a hiatus of armed violence. The violence did, however, flare up again in 2000. This time it was the issue of imposing Sharia law that prompted the violence. The issue of imposing sharia legislation in the northern areas of Nigeria would cause even more fatalities in the years following 2000.
The tactics used in this conflict can best be described as rioting, with repeated arson attacks directed towards religious buildings, i.e. churches and mosques. Since the violence was religious at its core, the display, and practicing of, traditional religious rites became targets of attacks by groups of Muslims or Christians.
The fighting in this conflict was not confined to any specific parts of the country, throughout the years of fighting violence has been recorded in several of Nigeria’s states. A majority of the violence has however taken place in the northern parts of Nigeria.
In this atmosphere of latent conflicts, clashes between different ethnic groups have often been sparked by minor incidents that are followed by a violent escalation. Clashes have also been known to spread from one locality to another through word of mouth, with reprisals carried out many hundred miles away from the original scene of fighting.
The Christians (Nigeria) - Muslims (Nigeria) conflict must also be viewed in the broader spectrum of the ethnic and religious non-state conflicts that have ravaged Nigeria in the past and intensified after the end of military rule, in 1999. The conflicts throughout Nigeria have ethnic, political, economic, and religious components, which have become inextricably linked over time, pitting various groups and alliances of groups against each other along different dividing lines.
The non-state conflict between Christians (Nigeria) and Muslims (Nigeria) in Nigeria is first included in UCDP data in 1991. In late April of that year, religiously motivated organized violence resulted in more than 25 battle-related deaths.
