Look beyond the sectarian motive

There is an undeniable sectarian element to the confrontations in Nigeria, and it is tempting to resort to the simplistic explanation.

Religious tensions, it is reported, are behind the violence in the city of Jos in northern Nigeria. Police say that up to 60 people may have been killed in the confrontation between Christians and Muslims. A church was set on fire while worshippers prayed; mosques have been targeted too. The reason? A contentious plan to rebuild homes that were destroyed in a previous outbreak of inter-religious conflict.
Large Christian and Muslim communities have lived in peace in Nigeria for centuries, but there has been violence before. In 2002, a dispute over a newspaper article containing insensitive comments about the Prophet Mohammed escalated into large-scale confrontations in the city of Kaduna. More than 200 were killed, mosques and churches were torched, businesses were looted and homes destroyed. There is an undeniable sectarian element to these confrontations, and it is tempting to resort to the simplistic explanation that only religion can drive people to such extreme behaviour. Indeed, religion has also been blamed for the violence in Egypt between Copts and Muslims this month.
The truth is that religion is no more than an exacerbating factor in existing problems and a convenient pretext with which those who engage in violence drape themselves to justify their actions. For every case of proselytisation gone wrong, there are a hundred cases of petty or legitimate disputes that spiral into sectarian clashes. An improperly settled conflict between two men over property may lead one to invoke religious discrimination and rally his community; if a criminal and his victim are of different religious persuasions, a wave of sympathy within one community can turn into a contest with the other.
Egypt, Nigeria and other countries with similar issues need to define and address the challenges appropriately. When gangs fight, it is first and foremost a criminal issue that must be dealt with by police and the justice system. When two individuals are in dispute, they must resort to a civil court, not sectarian passions. And when minorities feel disenfranchised, the state must fulfil its duty to treat all citizens equally and to encourage dialogue.