On Sunday, March 7, five hundred Christians were killed—slaughtered with machetes by Fulani Muslims in the Nigerian state of Plateau. The latest in religious clashes that the state has seen in recent months, the bulk of the attacks this time were in three farming villages (Dogo Nahawa, Zot, and Rastat) near the town of Jos, with reports claiming around 75 houses burned.
Christian leaders say they telephoned for protection from the national security forces as the Muslim crowd gathered, but the military apparently refused to react until 3:30 a.m., by which time the slaughter was mostly finished. Indeed, the failure to protect the Nigerian Christians was even more egregious—for the assailants seem to have come from out of state. Despite advance notice of their arrival, the military made no plans beforehand to protect the threatened villages.
Some of this governmental failure comes from sheer incompetence, and some derives from an unwillingness of Muslim political and military leaders to attack their own people. But mostly the failure to protect threatened Christians seems to originate in the strange fear of action the military forces seem to feel. Even while Church burnings and assassinations continue, the military—which acts as the national rapid-response police force—is terrified of being perceived as taking sides. Hundreds of deaths later, they move into an already burned-out territory and declare victory.
Christians outside Nigeria have been oddly quick to seek non-religious reasons for the murders. It’s true that ethnic battles align with some of the religious conflicts, as do geographical divisions between the oil-rich south and the impoverished north—to say nothing of the old wounds still felt from the civil war, from 1967 to 1970, over the attempt of Biafra to secede from Nigeria.
For that matter, Nigeria has been plagued with attacks on its oil wells and pipelines. Officials, including three state governors, meet yesterday to discuss an offer of amnesty for rebels who disarmed—and a militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, promptly bombed the building.
But the fact remains that, whatever the cause, violence in Nigeria always ends up as religious. Authorities have arrested and charged 49 of those who attacked the villages around the state capital of Jos, but they still have no plans in place to prevent future attacks.
And so the violence will go on. And what advice can we give the Christian communities? The incapacity of the government to protect its citizens will have—must have—one sure result: When government fails, people take on the roles of government—especially the military roles. If the Nigerian authorities cannot act, the Christian communities will have to arm themselves and form mobile, rapid response military groups to safeguard their members.
It’s hard to advise the Christians not to arm themselves, but this is not a result anyone wants to see. International pressure on the Nigerian government may help force the authorities to act more seriously. Indeed, it’s the only possible help, and here at First Things we are organizing a protest rally, to be held at 5:00 on April 7 at the Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the United Nations, 828 Second Avenue, here in New York.
How many more rampages will it take? How many more murders of 500 people here, 500 people there—a land red with blood—before the Nigerian government understands its responsibilities? It took more than a decade for the world to understand the slaughters that were happening in the south of Sudan and apply pressure to the Sudanese government. We cannot allow the same delay to happen now. Join us on April 7 as we rally to bring attention to the murderous consequences of the failure of Nigeria to defend its own people.
Joseph Bottum is editor of First Things
Comments:
As far as Christians arming themselves, the right to defend yourself and your children from violence is as fundamental as it gets. Being as easy target does not promote peace.
Joseph,
I have to disagree. I do not find it odd that Christians, or anyone, look for non-religious motivations for this massacre. I think they are trying to exercise prudence and to view this from more than one perspective. I am not an "expert" on Nigeria. But, this appears to me to be yet another manifestation of the dangers of conflating religious faith with ethnic, national or political identity. Over and over again, whether it be in the former Yugoslavia, Iraq, India, Northern Ireland, Sudan . . . religion becomes a pretext for those seeking power, wealth, revenge, or all of the above, based on this type of conflation of religious and secular identity. This happens particularly in places where the government is weak or corrupt or has suddenly fallen from power. This creates a power vacuum, and those who want to fill that vacuum will appeal to this kind of identity as a way to rally support. Political aspirants in the guise of religious leaders are often the worst offenders. One of the great tragedies of our times is the particular fury of this kind of conflict in countries that have vast natural resources, but corrupt or unstable governments.
Based on the news reports of this massacre, it was done in retaliation for an attack by so-called Christians against Muslims. There is blood on the hands of all those who murder in the name of their religious identity or tribe (I will not call it faith). It is the same pattern over and over again.
We have examples of this in the U.S. Think of the KKK terrorizing Catholics in the '20's. After 9/11, Arabs and Muslims have experienced violence and hostility. Some U.S. Muslims have been recruited by jihadist organizations, but most of them sound like the types of lost souls who, had it not been Islamism (as opposed to Islam) could have been recruited into some other type of cult. I remember around ten years ago an anti-immigrant group put ads in newspapers depicting Latin American immigrants as belonging to a strange and different religion, even though the vast majority are Catholic - this may be another example of latent anti-Catholicism.
By portraying what is happening in Nigeria as a primarily religious conflict, you are playing into the hands of the "New Athiests" who portray all religions, particularly the Abrahamic monotheistic faiths, as inherently hateful, irrational and violent. More than one "progressive" commentator has lamented that Saadam Hussein's brutal regime was necessary in order to preserve a "secular" state that kept religious conflicts in line. Of course, his own Baathist party consisted primarily of those from his own Sunni tribal group.
Another fact that seems to be a near constant is that religious minorities anywhere, particularly if most of them also belong to an ethnic or political minority are prone to persecution. They are particularly vulnerable when the types of conditions I describe above exist.
It is particularly irresponsible for you, as someone not directly affected by this, to suggest that Nigerian Christians should, in the name of their faith, arm themselves. It reminds me too much of the fundraising among Irish Catholics in the U.S. for the IRA that went on for several decades. The line between self-defense and aggression is really thin, and too often those who are meant to be the beneficiaries of this "protection" are the ones who end up getting the most hurt.
The primary victims of the suicide bombers in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq are Muslims and the people who plan and commit these acts justify them on a twisted, self-serving vision of that faith.
If you have not done so already, you need to consult with Christian leaders in Nigeria first, and ask them what would help. You could start by reading the interview with the Archbishop of Jos, Nigeria that Joe Carter has posted at the First Thoughts blog. The Archbishop sounds like a wise man who is trying to advocate for his people in a Christian manner.
At the risk of indulging in Pride myself, I suggest you pray for Humility as you go about planning both this rally and any further statements you make regarding Nigeria.
I am from Nigeria. I can tell you, from what I know, that being Christian in the Northern part of Nigeria is a crime in itself. Disputes about anything with the Moslems/Muslims there could mean bloodshed for the bloodthirsty Fulanis. Sure the media says the recent bloodshed was as a result over disputes concerning land. I see it, from what I have heard, as just an excuse to carry on with their agenda to rid Christians from the North. We are despised and seen as parasite that have infiltrated into the Utopian Muslim world.
Jeff
I am not sure what ought to be done to help, except to tell the Christians to settle elsewhere. It sounds silly, but south of the Niger is made up of Christians while the North is made up of Muslims. For me it like, why settle in North Korea, when you can settle in South Korea.
Now, about the case of the United Nations, they are no friends of Christians. They will probably send troops in with condoms and diaphragms and try to open a planned parenthood clinic to help stop the killings and to sow a spirit of perseverance in the hearts of the Christians.
Could we help marginalize the UN instead of giving them more power over the rest of the world? Like Peter suggested, perhaps we could contact the local ordinary about the appropriate direction to take before we get tangled up in unnecessary bureaucracy.
Philippus
“If you have not done so already, you need to consult with Christian leaders in Nigeria first, and ask them what would help.”
We better do it soon while they’re still alive.
“It is particularly irresponsible for you, as someone not directly affected by this, to suggest that Nigerian Christians should, in the name of their faith, arm themselves.”
Let me get this straight. We’ll walk up to little girl just before the machete slices off her arm and say, “Good your dad doesn’t have rifle little girl, otherwise you could get hurt.”?
I suggest that the problem with all this “Lets talk about it until we find the real blah, blah, blah….” Is two fold. First, since the distinction was first made between 'dar al-harb' (the land of war) and 'dar al-Islam' (the land of Islam), the Christian Church has spent a lot of time passively watching the killing of her people in Alexandria, Jerusalem, Constantinople, etc. If Charles Martel would have followed the advice of modern Frenchmen, there wouldn’t be any modern Frenchmen.
Second, as one side talks, and the other side kills, eventually, there’s no one left to do any talking. The last Christian’s last thoughts are, “How did all this happen?”
Yes, we should seek peace; that’s our Christian duty. But pacifism has never brought about peace. It only facilitates the plans of the aggressors. Peace is brought about by a good man with a big stick saying, “Let’s all be peaceful. Lets all agree to equal treatment, in an orderly, peaceful world. Let’s settle our difference with words.”
When it comes to actually saving lives. I’ll take Winston Churchill over Mahatma Gandhi any day.
Jos is primarily Christians with a growing immigrant Muslim population.
Maybe it is time for the Christians to arm themselves.
The government isn't doing anything, so what are the options?
The main issue here is that, all human beings are made in the image of God irrespective of the religious beliefs and practices. Grudem argues that, “God created us in his image for his glory and so, our purpose in life is to glorify him.” Any disregard to this arrangement is violation of divine order.
Therefore, respect and sanctity for human life must always be maintained. Any Christian involvement in violence with Muslims as a way of revenge, or for whatever reason is definitely acting against the purpose of God for mankind. Thus, the image of God in humanity is critical to our understanding of what makes us human and its implications should inspire us and set the parameters for our view of all humanity.
What you write sounds uplifting and encouraging, but the facts are the facts: there is turmoil in Nigeria due to the religious differences that are seen there, and like Philippus said, it's undetermined whether these feuds are due to genuine religious differences or, if in reality they are due to disputes between land and resources.
Historically, this dichotomy is nothing new. The Irish are a good example, and the Protestant/Catholic divide exists to this day.
Posts and blogs like these serve to educate those who may be new to these struggles, and although you may share the belief in God, the fact of the matter is that these struggles can't be solved through faith alone.
Sincerely,
Brandon Baker
If they fail to protect these citizens, it will only eventually lead to something worse with vigilante type behavior from people whom are forced to protect themselves.
I applaud your choice to protest and will keep the people of Nigeria in my prayers.
If the government refuses to do anything proactive, things will continue in their downward spiral indefinitely. We can expect to see more vigilante justice in the coming years, if there is no formal course of action. People are fearing for their lives, and that fear will only breed violence if left unchecked. Our brothers and sister in the Christian community need our prayers and support more than ever in Nigeria. My thanks to Firstthings for keeping the international Christian community's struggles and sufferings in the forefront of our minds and prayers.
Nore
with machetes and guns by Christian communities.
This is one side reporting and very biased journalism. This is ethnic and economical crisis rather than religious crisis. It came as retaliation of a similar slaughter with machetes and guns by Christian communities. At that time neither the Vatican and Pope, nor Christian leaders or western democracies.
Does it really matter life is life .......Christians or Muslims
`Some of this governmental failure comes from sheer incompetence, and some derives from an unwillingness of Muslim political and military leaders to attack their own people'
...................This is shameful, very shameful as -Nigerian army consistent mostly
people from middle belt and the government is mostly balanced with equal distribution. _Misinformation!
You should be truthful and balanced in your reporting