1

THE ROLE OF RELIGION IN AFRICAN CONFLICTS: THE CASES OF NIGERIA AND

SUDAN

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Religion is a controversial issue in world affairs. Especially in Africa, religion has been at the
heart of much of the contemporary conflicts. Religion is often depicted as a trigger factor in
many conflicts. Religion is also often being blamed as a tool to mobilise people during
conflicts. In many parts of the world people from different religions live in peace and coexist
without any conflict. Then why is religion such a great cause of conflict in other parts of the
world?

People are sensitive about religion because religion forms part of an individuals identity.
Religion is not only an integrated part of individual identities, but it is also important for group
identity Religion and nationalism goes hand in hand. 1 The Scottish, Russians, Jews,
Mormons and Afrikaners all at some time argued that they are Gods people. 2 Religion is at
the heart of a communitys value system in most parts of the world, so people who practice a
different religion are easily labelled as worthless. 3 A threat to ones beliefs is also a threat to
ones very being and that is why people are willing to fight for their religious beliefs.

Religion is a glue that can bind and unify a nation or a group of people, or it can lead to the
destruction of nations as well as lead to intra-state conflicts. The relationship between
religion and conflict is a complex one, and one need to take into consideration many factors
before one can argue that religion is the main cause of conflict. Faith make people feel
safe, because they can predict what is going to happen in the future (especially in the
afterlife). Most religions teach that war is wrong and that violence must only be used as a
last resort. The religious scripts give guidelines on when it is just to use violence, but people
can interpret these scripts in different ways. One can ask the question: So why is religion a
factor in war at all when all the main faiths have little time for violence and advocate peace?

1.2 RESEARCH PROBLEM

1
Kellas, G.K. 1998. The Politics of Nationalism and Ethnicity, (2nd edition). London: Macmillan Press Ltd. p. 61.
2
Ibid, p. 33.
3
Goldstein, J.S. 1994. International Relations. New York:: HarperCollins College Publishers. p. 159.
 2

The research problem stems from the idea that fault lines in religion may lead to conflict. In
this case religion-based fault lines may create conflict generating conditions. However is
religious difference a cause of conflicts, or merely a character of the conflict? Or is religion
an instrument used to mobilise the population for conflict?

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTION

The research question is a deduction from the research problem above. The research
question is: What role does religion play in the conflicts in Sudan and Nigeria? The research
question will be answered by examining the conflicts in the selected case studies.

1.4 THE PURPOSE AND SIGNFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH

The African continent has been plagued by conflict for many years and a large proportion of
the conflict is claimed to be the result of fault lines in religion. The purpose of this research is
to examine the relationship between religion and conflict in the case of Sudan and Nigeria.

The significance of this research is that the role of religion in conflict has been studied widely,
but not enough is written about the religious conflicts in Africa. This research will focus on
the cases of Sudan and Nigeria as examples of religious conflicts. This research will
contribute to the understanding of religious-based African conflicts and as a result can aid in
conflict resolution on the continent. Conflict is impeding the economic growth of both Sudan
and Nigeria, so if the conflict can be resolved the countries may see an improvement in their
economies.

1.5 OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE

The topic of religious conflict has been studied for many years, so there are an abundance of
sources available on the topic. Unfortunately, not so much has been written on African
religious conflicts. Literature regarding theories on religious conflicts includes Huntington
(1996), Stewart (2009), Hoffman (1993) and Appleby (2000). Hicks (2001), Kriesberg (2003)
and Turner (1982, 1985) all contributed to literature on identity and identity theories. Gellner
(1986) provided literature on nations and nationalism which plays an important role in identity
building. Horowitz (1985) and Noel (1968) wrote articles on ethnicity and how it contributes to
religious conflicts.
 3

On the topic of Nigeria and the culture of the Nigerian people, Toyin Falola (1999, 2005,
2007) is regarded as one of the leading experts. Martin Meridith (2005) is also considered to
be an expert on African issues and he has included interesting work on Nigeria in some of his
books. There are also research centres like the Centre for Research and Inequality Human
Security and Ethnicity with authors such as Osaghae, E.E. & R. T. Suberu (2005) and the
Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance IDEA who did studies on Nigeria and the
conflicts pertaining to Nigeria. Some of the academic journals that have published articles on
Nigerias conflicts include the Journal of Modern Studies (Ukiwo, 2003), Dialetical
Anthropology (Aguwa, 1997) and African Issue (Dauda, 2001).

With regards to literature on the Sudanese conflicts there are number of Non Governmental
Organisations (NGOs) like the Crimes of War Project, Stifftung Wissenschaft und Politik
German Institute for International and Security Affairs (Sullivan, 2006), The African Studies
Centre at the University of Leiden (Max, 1979) and the Peace and Conflict Monitor
(Katendeko, 2003) that has done research on the conflicts in Sudan. A number of academic
journals such as the Journal of Religion, Conflict and Peace (Wadlow, 2008), Journal of
International Affairs (Deng, 1994) and the Journal of Religion in Africa (Wills, 2003) has
published articles on wars in Sudan. Daly (2007) can be regarded as an authoritative source
on the Darfur conflict.

The above mentioned sources together with others will be used during the research.
Unfortunately some of the sources that could have contributed to the study are written in
Arabic or other African languages, so they are inaccessible to the author. As a result only
English sources will be used to conduct the research.

1.6 METHODOLOGY

The study is qualitative and mainly descriptive. It will be based on a literature study and
available factual data. The study investigates the role that religion played in two African
conflicts as selected case studies. A state-centric approach will be followed and the units of
analysis will be Nigeria and Sudan. Religion will serve as the variable to be studied. Where
applicable comparative insights gleaned from the case studies will be shared with the reader.

Specific qualitative measures such as scheduled interviews, questionnaires and field

research will not be used during the research. Only secondary sources will be used during
the research. Interviews and surveys cannot be used during the research, because the
 4

researcher does not have any understanding of the Arabic language and lack the financial
resources to operationalise such a methodology.

1.7 STRUCTURE OF THE PAPER

The first chapter of the paper will deal with the introduction of the research. It will contain the
research problem and the research question. The purpose and significance of the study will
also be explained in this chapter. The methodology to be used during the research will be
further clarified to the reader. The first chapter will end with a brief conclusion.

Chapter two of the paper will explore selected theories on the topic of religious warfare.
Firstly the theory on identity will be explored, because religion is an integral part of a persons
identity. The theory will also contain information on identity wars, because religious wars are
also identity wars. Theory on ethnicity will also be discussed seeing that religion and
ethnicity is intertwined. The last part of this chapter will explore fault lines and the emphasis
will be on Huntingtons Clash of Civilizations.

The third chapter will investigate historical instances of religious conflict in order to get a
background understanding of the topic. The historical eras that will be investigated are the
Crusades, the Arab-Israeli conflict and the 9/11 attack on America. These cases will also
show how religious warfare has persisted throughout the past and present. This chapter will
also deal with trends in religious conflict by describing some of the causes and
characteristics of religious wars.

Chapter four is the main part of the paper and will deal with the selected case studies. In this
chapter it will be determined what role religion played in the conflicts. The paper only
focuses on the era after independence of both the countries. Some of the issues that will be
discussed in this chapter are the arrival of Islam and Christianity to the selected countries, as
well as the geographic locations of the two religious factions in the countries. The paper will
also explore the various conflicts and whether they were really religious conflicts, or whether
religion was just one element of the conflict.

The last chapter of the paper will give a brief summary of each chapter. The paper will end
with a conclusion on the research done.
 5

1.8 CONCLUSION

Religion provides an encompassing world view to its followers and serves as a rationale for
their activities. Every religion want the rest of the world to have the same beliefs as they
have, so religion is about changing peoples minds to believe the same as what the religion
belief. Religious conflict breaks out when preaching to the non-believers failed and some
members of the religion take it in their hands to force the non believers to follow their religion.
Religion can also be used to mobilise ethnic groups or racial identities and to take control
over scarce resources. This phenomenon had taken place all over the world for ages and will
probably still continue for ages. One will also find that in much of the conflict that took place
in the name of religion, religion was just a disguise. Sometimes the reasons for the conflict
were economical or territorial, but religion was used to make it a just war. The findings in
this research paper will explore what role religion has played in the Sudanese and Nigerian
conflicts.

CHAPTER 2: THEORY ON RELIGIOUS CONFLICT

2.1 INTRODUCTION

Since the beginning of time, mankind had been caught up in countless conflicts. Some
conflicts arise as a result of scarcity of resources or over territory. Other conflicts are a result
of differences between people, groups or nations. African conflicts are caused by a variety of
factors, such ethnicity, race, resources and religion. For the purpose of this paper, most of
the focus will be on religion as a factor in conflict on the African continent.

Conflict develops from objective factors, subjective factors and trigger factors. Objective
factors are factors such as fighting for control over territory or resources. Subjective factors
can be factors like religion, race, ethnicity or language. Trigger factors may be
instantaneous or act as a trigger (but in themselves they do not explain the causes of
conflict). These events may include political assassination, new enforced discriminatory
policies, electoral fraud, or manifested in longstanding political and socio-economic structure
of society.4

4
Mpanyane, T. 2009. Conflict in Africa: entering the Age of Hope Institute for Security Studies,
http://www.africagoodnews.com/plugins/system/jceutilities/js/mediaobject.js"
type=text/javascript></SCRIPT> (accessed 14 January 2010).
 6

Religious conflict is a type of identity based conflict. Identity based conflict is conflict that
arise as a result of differences in identity. Religion is also regarded as a subset of ethnicity;
therefore some theory on ethnicity will also be discussed in this chapter.

To classify a conflict as a religious conflict is a complex task. Academics like Hoffman and
Gurr is of the opinion that many conflicts which are classified as religious conflicts are not
actually religious conflicts. They base their argument on the fact that in many cases, the root
causes of conflict is either political or economical factors. 5 They argue that religion is just a
way of mobilising the people to participate in the conflict. 6 Stewart takes a different approach.
Stewarts approach is that

while all conflicts have several motives with political and/or economic ones
generally central, mobilisation frequently occurs on the basis of particular
identities, and conflicts can then be classified as ethnic or religious, or class or
ideological, on the basis of how people are mobilised rather than with respect to
the political or economic motives for such mobilization7

Therefore Stewart and Seul8 agrees that a conflict can be classified as religious conflict if the
main mobilising or organising identity is religion, irrespective if there are other real or
underlying motives and objectives.9

2.2 IDENTITY

It is in the human nature to make distinctions between the self and others. That is why
humans have to establish their own identity. According to Hicks, individuals construct
independent and different pictures of reality (whether the individuals be people or other
entities that develop identity and formulate shared realities, such as families, working groups
and teams, organisations, ethnic groups, nations, and cultures). 10 Almost everything that

5
Hoffman, B. 1993 '"Holy terror": the implications of terrorism motivated by a religious imperative' Worldwide
Department of Defense Combating Terrorism Conference, Virginia Beach, VA and Gurr, T. R. 1993 Minorities at
risk: a global view of ethnopolitical conflicts, Washington DC: Institute of Peace Press.
6
Stewart, F., 2009. Religion versus Ethnicity as a Source of Mobilisation: Are There Differences?, MICROCON
Research Working Paper 18, p. 5.
7
Stewart, op cit, p. 5.
8
Seul, J. R. 1999 ''Ours is the way of God': religion, identity and intergroup conflict', Journal of Peace Research
36(5): p553-569.
9
Stewart, op cit, p. 5.
10
Hicks, T. Another Look at Identity-Based Conflict: The Roots of Conflict in the Psychology of Consciousness,
Negotiation Journal, January 2001, p. 36.
 7

humans do helps to establish and maintain their sense of identity. Hicks argued that without
identity, humans would be unable to survive psychologically and socially.11

No person wants to think that everything they believe in is wrong and untrue. It is natural for
a person to believe that their view of the world is accurate and true. That is why humans are
comfortable around others who have the same views and identity as them. When humans
disagree with each other, they are directly questioning each others identity. Challenging
someone elses identity could lead to a violent reaction which could lead to identity based
conflict.12 Religion is one of the cornerstones of a persons identity. That is why people are
so sensitive when someone challenges their religious beliefs.

2.2.1 Identity based conflict

Hicks defined identity based conflicts as social conflicts (at both the national or group and
the interpersonal levels) that are based on ethnic, cultural, religious, or national-identity
differences.13 One of the characteristics of identity based conflicts is that the participants in
the conflict are very passionate about what they are fighting for. As a result, identity based
conflicts had been some of the most fierce and violent conflicts that ever took place. Another
characteristic of identity based conflicts is that this type of conflicts is usually protracted. The
reason for the protracted nature of identity based conflicts was mentioned earlier when the
paper explained that no person would want to admit that their view of the world is wrong and
false. In order for an inter-group (e.g., religions) conflict to transpire, there must be at least
two opponents with a difference sense of collective identity.

2.2.2 The nature of identity

It is important for every individual human being to develop a sense of self. Every persons
self is a combination of different identifications such as race, gender, ethnicity and religion.
These identifications are all necessary to create individual identity, but for the purpose of this
paper, collective identity is more important.

A collective identity can be defined as people who share a similar collective identity and they
think of themselves as having a common interest and a common fate. 14 Collective identities
include the identities of countries, ethnic groups, language groups and religious groups.

11
Ibid.
12
Hicks, op cit, p. 37.
13
Ibid, p. 38.
14
Kriesberg, L. Us vs Them, http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/identity_issues, (accessed July 2003).
 8

According to Kriesberg, people who belong to collective identities, feel injured when other
persons sharing their identity are injured or killed.15 In some instances, individuals are willing
to sacrifice their lives in order to protect their collective identity.

2.2.3 Sources of identity

There are many traits and experiences that can influence the development of identity. Some
of the traits are fixed at birth, which means that the traits will influence the development of
the self from the birth of the individual. The individual is still too young to make decisions, so
the traits will automatically influence the development of the identity of the individual. Some
of the fixed traits include ethnicity, religion, gender, language and skin colour.16

As people mature, they can make decisions. Therefore other traits can be attained or the
existing traits could be modified. Some of the traits that can be changed as the individual
mature are religion, language, or the food that the individual eat. As a result, the identity of
the individual will change together with the new traits.17

2.3 THEORIES OF IDENTITY

2.3.1 The social identity theory

The Social Identity Theory was developed in 1979 by Tajfel and Turner. The theory was
developed to understand the psychological basis of intergroup discrimination. 18 The Social
Identity Theory proposes that membership to social groups forms an important part of an
individuals identity. Tajfel and Turner argued that people tend to classify themselves and
others into various social categories, such as organizational membership, religious affiliation,
gender, and age cohort.19

The Social Identity Theory asserts that a person has not one, personal self, but rather
several selves that correspond to widening circles of group membership. Different social

15
L. Kriesberg, op cit.
16
Brewer, M. B. 2001. The many faces of Social Identity: Implications for Political Psychology.
International Society of Political Psychology. Vol 22, No1. p. 122.
17
L. Kriesberg, op cit.
18
Anon, Social Identity Theory, http://www.tcw.utwente.nl/theorieenoverzicht/Theory%20clusters/In (accessed 11
December 2009).
19
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1985) The social identity theory of intergroup behaviour, in S. Worchel & W. G. Austin
(Eds.), Psychology of intergroup relations (2nd ed.). Chicago: Nelson-Hall. pp. 7-24.
 9

contexts may trigger an individual to think, feel and act on basis of his personal, family or
national level of self.20 Accordingly, an individual also has a number of social identities.

According to the Social Identity Theory, members of a group create a sense of ingroup
feeling; therefore they will favour their own group at the expense of other groups.
Consequently the theory asserts that when an individual is interacting with someone else,
they will not act as a single individual but they rather act as a representative of a whole group
or category of people. Even during a single conversation an individual may interact with
another person both on a personal level and as a member of a particular group.21

In summary, the social identity theory purports that firstly social identification is a perception
of oneness with a group of persons 22Secondly social identification involves the forming of
ingroups and outgroups. Thirdly, social identification leads to activities that are congruent
with the identity, support for institutions that embody the identity, stereotypical perceptions of
self and others, and outcomes that traditionally are associated with group formation, and it
reinforces the antecedents of identification.23

2.4 ETHNICITY AS A BUILDING BLOCK OF IDENTITY

It is difficult to attach a specific definition to ethnicity or an ethnic group, because the word is
used in many different contexts. Ethnicity is especially difficult to define in the African
context. Daley argued that literature on ethnicities in Africa has changed in recent years by
becoming more diverse, as scholars, historians in particular, challenged the popular
understanding of their primordial origins and shifted the debate to reveal the social
construction of many groups under colonialism.24

Horowitz defined ethnic groups as groups which are defined by ascriptive differences,
whether the indicum is colour, appearance, language, religion, some other indicator of
common origin, or some combination thereof25 There are three main views on ethnicity as
identity. The first view is ethnicity as a primordial identity. According to the primordial view,

20
Turner, J. C., 1982. Towards a cognitive redefinition of the social group. In H. Tajfel (ed.), Social Identity and
Intergroup Relations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
21
Holah, M., Social Identity Theory, http://www.psychexchange.co.uk/glossary/social-identity-theory-421/
(accessed 11 December 2009).
22
Ashforth, B. E. and F. Mael, 1989. Social Identity Theory and the Organisation. Academy of Management
Review, Vol 14, No1, pp. 20-39.
23
Ibid, p. 20.
24
Daley, P. 2006. Ethnicity and political violence in Africa: The challenge to the Burundi state, Political
Geography,Vol 25 (2006), pp. 657-679.
25
Horowitz, D. 1985 Ethnic groups in conflict. Berkeley: University of California Press. p.17.
 10

ethnicity is one of the earliest forms of group identity and that ethnic differences are
unchangeable. The second view is that of ethnicity as an instrumental identity. This view
holds that that ethnicity is the basis for a hierarchical arrangement of individuals. 26 The third
view of ethnicity is ethnicity as a constructed identity. This view purports that ethnic identities
are constructed through social interactions and that an individuals ethnicity can be
changed.27

2.5 RELIGION AS A BUILDING BLOCK OF IDENTITY

Religion is treated by many conflict analysts as a detachment of ethnicity. Stewart argued

that religious organisations are usually stronger than ethnic organisations. Religious groups
28
also receive more external support than ethnic organisations. As religion plays such an
important role in a persons identity, it is important to understand the definition of religion.

Appleby defined religion as the human response to a reality perceived as sacred. 29 Religion
may also refer to a formally organised community of faith, but can also refer to the beliefs
and spirituality of individual members, subgroups, or movements operating at various
psychological and social distances from the institution and the official custodians of the
tradition.30

All religions have their established doctrine and principles, which followers of the religion
must accept and obey without question. Many religions have almost similar doctrines, but
then there are also religions which are exactly the opposite of each other. The fact that
religions differ from each other leads to conflict, because the followers of every religion is
convinced that their religion is the right and the only true religion. One of the problems with
religion is that the scriptures are sometimes vague and people can interpret it differently
depending on the time and context. Therefore different interpretations of religious scripture
can also lead to conflict.31

2.5.1 Religious conflict theory

26
Noel, D. L. (1968). "A Theory of the Origin of Ethnic Stratification". Social Problems 16 (2): pp.157172.
27
Stewart, op cit, p. 7.
28
Stewart, op cit, p.1.
29
Appleby, R.S., 2000, The Ambivalence of the Sacred: Religion, Violence and Reconciliation. New York:
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc, p. 8.
30
Ibid.
31
Brahm, E., 2005. Religion and Conflict, http://www.beyondintractablility.org/essay/religion_and _conflict/?
nid=6725 (accessed 11 December 2009).
 11

Religious conflict has been studied by scholars for many years. There are 4 types of theories
on religious conflict. The first type of theory usually looks at the nature of the religions and
the ideologies around them. These types of theories argue that certain types of religions are
more likely to cause conflicts than others. 32 The second types of theories focus on the
political, social and economical environment in which the religious conflicts occur. An
example of such a theory is Huntingtons Clash of Civilisations theory. The third type of
theories on religious conflict takes a structural approach to the relationship between religion
and conflict. Kowalewski and Greil are of the opinion that the structure of the relationship
between religious and political elites determines the churchs involvement in conflict. 33 The
fourth type is the laundry list approach. This approach lists a number ways in which
religion affects conflict but does not put them into a coherent conceptual framework. 34 Lewy
use the laundry list approach and list a number of ways in which religion can be used
politically to start or maintain conflict.35

There are a variety of ways in which a religion can view war. One of the views is the pacifist
view. A religion that adopts the pacifist view beliefs that all violence and killing is wrong and
immoral. Another view that can be adopted by a religion is the belief in just wars. This
means that it is believed that some wars are acceptable because they are in the interest of
justice. When this view is adopted, the religion believes that the war must be conducted
according to just and morally accepted rules. A third view that a religion can adopt, is the
belief in a Holy War. In the Islam religion it is called a jihad. If a religion assume this view
then they belief that their god command of them to make war on the people who do not
believe in their religion. They must also kill everyone who poses a threat to their religion.36

2.6 FAULTLINE WARS

One of Huntingtons arguments on fault line wars is that during the course of the war,
multiple identities fade and the identity most meaningful in relation to the conflict comes to
dominate. That identity is almost always is defined by religion. 37 Therefore, religious wars
can be classified as fault line wars. Huntington described fault line wars as communal
conflicts between states or groups from different civilisations. 38 Fault line wars can be
between states, between non-governmental groups, and between states and non-
32
Fox, F. 1999. Towards a dynamic theory of ethno-religious conflict. Nations and Nationalism, Vol 5, No 4. p.
422.
33
Kowalewski, D. and A. L. Greil. 1990. Religion as opiate: religion as opiate in comparative perspective.
Journal of Church and State, Vol 32, No 3. pp. 511-26.
34
Fox, op cit, p. 422.
35
Lewy, G. 1974. Religion and Revolution. New York: Oxford, cited in Fox, op cit, p. 433.
36
Brahm, op cit.
37
Huntington, S.P. 1996. The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of the World Order. London: Touchstone
Books, p. 252.
38
Ibid, p. 267.
 12

governmental groups.39 Huntington further argued that fault line conflicts may involve groups
that are located in geographically distinct areas or groups that are geographically intermixed.
In some cases, fault line wars erupt as a result to obtain power over people. In other cases,
the source of fault line wars is for control over territory.

Wars between religious entities have been prevalent in every era and in every civilisation
because they are rooted in the identities of people. 40 As a result, these types of wars tend to
be extremely bloody and prolonged. A military victory, by one side in an identity war could
likely evolve to genocide. It is also difficult to negotiate peace in fault line wars, because
fundamental issues of group identity are involved. In some cases of fault line wars, once
peace agreements have been reached, violence could erupt at any time again, because not
everyone who are affected by the conflict were satisfied by the peace agreements taken.
Therefore, religious wars are rarely resolved. According to Huntington, most identity wars
will only be completely over once one of the groups have been completely removed from the
face of the earth.41

CHAPTER THREE: HISTORICAL CASES OF RELIGIOUS WARFARE

3.1 INTRODUCTION

Surprisingly, violence and destruction had been part and parcel of religions from the biblical
times. Some of the questions asked by scholars are [w]hy does religion seem to need
violence, and violence religion, and why is a divine mandate for destruction accepted with
such certainty by some believers?42 It started with the wars of Islamic expansion beginning
in the 7th Century, and then came the Crusades starting in the 11th Century and the
Reformation wars beginning in the 16th Century). 43 Mc Bride says that Roman Christians
have through the centuries murdered and massacred Jews and Muslims and pagans and
Protestants of all hues44. These victims of the Roman Christians retaliated and this led to
centuries of religious conflict. Some people also view the Jewish genocide in Europe during
the Second World War as a religious conflict. They base their argument on the fact that the
Nazis was motivated to kill the Jews, because of their religious beliefs. 45 In more recent
times the Muslim faith also came under the spotlight because of renewed religious conflict.
39
Ibid, p. 252
40
Ibid.
41
Huntington, op cit, p. 253.
42
Appleby, op cit, p. 7.
43
Wooldridge, M. 2004. Can religion be blamed for war?, BBC News, 24 February 2004,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/wtwtgod/3513709.stm (accessed 12 January 2010).
44
Mc Bride, J. 2002. Religion in Conflict. http://www.abcog.org/nh/conflict.htm (accessed 12 January 2010).
45
Ibid.
 13

Some scholars will argue that the Iraqi invasion by the United States of America was also a
religious war.46

3.1.1 THE CRUSADES

Arguably the most prominent conflict between religions is between the Christian and Islamic
faiths. This conflict already started with the Crusades of the middle Ages. The Crusades was
a holy war conducted by Christians under authority of the pope against the enemies of
Christianity. At first, only the expeditions to Jerusalem and the area known as the Holy land
(see figure 1) were classified as crusades, but modern historians dubbed the campaigns
against heretics, pagans and Muslims in Europe as Crusades as well. 47 The Crusades
began as a result of mistreatment of Christians by the Muslims in the Holy land. The
Muslims also threatened the Byzantine Empire, so Emperor Alexius asked Pope Urban II to
help him to ward of the Muslim onslaught on Christianity. Pope Urban II made a speech in
which he urged Christians to take back the Holy land from the Muslims. The result was
thousands of Christians getting together to start the first Crusade to the Holy land.48

(Figure1:Map of the Crusades. http://www.jesuschristsavior.net/Crusades.html (accessed

12 January 2010).

What followed was almost two hundred years (1095AD - 1291AD) of fighting between the
Christians and Muslims in order for the Christians to win back the Holy land. After that, more
46
Wooldridge, op cit.
47
Snell, M. 2009. Crusades Basics http://historymedren.about.com (accessed 12 January 2010).
48
Ibid.
 14

Crusades followed into the late 1500s. Different historians have different opinions on how
many Crusades there actually were. Some historians argue that there were eight Crusades,
whereas other historians say that the seventh and eight Crusades should be seen as one
Crusade. Historians might disagree on how many Crusades there were and the time span of
the Crusades, but they agree that the Crusades were a time in history where many people
were killed in the name of religion. A more recent religious war is the Arab Israeli conflict.

3.1.2 The Arab-Israeli conflict

According to the Israeli Science and Technology Directory, the Arab Nations frequently
present the Arab-Israeli conflict as a religious conflict of the Muslims against the so called
infidel Jews.49 This website also argues that the Arab nations use religion as a tool to
mobilise Muslims and non-Muslims against Israel. The conflict started in 1947 and is still
continuing until this day.

The partitioning of the territory of Palestine West of the River Jordan by the United Nations
General Assembly on 29 November 1947 was the precipitating cause of the conflict. The
Jews were ecstatic about the decision, but the Arabs felt that they have been wronged. The
Arabs refused to accept the resolution and announced that they will fight the implementation
of the partitioning.50 On the 30th of November 1947 a bus carrying Jewish passengers were
attacked and there were five Jewish casualties. This caused the Jewish population to take
up arms against Arab-Palestinians. Hence the Arab-Israeli conflict began. Most of the
fighting is based around religion and the possession of historically religious territory. Many
Arabs believes that the creation of Israel is the main reason for the fighting in the Middle
East.

The terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in America can be seen as an extension of the Arab-
Israeli conflict. The argument can be based on the fact that America is Israels most
prominent supporter, so by attacking a building on American soil, the Muslim extremist sent a
clear message to America and the world that they are willing to kill many people in the name
of Islam.

49
Anon. 2010. Arab-Israeli Conflict: Role of Religion. http://www.science.co.il/Israel-info.asp (accessed 6
February 2010).
50
Herzog, C. 2004. The Arab-Israeli Wars: War and Peace in the Middle East. New York: Vintage Books. p.
11.
 15

3.1.3 9/11 and religious terrorism

The terrorist attack on the twin tower buildings or better known as the 9/11 attack is still fresh
in the memory of the world even though it happened almost ten years ago. This attack can
be seen as an eye opener. Since the 9/11 attack the world is much more aware of the war
that is constantly taking place between Christianity and Islam worldwide.51

In many cases religion had provided groups of people with the ideology, motivation and
structure to act as terrorists. The aim of terrorism is to terrify people. Terrorism is derived
from the Latin word, terrere, which means to cause to tremble 52 Therefore, religious
terrorism is terrorism that is justified by religion. The word religious terrorism is a paradox,
because people expect religion to provide peace and order, and not destruction.

Sometimes religious conflict is not carried out by a state, but by a group of people who do not
have the same military capacity of a government. Therefore, terrorism provides the
perpetrators with a cheap and effective tool to install fear and terror amongst the enemy and
the local population. The fear created by the terrorist acts could cause the local population to
support the terrorists views, just to stop the killing and destruction.

The common perception is that religious terrorism increased in the last decades of the
twentieth century.53 Juergensmeyer found that in 1980, the US State Department roster of
international terrorist groups listed only one religious terrorist group. Eighteen years later,
around fifteen of the worlds most dangerous terrorist groups, were religious groups. They
were Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist.54 Juergensmeyer also argued that if other violent
religious groups like some of the Christian militias found in America were included, the
number of religious terrorist groups on the list would increase significantly.

3.2 TRENDS IN RELIGOUS CONFLICTS

3.2.1 Causes of religious conflicts

The research done for the paper brought to light that a number of factors can start a religious
war. One of the factors that can lead to a religious conflict is when one religion tries to

51
Barker, J. 2003. The No-nonsense guide to Terrorism. Oxford: New Internationalist Publications. pp.13-16.
52
Appleby, op cit, p.5.
53
Juergensmeyer, M. 2000. Terror in the Name of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence. Berkeley:
University of California Press. p.6.
54
Ibid.
 16

impose its religion or religious practices on others. This was how the Crusades started when
the Muslims attempted to force their religion onto the Christians in the Holy land. Another
factor that can lead to religious conflict is when elites use religion as a smoke screen to
mobilise the people of a country in order for the elites to enrich themselves by taking over
resources or territory from another religious group. An example of such a case is the war in
Sudan, where the real reason for war is ownership over oil and oil-rich territory. 55 Religious
conflicts have also broken out in the past as a result of misinterpretation or perceived
misinterpretation and misrepresentation of a religion or text of it. 56 Some scholars will argue
that the extremist attacks from Al-Qaeda and other Muslim extremist groups are results of the
misinterpretation of a religious text.

3.2.2 Characteristics of religious conflicts

During religious conflict one or both of the sides will claim that God is on their side. An
example of this was during the American invasion of Iraq. During a prayer meeting before
the invasion of Iraq, George Bush said: Behind all of life and all of history, there's a
dedication and purpose, set by the hand of a just and faithful God". 57 But at the same time
Saddam Hussein was saying to his Islamic troops: "Fight as God ordered you to do58

Another characteristic of religious conflicts is that these conflicts are usually prolonged. 59
This could be a result of the fact that religion is deeply rooted in the culture and identity of
people. This in turn motivates people to fight to the bitter end to defend their religious beliefs
and to defend their fellow believers. Political socialisation through religious actors also
provides over time a large fresh reservoir of young foot soldiers that prolongs the conflict. As
a result of the longevity of religious conflicts, it is common to find that many people,
combatants and non-combatants, will die during a religious conflict.

55
Blair, B. 2009. South Sudan faces new war over oil. Telegraph Online.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/sudan/6034690/South-Sudan-faces-new-war-
over-oil.html (accessed 12 September 2010).
56
Bogoro, S.E. 2008. Management of Religious Conflicts from a Practitioners Viewpoint. Being a Special
Practitioners Presentation during the 1st Annual National Conference of Society for Peace Studies and Practice
(SPSP), 15th 18th June, 2008 @ Sheraton Hotel and Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Abuja,
Nigeria.
57
Wooldridge, op cit.
58
Wooldridge, op cit.
59
Metcalfe, A. 2003. Religious conflict. http://regentsprep.org/regents/global/themes/conflict/religious.cfm
(accessed 08 February 2010).
 17

CHAPTER FOUR: CASE STUDIES

4.1 Introduction

In some conflicts, religion is used as a disguise to hide the real reasons for making war,
because some people justify conflict by saying that they are fighting in the name of their
religion. Sometimes the real cause of conflict can be territory, because a certain religious
group argues that they occupied the territory first. Some will even go so far as to argue that
God gave the territory to them. Thus the people are actually fighting over territory, but they
use religion to justify their cause. In other cases, the real intentions for fighting could be over
scarce resources or political motives. Therefore religion can cause conflict, sustain conflict
and also end conflict. This paper will focus on two case studies namely Nigeria and the
Sudan to determine the role of religion in these two countries.

4.2 NIGERIA

Nigeria is renowned to be a country that has been plagued by conflict for a very long time.
Usually the violence in Nigeria is reported to be religious conflict between Christians and
Muslims. The issues of bad governance and corruption in Nigeria are also prominent in
world news. Osaghae and Suberu argued that by virtue of its complex web of politically
salient identities and history of chronic and seemingly intractable conflicts and instability,
Nigeria can be rightly described as one of the most deeply divided states in Africa. 60 This
paper will take a look at the history of Islam and Christianity in order to provide the reader
with the necessary background for the rest of the content of the chapter.

4.2.1 The history of Islam and Christianity in Nigeria.

The introduction of Islam to the people of Nigeria started in 1804 with an Islamic revolution
that took place in Northern Nigeria according to Falola. 61 Another researcher, Prof Doi
argues that Islam already reached Nigeria in the early 14th century when 40 Wangarawa
traders brought Islam with them from the Northern parts of Africa. 62 In 1842 Christianity
reached Nigeria when Samuel Ajayi Crowther, who was part of the abolitionist movement of
the 1800s, introduced Christianity to the Okwagbe people who belong to the Urhobo ethnic

60
Osaghae, E.E. & R. T. Suberu. 2005. A History of Identies, Violence and Stability in Nigeria. Centre for
Research and Inequality Human Security and Ethnicity Working paper , No 6. p. 4.
61
Falola, T. 1999. The History of Nigeria. Westport: Greenwood Press. p. 1.
62
Doi, A.R.I. 2006. Spread of Islam in West Africa (part 3 of 3): The Empires of Kanem-Bornu and Hausa-Fulani
Land. The Religion of Islam. www.islamreligion.com/articles/302 (accessed 25 June 2010).
 18

group.63 Christianity spread successfully in the region and joined Islam as being the two
dominant religions in Nigeria.64

Muslims comprise of about 50% of the Nigerian population. They are mostly found in the
northern and south-western parts of the country. Christians constitute about 40% of the
Nigerian population. The Christians are mostly situated in the southern part of the country
and around the part known as the Middle belt. The 10% of the population that are neither
Muslims nor Christians are practicing one form of indigenous religion or another. 65 Now that
the reader has a background of where the Christians and Muslims are situated in Nigeria, the
paper will explore how the religions affected the history of Nigeria from independence to
2010.

4.2.2 The importance of religion in Nigeria

Nigerias religiously diversified people make the process of nation-building very complicated
and difficult. According to McQuire, nation-building refers to developing a countrys sense of
solidarity and identity as people. 66 In the second chapter of the paper it was discussed what
important role religion and ethnicity play in nation-building. In Nigeria, ethnic boundaries and
religion mostly overlap; the exception to this is the Yoruba ethnic group.67

The political sphere of Nigeria is highly influenced by religion. Political leaders use religion
as a means to mobilise the people behind them. They also use religious organisations to
bring in resources for the political party.68 The leaders of Christian groups are in constant
rivalry with the leaders of Islamic groups for political power. In some instances, religious
organisations have taken on the identity of political parties. One of the big debates that
arose as a result of religious differences is whether Nigeria should adopt the Islam law of
Sharia.

According to Aguwa, the nature of Islam is to always intertwine politics and religion. 69 In
Nigeria, where 50% of the population is not Muslim, this creates a problem. The Muslims

63
Erivwo, S.U. 1979. The History of Christianity in Nigeria: The Urhobo, the Isoko and the Itsekiri. Urhobo
Historical Society. www.waado.org/UrhoboCulture/Religion/Ervivo/Historyof Christianity/ChapterTwo.htm.
(accessed 25 June 2010).
64
Falola, op cit, p. 1.
65
Ibid, p. 7.
66
McQuire, M. B. 1987. Religion: The Social Context. Belmont CA: Wadsworth Publishing. p. 164.
67
Ukiwo, U. 2003. Politics, ethno-religious conflict and democratic consolidation in Nigeria. Journal of Modern
Studies, Vol 41, No1, p. 120.
68
Aguwa, J. C. 1997. Religious Conflict in Nigeria: Impact on nation building. Dialetical Anthropology, Vol 22.
p. 336.
69
Ibid, p. 339.
 19

want to create an Islamic state with Allah as the head of the state and a state where Sharia is
the official judicial system. The founder of the Sokoto Caliphate, dan Fodio, prescribed that
Christians would be allowed to live in the Islamic state of Nigeria, but they would have to be
subjected to the Islamic rule of law.70

Non-Muslims, especially the Christians of Nigeria realise that once Nigeria becomes an
Islamic state, they will have to adopt Islam as their religion otherwise they will be alienated or
even killed if they refuse. Therefore the Christians have been determined for many years,
through protests and violence, to refuse the government to declare Nigeria an Islamic state
and to implement Sharia as the ultimate law.

Figure 1: Map of Nigeria.71

70
Ibid.
71
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nigeria_political.png
 20

4.3 CONFLICT AS A RESULT OF RELIGIOUS DIFFERENCES IN NIGERIA

4.3.1 Religious conflict during the 1950s, 60s and 70s

In the North where most of the Muslims live, Christians were seen as infidels and they were
treated as such in earlier years. When Christian people from the South immigrated to the
North during the 1950s and 60s, they were forced to place their children in separate schools
and they were compelled to live in segregated areas. Northerners were forbidden to have
any relationships with the Christian Southerners. 72 According to Meredith, some non-Muslim
minorities who lived in the North had long been trying to overthrow the Muslim leaders of the
region.73 This led to the Tiv resistance that exploded in the 1960s.

Since then thousands of Nigerians have lost their lives buildings and properties were
destroyed, and the country was pushed to the brink of a religious war between Muslims and
Christians.74 Politicians have used the religious differences of Nigerians as a source of
manipulation. The politicians used religion as method to mobilise the people behind them.
Muslims and Christians recruited as many people as possible to fight their adversaries in the
name of their religious gods.

4.3.2 Religious conflict during the 1980s

According to Falola, religious violence became one of the most serious crises of the 1980s
and beyond.75 Falola argues that the religious violence during the 1980s in Nigeria was a
result of internal economic and political decay. 76 He further argues that religious tension was
building up from the 1970s as a result of the role that religion played in politics. Religion was
used by political parties as a method to rally supporters behind them. Political parties were
in competition to get the support of religious leaders. Many religious organisations felt that
the society and its political leaders have decayed, so they rejected the constitution and called
for a theocratic state whose leaders would have better moral values.77

As the religious crisis of 1980s unfolded, Muhammad Marwa, also known as Maitatsine,
became the leading figure of Islams struggle in Nigeria. 78 He combined Islam with sorcery

72
Meredith, M, 2005. The State of Africa: A History of Fifty Years. London: Free Press. p. 76.
73
Ibid. p. 77.
74
Falola, T, op cit, p. 187.
75
Ibid, p. 168.
76
Ibid.
77
Ibid, p. 169.
78
Aguwa, op cit, p. 337.
 21

and his preaching attracted large crowds. He believed that a leader must be spiritual, and
that symbols of materialism, the West and technology should be rejected by true Muslims. 79
The worsening economic conditions at the time pushed more and more Nigerians to follow
radical Islamist such as Marwa. The followers of Marwa were willing to die for their beliefs.
Resultantly, there was no shortage of Muslims to fight against the infidel Christians.

Another Muslim that promoted Islamic radicalism during the 1980s was Sheik Abubaka
Mahmoud Gumi.80 He was known as the most distinguished Islamic scholar in Nigeria during
the 80s. He once openly said that once you are a Muslim, you cannot accept to choose a
non-Muslim as a leader81 He further promoted that Sharia courts should also be
implemented in the southern parts of Nigeria. He also argued that Nigeria should become an
Islamic state.82 His speeches and ideas influenced many Muslims to become radical
Islamists.

The burning of eight prominent churches in Kano by Muslims in October 1982 signalled the
beginning of a national religious war.83 A government tribunal who investigated the violence
concluded that the violence was a result of two things. Firstly was the fact that Kano (see
figure 1) was an Islamic city where the growing influence of Christianity worried Muslims.
That is why they burned the churches. Secondly the tribunal argued that radical Islamic
literature imported from Iran motivated the Muslims to start the fighting. The attacks on the
churches gave the Christians an opportunity to lift out their grievances

The Christians had a number of issues that they wanted to complain about. They
complained about discrimination in jobs, land allocation, and access to radio broadcasting,
and the takeover of their schools.84 Falola argue that one of the most major concerns of
Christians at that time was that they feared that the Muslims were trying to turn Abuja (the
capital of Nigeria) into an Islamic city. Their fears were justified by the building of a National
Mosque close to the presidential mansion and the building of other mosques around the
city.85

The Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs and the Jamaatu Nasril Islam (JNI) were the main
defenders of Islam in Nigeria during the 1980s. One of their objectives was to replace

79
Falola, op cit, p. 169.
80
Aguwa, op cit, p. 338.
81
Ibid.
82
Aguwa, op cit, p. 339.
83
Falola, op cit, p.169.
84
Ibid.
85
Ibid.
 22

Sunday with Friday as part of the weekend. Another of their demands was that all Judeo-
Christian symbols should be removed from schools and courts. The organisation that fought
for the defence of Christianity in Nigeria during the 1980s was the Christian Association of
Nigeria (CAN). This organisation wanted the government to distance itself from Islam.86

The act of Babangida to register Nigeria as a member of the OIC in 1985 created a lot of
religious tension in Nigeria, because Christians saw this as an attempt to turn Nigeria into an
Islamic state.87 The Nigerian Christians were willing to put their lives on the line in order to
stop Nigeria from becoming an Islamic state.

4.3.3 Religious conflict during the 1990s in Nigeria

In April 1991, religious rioting broke out in Nigeria after a magazine, the Fun Times (which
was a subsidiary of the Daily Times), published a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed and
Jesus Christ. A number of Muslims ransacked the offices of the Daily Times and burnt it to
the floor.88 Also during April 1991, religious violence broke out in the mainly Muslim state of
Bauchi (see figure 1). The violence started as a dispute between Muslims and Christians
over the use of a municipal abattoir. The Christians wanted to use the abattoir to slaughter
pigs, but the Islamic religion forbids its followers from any contact with pigs. Forty eight
people were killed in the violence that followed the dispute over the abattoir.89

The introduction of Obasanjo as president in 1999 caused an upsurge in religious violence.

This was because Obasanjo was a Christian from the South. The Northerners who helped to
get Obasanjo to be elected was disgruntled when they realised that he was not going to
dance to their tune. One of the factors that contributed to the renewed religious violence was
the fact that Obasanjo removed a number of senior army officers (most of them Northerners).
The Northerners saw this as a hidden agenda from the Christians to suppress the Muslims.
The Muslims used Sharia as a weapon to reassert northern solidarity.90

In October of 1999, the governor of Zamfara (see figure 1), Ahmed Sani announced that the
state will adopt Sharia law as its only legal system with effect from January 2000. Sani
argued that Sharia will bring back morals and values to an immoral state. He maintained that
only Muslims would be affected by Sharia law, but he proposed bans on alcohol and
86
Ibid, p. 187.
87
Ibid, p. 188.
88
Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. 1993. Religion and Conflict.
http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/3ae6a80510.html (accessed 15 October 2010).
89
Ibid.
90
Meredith, op cit, p. 587.
 23

prostitution for the entire state. Twelve other northern states decided to follow the example
of Zamfara and also adopt Sharia as its judicial system. The Christians who lived in the
North started to feel threatened. As a result they protested against the government.91

4.3.4 Religious conflict in the new Millennium

In January 2000 the government of the Zamfara state accomplished to implement Sharia as
its official judicial system.92 This was the spark that was needed for religious and ethnic
violence to flare up again in Nigeria. Even though the governors of the twelve states who
adopted the Sharia law, reassured Christians that Sharia will only implicate Muslims, the
Christians did not believe the governors. The Christians point to the duplicity of the
governors of the north during the National Council of States meeting, which agreed that
Sharia will revert to the penal code. 93 The Christians fears were confirmed when the
governor of Zamfara stated that Sharia will also apply to non-Muslims.94

Meredith reports that during a protest in the city of Kaduna in February 2000, hundreds of
people were killed as a result of Muslim versus Christian fighting. At the same time whole
neighbourhoods were religiously cleansed by the Muslims. 95 Most of the people that were
killed in these religious attacks were Igbos. As a result, Igbo groups in the southern parts of
Nigeria started to kill Hausas who immigrated from the north. The fleeing of Christians from
the north in turn caused religious tension in other parts of Nigeria as well. Okiwu confirms
the previous statement when he argues that the Jos riots of September 2001 was caused by
the movement of southerners from the northern states such as Kaduna and Kano. 96 More
than 1000 people died in the Jos riots. Jos is the capital of the Plateau state. The Jos riots
were further complicated by the fact that the Christians argued that the Muslim commissioner
of police only sent police to protect mosques in the area, while the churches got no
protection from the government.97 Meredith reports that around 3000 people died in the
Plateau state during 2001.98

91
Ibid, p. 587.
92
Ukiwo, op cit, p. 124.
93
Ukiwo, op cit, p. 124.
94
International IDEA. 2000. Democracy in Nigeria: Continuing dialogues for nation-building. Stockholm:
International IDEA.
95
Meredith, op cit, p. 587.
96
Ukiwo, op cit, p. 125.
97
Ibid, p. 129.
98
Meredith, op cit, p. 587. The number of people who died could be less or even more, because different
sources provide significantly different numbers. See Ostien, P. 2009. Johah Jang and the Jasawa: Ethno-
religious conflict in Nigeria.
 24

The Jos crisis of 2001 was the beginning of a serious of religious clashes. The fighting
spread through the rest of the Plateau state and continued until 2004. The International
Crisis Group reported that in February and May of 2004, more than 250 000 people were
displaced as a result of religious violence in the Plateau state.99 The fighting only subsided in
2004 when President Obasanjo declared a state of emergency and suspended the
government.100

The southern Christians felt so strongly opposed against the implementation of Sharia, that
groups situated in the Niger Delta told the federal government that Sharia states should not
be allowed to receive oil revenues from the federal government.101 This request created
even more tension between Muslims and Christians in the country. This is an indication that
the conflict was not only about religion anymore, but the actual fighting was over the oil
resources of the Niger Delta.

The 2008 elections in the Plateau state brought with it another surge of widespread religious
clashes. Two days of fighting left between 400 and 600 people dead in the city of Jos. 102
According to Ostien, the fighting in Jos is not primarily as a result of religious differences. He
argues that religion is just a fuel to keep the fire going. Seemingly the real cause of the
fighting in Jos is the alleged rights of indigenes, meaning roughly earliest extant occupiers,
to control particular locations, as opposed to the rights of settlers or strangers or more
generally non-indigenes, defined as everybody who came later. 103 Thus the conflict is
actually the result of quarrels over territory and therefore a resource driven conflict. But
because the Hausa from the north are Muslims and the indigenous people of the Plateau
state are majority Christians, religion is also dragged into the conflict.

In 2009 religious clashes broke out in Nigeria as a result of the implementation of Sharia in
some states. Muslim fundamentalist killed about 80 people, because they demanded that
more states should implement Sharia in their judicial systems. The radical group Boko
Haram (who has ties with Al-Qaeda) claimed recognition for the killings.104

99
International Crisis Group. 2006. Nigerias faltering federal experiment. Africa Report No119.
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id+4464&1=1, (accessed 01 March 2010).
100
Ostien, P. 2009. Johah Jang and the Jasawa: Ethno-religious conflict in Nigeria. www. Sharia-in-
Africa.net/pages/publications.php, (accessed 01 March 2010). p14.
101
Dauda, D. 2001. Ethnic identity, democratization and the future of the African state: lessons from Nigeria.
African Issue 29. p. 34.
102
Ostien, op cit, p. 2.
103
Ibid, p. 3.
104
Euronews. 2009. Nigeria: Scores dead in religious violence. http://www.euronews.net/2009/07/28/nigeria-
scores-dead-in-religious-violence (accessed 09 March 2010).
 25

Religious clashes have also been paramount in 2010. In the month of January between 200
and 400 people were killed and some 17 000 were displaced as a result of clashes in Kuru
Karama, a village near Jos. In this attack, it was mostly Muslim men who were the targets of
the four day long assault. One of the witnesses said that it was not Christians from their
village who launched the attack; it was Christians from one of the surrounding villages. 105
Muslim women and children were also not spared in the attack. The reason for the attack is
thought to be as the result of the coming 2011 national elections and there was at the time no
certainty of who was in charge, because the president was hospitalised in Saudi Arabia due
to illness.

The most recent religious violence took place on the night of 7 March 2010 where it is
reported that more than 500 people were killed. The targets in this attack were mainly
Christian women and children. Fish nets were used to catch the people that tried to escape
and then they were hacked to death with machetes. The Mail and Guardian reported that
most of the violence took place around the village of Dogo Nahawa. 106 The attacks were
carried out mainly by Muslim Fulanis. The cause of the attack is thought to be the result of
a spiralling feud between the Fulani and the rival Berom clan, which had been first ignited by
a theft of cattle and then further fuelled by a deadly revenge attack. 107 Thus it was once
again a resource driven conflict that was blamed on religion.

4.4 SUDAN

Since Sudans independence in 1956, only ten out of the 54 years have been peaceful. The
rest was filled with the violence and bloodshed of two civil wars and the war in Darfur. 108 The
conflict in Sudan is usually described as conflict between North versus South, Arab versus
African or Muslims versus Christians. 109 Johnson support the previous statement when he
writes that the Sudan conflict is frequently presented as either the continuation of an age-
old confrontation between cultures defined by blood-lines (Arabs vs Africans), or the
consequence of an artificial division imposed by colonial powers.110 Religion served as a
marker of national identity in both the civil wars, but religion was never exclusively the root

105
Mohammed, S. 2010. Bodies pulled from wells after Nigeria clashes. Mail and Guardian online, 25 January
2010.
106
Abu Bakr, A. 2010. Nigeria sends in troops after massacre kills 500. Mail and Guardian online, 08 March
2010.
107
Abu Bakr, A, op cit.
108
Brown, S. 2009. Conflict in Sudan: Root Causes. Examiner.com. http://www.examiner.com/ff_examiner.xml
(accessed 25 March 2010).
109
Domke, M. 1997. Civil War in the Sudan: Resources or Religion? ICE Case studies.
http://www.american.edu/ted/ice/sudan.htm (accessed 25 March 2010).
110
Johnson, D. H. 2003. The Root Causes of Sudans Civil Wars. Indiana: Indiana University Press. p. xii.
 26

cause of the conflicts.111 Since the discovery of large oil reserves in Sudan, the war in Sudan
has changed to mainly an economic or resource war. Whenever scarce resources are
unequally divided amongst different cultural, religious or political groups within a country, civil
war is inevitable.112 This can be clearly seen in the case of Sudan.

The conflict in Sudan is often more complex than just North versus South, Arab versus
African or Muslim versus Christian. Ryle argues that the conflict in Sudan is better
understood as a number of interlocking civil wars, where southerners fight against
southerners and northerners are pitched against northerners as well as northerner against
southerner.113 This chapter of the paper will therefore explore the history of the conflict in
Sudan after independence in order to determine what the role of religion was in the conflicts.

4.5 THE HISTORY OF CONFLICT IN SUDAN AFTER INDEPENDENCE

4.5.1 The First Civil War (1955-1972)

In 1955, the year before independence, a civil war broke out in Sudan. This particular civil
war continued until 1972. The conflict was between North and South Sudan. The conflict
flared up as a result of the southerners fear that the Northerners will overpower them once
Sudan gained independence. The North sought to impose Islam and the Arabic lifestyle onto
the Southerners and they refused to be Islamicised. The Southerners wanted an
autonomous state after independence, but they realised that the Northerners will not allow
that to happen.114 As a result some Southerner officers mutinied and started the Anya Nya
guerrilla army. The Northerners reacted militarily to the mutiny.

The government viewed all Southerners as potential allies of the Anya Nya, so they adopted
a strategy similar to the scorched earth strategy. The government troops burned down
villages; they killed prisoners and displaced as many Southerners as possible in order to
avoid the population to support the Anya Nya. The Northern government always tried to play
on the two fault lines of the South namely: ethnicity and religion. 115 This means that the
government pointed out to the Northerners that almost all of the officers from the South were

111
Anon. 2009. Sudan: Race and Religion in Civil War. Berkeley Centre for Religion, Peace and World Affairs.
Washington: Georgetown University. p. 1.
112
Mohamed, A.A. 2002. Intergroup Conflict and Customary Mediation: Experience from Sudan.
www.sabinet.co.za/abstracts/accordr/accordr_v2_n2_a5.xml (accessed 25 March 2010).
113
Ryle, J. 2002. The Burden of History. The Crimes of War Project. www.crimesofwar.org/sudan-mag/sudan-
overview.html (accessed 05 April 2010).
114
Anon, 2009, op cit, pp. 1-2.
115
Wadlow, R. 2008. Sudan: Race, Religion and Violence. Journal of Religion, Conflict and Peace, Volume 1,
Issue 2, Spring 2008. p. 2.
 27

Christians, whereas most of the Northerners were Muslim. That is why the conflict is often
described as a religious war, but in fact it was just war against the oppression on the
Southerners.

Sudan gained independence on 1 January 1956 with a myriad of its issues on nationhood
still uncertain.116 When the British withdrew from Sudan, they drafted a temporary
constitution for the Sudanese. At that time, there were two issues that delayed the drafting of
a permanent constitution. The first issue was whether the Sudan should be a federal or
unitary state.117 The second issue was whether the country should have a secular or an
Islamic constitution.

By the late 1960s more than 500 000 people had died and much more were displaced as a
result of the civil war.118 The Anya Nya was able to militarily stand up against the government
by receiving aid from foreign countries. Israel helped to train Anya Nya recruits and also
provided them with weapons. The Anya Nya was also able to buy weapons from Congolese
rebels and international arms dealers from money that they collected from Sudanese exile
communities.119

Joseph Lagu, a former army lieutenant, formed the Southern Sudan Liberation Movement
(SSLM) in 1971. The SSLM was composed of a number of different southerner guerrilla
groups. It was the first time in the history of the civil war that the separatist movement had a
unified command structure.120 This for once allowed the Southerners to negotiate with the
Khartoum government as one voice.

The first civil war ended in 1972, when the North and South agreed on the same terms of the
Addis Ababa Agreement. The talks between the two sides were backed by the World Council
of Churches. The Southerners were allowed to have a single southern administrative region
with explicitly defined powers.121 The agreement also entailed that Arabic would be the official
language of Sudan, but English would be the principal language of the South. This meant
that the administrative language of the South would be English. 122 The seventeen year long

116
Johnson, op cit, p. 29.
117
Anon, op cit, p. 30.
118
Global Security. 2005. Sudan First Civil War. Global Security.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/sudan-civil-war1.htm (accessed 05 April 2010).
119
Anon, op cit, p. 30.
120
Ibid, p. 2.
121
Ibid
122
Global Security, op cit.
 28

war took the lives of more than five hundred thousand people. It is estimated that only
twenty percent of the people who died were armed combatants, the rest were civilians.123

It can be argued that religion was a causal factor in this war, because the Northerners
wanted to have an Islamic state, but the Southerners refused. As a result of the religious
differences between North and South, the First Civil War broke out. During the course of the
war, religion also played a role in the sustainment of the civil war. Ten years of peace
followed the Addis Ababa Agreement.

4.5.2 The Second Civil War (1983-2005)

In 1983, President Nimeiri attempted to create a federal state in Sudan which would have
included some southern states. He further intended to exploit the natural resources of the
South. He wanted to place the oil rich areas of the South under Northern control by
redrawing the boundaries to include more of the oil rich areas under Northern rule. 124
Another reason for the renewed outbreak of violence was the governments plan to build the
Jonglei canal which would divert water from the South to the North.125 The introduction of the
September Laws in 1983 was the spark that was needed to start the armed rebellion against
the government. The September Laws entailed that the strictest form of Sharia was imposed
in the North and South, on Christians, Muslims and animists.126

As a result of the actions taken by Nimeiri, the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA) was
formed by a number of soldiers who mutinied under the leadership of former army Colonel
Garang to oppose the government. The political arm of the organisation was known as the
Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM).127 The objectives of the SPLM were to have a
democratic state where all people would be equal and their human rights be protected. They
further appealed for the abolishment of Sharia and that the government will make sure that
economic development of the South will take place in the future. This meant that the
Southerners would no longer accept domination by the Northern Arab-Muslim majority and
being neglected by the Khartoum government.128

123
Anon, op cit, p. 30
124
Ryle, op cit.
125
Deng, F. M. 1994. Civil War in Sudan: The Paradox of Human Rights and Sovereignty. Journal of
international affairs, Vol 47, No 2. p. 501.
126
Ibid.
127
Ibid.
128
Ibid, p. 502.
 29

In 1985, Nimeiri was overthrown by the military. A democratic election was held, but the
majority of the Southerners could not vote as a result of the ongoing civil war, so the new
government was once again dominated by Northerners. 129 Sadiq al Mahdi of the Umma
Party won the elections and resultantly become the new president of Sudan. The war
continued but Mahdi attempted to stop the conflict by negotiating with the SPLM. In August
1986, the SPLA shot down a civilian aircraft of the Red Cross and all negotiations between
the government and the SPLM were stopped. The war once again escalated. After the
aircraft incident, Mahdi joined forces with the National Islamic Front of the Muslim Brothers
(NIF). This led to greater enforcement of Sharia on everyone.130

In 1989, Mahdi once again attempted negations with the SPLM. It looked as if Mahdi was
going to accept the SPLMs request that Sharia should be abolished. The NIF did not
approve of this. As a result the NIF overthrew the government of Mahdi on 30 June 1989.
Omar al Bashir became the new president of Sudan. He declared that his main objectives
were to put an end to the civil war and to make Sudan a wealthy country. Bashir never held
an election and remained in power himself. He declared himself prime minister, defense
minister and commander in chief of the armed forces.131 He furthermore suspended the
constitution, dissolved parliament, banned political parties, forbade civilian association
meetings without government permission, shut down the free press, declared a nationwide
state of emergency and set a curfew.132

Bashir was elected as president in the 1996 and in the 2000 elections. In 2003 and 2004
peace talks between the rebels and government became more prominent. On 9 January
2005 The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed between the government and
the SPLM. According to Sullivan, the CPA

is based on a fundamental compromise which gives the SPLM autonomy in the

South while ensuring Islamic-based Sharia law in the North. For a six year period, a
Government of National Unity is to be formed and to work toward making unity
attractive to the South, leading up to a referendum in 2011 when the South will
decide whether it wants to separate or remain a part of a united Sudan. Another key
provision of the CPA was that half of the oil revenues from the South will be given to
the government of the South.133

129
Ibid.
130
Ibid.
131
Deng, op cit, p. 504.
132
Ibid.
133
Sullivan, D. P. 2006. Sudans Comprehensive Peace Agreement at One Year of Age: Cause for Celebration?
Working Paper FG6. Stifftung Wissenschaft und Politik German Institute for International and Security Affairs. pp.
1-3.
 30

The CPA has brought an end to the Second Sudanese Civil War, but irreparable damage was
already done to the country and its people. It is estimated that more than 4 million people
were displaced and more than 2 million died during the second civil war in Sudan. 134 The
CPA only catered for the Civil War and did not include the conflict that is taking place in the
Darfur region.

The role of religion is more blurry in the Second Civil War than in the First Civil War. In the
First War, the ultimate cause for the conflict was religion, but in the Second War it was more
complicated. Religion was still a cause of the conflict in the Second War, but the ultimate
cause for the conflict was resources. Nimeiri merely used religion as a way to lure the
Southerners into fighting with him, in order for him to have a valid reason for him to fight
them. But he actually wanted part of the oil rich territory of the South. Once again religion
was used to sustain the conflict when the Umma Party joined forces with the NIF. When the
Umma Party wanted to abolish Sharia and maybe end the conflict, the NIF decided that they
would rather overthrow the government than to allow the abolishment of Sharia law.
Therefore it can be argued that they used religion to sustain the conflict.

4.5.3 The Darfur conflict (2003-2010)

The Darfur region is a poor and remote area in the West of Sudan. The majority of the
population of the region are from the Fur tribe, hence the name Darfur (it means home of the
Fur). The conflict in the Darfur region in Sudan started in 2003 when the Sudan Liberation
Movement/Army (SLM/A) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) accused the
Sudanese government that they are oppressing the black Africans. The two groups felt that
the government only supported Arabs.135

The government was still militarily tied up on the Southern front, so they had to devise a plan
to deal with the new threat in the Darfur region. As a result, the government armed tribal
militias and as payment for their services to the government they could take everything they
found in the villages for them including: food, women and animals. 136 This armed militia was
called the Janjaweed.137 The governments policy that the Janjaweed could rape and plunder
as much as they want to led to the killing of many innocent people. The killing raids by the

134
Central Intelligence Agency. 2007. The CIA World Factbook 2008. New York: Skyhorse Publishing. p. 587.
135
Daly, M. W. 2007. Darfurs Sorrow: A History of Destruction and Genocide. New York: Cambridge University
Press. pp. 1-2.
136
Wadlow, op cit, p. 5.
137
Ibid. Janjaweed means the evil one on horseback.
 31

Janjaweed are also responsible for a large amount of refugees fleeing to Chad and the
Central African Republic.138

On 5 May 2006, a ceasefire agreement was signed by The SLM and the Sudanese
government. On paper it seemed as if the conflict was over, but in reality the fighting
139
continued. The rebels that refused to sign the peace treaty continued the fighting. The
conflict was still carrying on into 2010 with millions of people being killed and displaced.

Conflict analysts have determined that the conflict in Darfur is definitely not the result of
religious differences. The analysts base their argument on the fact that the participants in the
conflict are not divided by means of religious lines. Both sides participating in the conflict are
comprised of Muslims.140 Furthermore, the indigenous population of Darfur is entirely
Muslim, so it is impossible that it is a religious conflict. 141 It is also not a resource war,
because Darfur has no valuable mineral resources.142

4.6 THE CAUSES OF THE CONFLICT IN SUDAN

4.6.1 The historical North-South division

The conflict that persists until today can be traced back to hundreds of years ago. 143 The
Moslem expansion period that swept through North and West Africa, stopped before
reaching Southern Sudan.144 That is why the Christian majority of Sudan is still in the south
of the country. The Muslim Arabs tried to convert the Christians from the south until the
British colonised Sudan. From 1899 1953, Sudan was under Anglo-Egyptian rule. When
the British colonised Sudan, they governed Northern and Southern Sudan separately. The
British governed the two areas separately in order to stop the Arabs from converting more
Southerners to Islam. This deepened the divide between North and South Sudan.145

Traditionally Northern Sudan has been better developed and more prosperous than the
South. The British focused on developing the North, while the South was insulated and
forgotten. The Sudanese government was also based in the North which led to the further

138
Ibid, p. 6.
139
Daly, op cit, p. 1.
140
Goodenough, P. 2006. Bin Laden tries to put religious spin on Darfur conflict. Student News Daily.
http://www.studentnewsdaily.com/?css=site/site_css.v.1206128664 (accessed 25 March 2010).
141
Daly, M. W, op cit, p. 13.
142
Ibid, p. 1.
143
Brown, op cit.
144
Ibid.
145
Anon, 2009, p 1.
 32

degeneration of the South.146 The Sudanese government neglected the people of the South,
so the Southerners were less educated and there was virtually an absence of any form of
transportation. The government expected from the South to be the producers of raw
materials. As a result, the Southerners became labourers and one can almost say slaves to
the Northerners.147

Johnson argues that the conflict between North and South Sudan is usually misunderstood
by researchers. This is a result of the misrepresentation of the historical roots of the
conflict.148 The two most common explanations for the North South divide is the
centuries of exploitation and slave-raiding by the Arab North against the African South and
the splitting of Sudan by imperialist Britain.149 Johnson agrees that the two previous reasons
are true, but he is of the opinion that the situation in Sudan is much more complicated than
what the majority of the work on Sudan suggest. He further argues that religion, local
perceptions of race and social status, economic exploitation, and colonial and post-colonial
interventions all play a role in Sudans current civil war, but none, by itself, fully explains it. 150
He is of the opinion that factors such as ... the role of successive Sudanese states in
producing regional underdevelopment and racial and cultural antagonism...151 also play
important roles in the conflict.

4.6.2 Identity

National identity has always played an important role in Sudan. Especially group identity
plays an important role in the conflict of Sudan. According to Brown, the willingness of
people to become martyrs for the sake of their religion is evidence that some people in
Sudan will go to great lengths to fight for their identity group. 152 Identity in Sudan is usually
based on religion or ethnicity. As a result religion and ethnicity is intertwined in Sudan.
Sudans first population census which took place from 1955-1956 estimated that seven major
ethnic group were living in Sudan. These seven groups were can then be further subdivided
into 46 smaller groups that spoke different languages and followed different religious
creeds.153

146
Zolberg, A.R.& A Suhrke & S. Aguayo. 1989. Escape From Violence: Conflict and the Refugee Crisis in the
Developing World. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 50.
147
Katendeko, F. 2003. Sudans 50 year war. Peace and Conflict Monitor. www.monitor.upeace.org/printer.cfm?
id_article=87 (accessed 25 March 2010).
148
Anon, op cit. p. 1.
149
Ibid
150
Anon, op cit, p 1-2.
151
Ibid, p. 2.
152
Brown, op cit.
153
Mohamed, op cit.
 33

Brown argues that the Northern Sudanese are in identity limbo. 154 Their limbo is a result of
the Arabs that resent the blacks who prevent Sudan of being a full-fledged Arab country.
This fuels tension between the two groupings in the North. The ruling elite view Sudan as a
Muslim country and integral part of the Arab world.155 So identity does not only cause tension
between Northerners and Southerners, but also between people from the same geographical
area. In many articles the major reason for identity conflict in Sudan is their differences in
religious beliefs.

It is difficult not to link religion and war in Sudan, because for such a long time, the wars have
been portrayed as religious wars.156 As mentioned earlier, the Northern government played
on the fault line of religion in the South to validate their aggression against the Southerners.
Osama bin Laden also tried to portray the conflict in Darfur as a religious war. Bin Laden
argued that the conflict is a result of a Western anti-Islamic crusade. 157 Even though religion
is almost always cited as a reason for conflict in Sudan, it is actually quiet seldom the main
reason for conflict. The government and the rebel leaders of Sudan usually use religion as a
method to mobilise the population behind them and to add fuel to the tensions. The more
prominent reason for the conflict in the last decade has been over the resources of Sudan.

4.6.3 Resources

The 1993 population census in Sudan estimated that 71 percent of the Sudanese population
were living in the rural areas. These people all have to fight for the skimpy natural resources
that are found in the rural areas of Sudan. 158 The majority of the people that live in Sudan
are dependent on agriculture for their survival. In order for their animals to survive, they
need pastures and at times the scarcity of green pastures forces the herders to move into the
territory of another tribe which leads to conflict. The scarcity of water in Sudan leads to
another source of resource war. Water is the fuel of life, but in Sudan water is a scarce
commodity, so people often fight over water sources.159

Johnson argues that the war in Sudan is being fought to gain total control over abundant oil
reserves.160 It can be argued that the Sudanese government have been manipulating ethnic
154
Ibid.
155
Ryle, op cit.
156
Wills, J. 2003. Religion in the Sudan: A Review Article. Journal of Religion in Africa, Vol 33, August 2003. p.
328.
157
Goodenough, op cit.
158
Mohamed, op cit.
159
Ibid.
160
Johnson, p. xii.
 34

and religious differences to get more oil resources. 161 Oil has become one of the driving
forces of the conflict in Sudan. In Sudan, the largest oil reserves are found in the southern
parts of the country. The majority of Sudans export income (70%) is from oil revenue. As a
result, the Northerners fight the Southerners in order to get control over the oil resources. 162
With the money that the government make out of oil, they buy more weapons that can help
them to get more oil from the Southerners. The Southerners on the other hand fight to keep
their oil, therefore the oil installations are popular targets for the rebels.163

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

5.1 SUMMARY

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between religion and conflict in the
selected cases of Nigeria and Sudan. The research problem was deducted from the idea
that fault lines in religion may lead to conflict. However the research problem was whether
religious difference is a cause of conflicts or merely a characteristic of the conflict? Or is
religion used as a tool to mobilise a segment of the population to participate in conflict? The
research questioned stemmed from the research problem. The research question was:
What role does religion play in the conflicts in Nigeria and Sudan?

In order to answer the research question, the paper explored some of the theories that exist
on religious warfare. It was found that a number of theories exist on religious warfare, but
there is nothing that specifically focuses on religious conflicts in Africa. In general there are
not much literature on religious conflict in Africa overall. This is where the significance of this
research paper comes in. Even though this paper only explores two of the case studies in
Africa where religious conflict is prevalent, it still contributes to help other researchers in their
studies on African conflicts and more specifically religion-based conflicts. The paper also
investigated historical cases of religious warfare in order to get a background on religious
conflict and to determine some characteristics of religious warfare. The majority of the study
focused on the two case studies in order to determine what role religion played in the
conflicts of Nigeria and Sudan.

This paper is a descriptive study, which focused on two case studies. A state-centric
approach was followed and the units of analysis were Nigeria and Sudan. Religion was the

161
Keen, D. 2000. Incentives and Disincentives for Violence In M, Berdal and D. M. Malone. Greed and
Grievance: Economic Agendas in Civil Wars. London: Lynne Reinner Publishers. p. 35.
162
Brown, op cit.
163
Ryle, op cit.
 35

variable under the telescope. The study is a qualitative study based on a literature study and
available factual data. Only secondary sources were used during the research for the study.
Therefore the study cannot offer an exhaustive explanation on the role of religion in the
conflicts of Nigeria and Sudan. From the research done conclusions can be made and the
next segment of the paper will discuss the conclusions.

5.2 CONCLUSIONS

5.2.1 Theory on religious conflict

People view reality differently. When humans disagree with each other, they are directly
questioning each others identity. Religion forms part of a persons identity, which is why
people are so sensitive when someone challenges their religious beliefs. As a result,
religious conflicts are usually fought by people who are passionate over their religious beliefs
and this leads to protracted conflicts. This chapter also discussed ethnicity as part of identity,
because ethnicity and religion are frequently intertwined. Research has shown that there are
four types of theories on religious conflicts. Chapter two has shown that there are many
written theories and speculations about the role that religion plays in conflict. Religion is
sometimes used by the elite to provoke conflict, in other cases religion is used to maintain
conflict and to motivate people to carry on fighting. Religion is also used to end conflicts.

5.2.2 Historical cases of religious conflict

The third chapter investigated some historical instances of religious conflict. The cases that
were used were the Crusades, the Arab-Israeli wars and the September 11 attacks on
America. This chapter proved that religious conflicts have been taking place for thousands of
years. This is because everybody has a different identity and when identities clash, religion is
an easy scapegoat to use as an excuse to make war. This chapter has shown that there will
always be a religious conflict somewhere in the world. It was found that religious conflicts are
usually prolonged wars, because nobody wants to admit that their identity is wrong or false.
Another characteristic of religious conflicts is that the people who fight in these conflicts are
usually very passionate for their cause and as a result religious conflicts are usually
extremely violent and no one will be spared.

5.2.3 Nigeria
 36

From the research done for the paper, it is clear that religion definitely plays a major role in
the conflicts in Nigeria. In Nigeria, religion has been used to cause conflicts as well as to
sustain conflicts. The Islamic Nigerians have for many years looked down on the Christian
Nigerians. This can be seen in same context as apartheid in South Africa. The Christian
Nigerians refused to be treated as lesser people and that is why some of the first religious
conflicts in Nigeria broke out after independence. Since then religious leaders have used
religion to mobilise their members against each other.

Since religion and politics are so closely intertwined in Nigeria, political leaders competed to
gain the support of religious leaders. This in turn led to the political leaders to use religion as
a method to rally supporters behind them. These political leaders used religion as a fuel to
keep the conflict going by burning each others places of worship as was seen during the
1980s. One of the biggest causes of religious conflict in Nigeria is when political leaders
wanted to implement Sharia law as the ultimate law in their states. A large proportion of the
conflict in Nigeria was resource driven, but was fuelled by religion and ethnic differences.
Therefore it can be argued the conflicts in Nigeria are a mixture of resource wars and
religious wars.

A possible solution to the religious conflict is that the president of Nigeria should put his foot
down and decide which states will be allowed to use Sharia and which states should stay
with Western laws. Then all the Muslim can go live in the Sharia states and the Christians
can live in the other states. The problem with this solution is that the different groups will
then fight over the resources of Nigeria. In order to cater for this problem the revenue made
from the natural resources should be divided equally between the people of Nigeria. Another
option is the upholding of a secular constitution together with guarantees for the protection of
minority belief-systems. This could ensure that religion is still part of everyday life, but it is left
out of government decisions. These are very simplistic solutions and there are many other
factors that must be taken into account, but at least it could serve as a starting block.

5.2.4 Sudan

Sudan has been plagued with conflict for many centuries. The conflict has been kept alive
through all the years by the populations differences; differences such as ethnicity, culture,
religion and language. Some of the conflict has also been fuelled by contention over
 37

resources such as water, grazing land and oil reserves. Religion has played a role of
sustainment in both the civil wars.

It is the opinion of the author that the conflict in Sudan is not purely an economic war, neither
is it purely a religious war. If it was solely an economic conflict, then there would not have
been suicide killers who are willing to give up their lives for their religion involved in the
conflict. In some of the clashes it is Muslims that are fighting Muslims and Africans that fights
Africans, so it is clear that the conflict in Sudan is not solely a religious conflict either.
Therefore religion is a mere character of the conflict in Sudan and the conflict is a mixture or
ethno-religious and economic conflict.

It seems as if the Southerners have always been pulling on the shortest end. Since
independence they wanted their own state where they could speak English and practice
Christianity. But they were cursed with natural resources. The North knew that they would
not be able to survive without the resources of the North, so they had to devise reasons to
fight the Southerners in order to gain control over the resources. In order to get the
population behind them, the Arabs often had to play on religion to mobilise the masses
against the infidels of the South. Therefore the paper is of the opinion that none of the
conflicts in Sudan after independence can be seen as religious wars. Religion was rather
used as an excuse to make war in order to get resources or to mobilise the people to fight
against each other. In both the civil wars religion was used as a method to sustain the
conflicts. The real reasons for the conflicts were rather the persisting economic and cultural
gap between North/Arab/Muslim and South/African/Christian

In conclusion, the blood of many Africans has been spilled as a result of their religious
beliefs. In many cases the people who fought in the wars never gained anything out of it, but
the leaders of the factions became very wealthy as a result of the resource rich territory that
they obtained as a result of the fighting. Religion has also been used as a way to classify a
large part of the population as lesser people and nobody want to feel as if they are less
valuable than anyone else. The patience of the people was not endless and they had to
revolt against the oppressors in the case of Sudan. In the case of Nigeria, religion played the
role of instigating the conflict as well as to maintain the conflict. In Sudan religion was used
to maintain the conflict and to mobilise the masses behind the leaders. Unfortunately in
neither of the cases religion could be used to facilitate the end of conflicts.

The only way to stop the religious conflicts in both Nigeria and Sudan would be for both of
the factions to negotiate a settlement to compromise a bit and accept that every person has
 38

its own identity. If neither of the religions attempts to force their beliefs onto anyone, then
religious conflicts might also come to an end. In essence this means that there should be
freedom of religion and hence a secular constitution jointly negotiated and maintained by
both the religions should be upheld. I dont believe that any religion prescribe to its people
that they should kill those who do not have the same beliefs, therefore all the bloodshed as a
result of religious differences have been unnecessary.