Nigerian Christians vs. Nigerian Muslims: Secularism, Violence, and The Rhetoric of Blame

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2011
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Haverford College. Department of Religion
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Thesis
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Award
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eng
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Abstract
In this thesis I will be discussing in detail the conflict between the Christians and Muslims in Nigeria. I started my research originally in London conducting interviews and talking to many Nigerian Christians and Nigerian Muslims about the conflict between these two religious groups. While there I got a great perspective on how these Nigerians felt about the conflict first hand, but I was still left with many questions. The majority of the Nigerians I interviewed were Christian, but I wanted to know which religious group was truly responsible for the violence? What were the underlying issues revolved around the conflict? What could be done to solve the conflict? While reading and researching, I came across a series Studies in Christian-Muslims Relations by a Christian author Jan H. Boer. Boer had spent over thirty years studying in Nigeria about Christians and Muslims, and considered himself an expert on colonialism. In this nine volume series, Boer answered some of these same questions I had about which religious group was to blame and what the underlying issues around the violence in Nigeria were. Boer's goal was to end the violence in Nigeria by establishing parameters for each religious group to follow so there could be peaceful coexistence, he believed the only way for his goal to be achieved was for the Christians to become more holistic, and the Muslims to have an open mind toward pluralism. In my thesis, I will be doing an in depth analysis of Boer's argument and his rhetorical structures of blame. He starts out with a claim about the negativity of secularism, which is a major point to this argument. Boer believes that secularism is the underlying issue of the conflict because it derails Christian biblical thought, and goes against the Muslim Sharia Law. Boer showcases many rhetorical structures of blame, but they are related to his belief that Muslims are the essential religious group to blame for the violence in Nigeria. Some of these rhetorical structures of blame Boer discusses include the Sharia Law, the Muslim dominant nature, and the teaching of justified Muslim violence. In the end, Boer leaves some unanswered questions on the table, especially about the positive and negative intentions of secularism, but overall, these rhetorical structures of blame exist and have been focused around the Muslims. Boer's series goes from identifying who is responsible for the conflict, to what the issues are behind the violence, and finally what can be done to stop it and bring peace for the future. I also offer my own advice about what can be done for the Christians and Muslims to live together peacefully in Nigeria.
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