Is religion a source of conflict among the Nigerian people?
13. Yup, big time. Islam in Nigeria is aggressive, and so the Muslims are constantly pushing for their own states, their own laws – witness the recent riots over the attempts to install Sharia law in the north – There have been several attempts to put Nigeria into the camp of Muslim states, which the Christians have fought. On the other side, militants claim that Christianity is the religion of the colonialists and some argue for a return to native religions. Fundamentalist groups have made great headway – charismatic presentations, simple (simplistic) belief structure, reliance on miracles, and damnation of anyone who doesn’t agree with you. Religion here is big business and there are thousands of storefront churches – except they are more often in a front yard. Three benches, a loudspeaker and a banner and you’ve got yourself a church. Sometimes the conflict is real basic – a neighbor who objects to an all-night vigil run through the loudspeaker at the highest setting. Sometimes it i
