The response of Christians to Islamic violence in Northern Nigeria

Abstract

Religious violence in Nigeria is worrisome, and years of repeated assaults on churches and individuals in the northern parts of the country seem to have forced Christians to conclude that the only option is to respond with violence, not merely in self-defence but in reprisal, even pre-emptive assaults on Muslims. The obvious consequence of this is that the Christian faith is losing its uniqueness as a religion that truly preaches and practices peace. The gospel is at risk of losing its power, which lies in love – even for enemies. Yet, the response of many Christians is almost understandable in the face of relentless assaults on their freedoms and lives, with little or fruitless government interventions. Is there an option that might at least offer hope for Christians of dealing with the problem of Islamic violence without losing the power of the gospel? This paper proposes the philosophy of nonviolence as a positive response that has biblical backing, and that has been used elsewhere with a good measure of success. In doing this, the paper adopted a historicalcritical method for the research.