An Amazing Peace Effort in Bukuru—Part V: Conclusion

A report of a peace-making event in Jos, attended by several hundred Christian and Muslim youth leaders from various tribes. See Parts

• I—A conflict averted
• II—Origins of the meeting at Bukuru
• III—Keynote address part 1: Jesus and Mohammed; Forgiveness
• IV—Keynote address part 2: Peace, the gold prize
• V—Other speakers; conclusion; afterward

Bukuru Youth Leader Presentations

Before the workshop, the organizers, hoping to avoid the kind of confusion we had at the previous event, had the youth identify the individuals they wanted to speak. Therefore, after I finished, they started giving the mic to these youth leaders. Each was given three minutes to speak. Most of these were “older youth,” at least in their thirties. [In Nigeria, people are generally considered youths until they marry.]

The first speaker was a Muslim Hausa man wearing a baseball cap; he appeared to be about 45. He started listing all the towns and villages in the Jos South Local government area, probably 25 of them. Apparently these were all affected by the crisis. When he started listing the villages in the Riyom Local Government, there was a groundswell of impatient sounds. The man finally concluded with a simple call to peace.

The second speaker was the Igbo representative. He was very articulate, stressing the importance of employment for the youth and warning youth not to do the dirty work for the politicians. He encouraged the youth to take their lives into their own hands and not allow anyone to manipulate them. He concluded by saying, “We must shed our swords and live.”

The next person to speak was the Commissioner for Youth and Sports. He encouraged the movement to make sure that it was more than just a “talk shop.” He promised that the state government would support all good initiatives to bring about peace. The people were polite to him but many people are not very happy with the government right now so he did not get an overwhelming vote of support.

The next speaker was the Fulani representative who, of course, was a Muslim. He stood up and shouted at the top of his voice, “Peace!” “Peace!” and then he said, “I have been hungry for this day for a long time.” He spoke in Hausa a bit and then said, “Enough is enough.” He spoke passionately and eloquently against violence. He said that his father died when he was young and that he was trained by a pastor. He then said, “However, today I cannot even to go his house to greet him.”

The Fulani man continued, “We are good people. We are good Christians and we are good Muslims. Why are we killing ourselves?” He encouraged them that “from this day there will be no more fighting. Let us give alms, not trouble.” This man spoke with such conviction and passion, he almost appeared to weep at times. I was very impressed with him. I would be happy to have him speak at any of these kinds of events.

Next, a Rev. Choji spoke and then a Muslim man. After him the Christian Yoruba representative spoke. His main statement was “Let us respect one another,” and he also said, “I want to say to the government, we are not after relief. We are after compensation. We want to rebuild our houses and our lives.”

A Muslim barrister named Ali spoke next. He spoke in Hausa but he talked a bit about justice.

Next, a Berom man spoke for only 62 seconds. After he finished, the MC said that this man had scored 100 percent on his SSE (standardized examination), something that is almost never done.

The next person to speak was a former national legislator from Gel. He rambled on and on but finally made about seven specific points including: 1) the need for jobs; 2) the youth need to engage the society and correct the wrong things in it; 3) the foreign media should report facts and not engage in inciting language; 4) religious leaders should stop saying inciting things; 5) we should do away with all of the DVD’s, text messages and documents that were floating around that were stirring up trouble; 6) we should stop provocative language; 7) we must stop breaking the law.

A Yoruba Muslim urged that all people should be allowed to return to their normal lives and homes, regardless of what part of the city they lived in. After this a Nigerian/American spoke for about five minutes. He said that his father had started the first Assemblies of God churches in the northern part of Nigeria. Unfortunately, when he was ten years old, his father was killed in the riots in Kano that eventually lead to the Nigerian civil war. He said that ever since he was ten years old, he had lived without a father. He did not want to see any other person ever have to experience that.

A man from Saudi Arabia who was allowed to speak. It turns out that he was actually a Hindu from India but had live in Saudi for the past 25 years. He was a businessman and focused on the importance of jobs and also getting along with people of other religions.

After the speeches, the chairman of the organization was introduced, Professor Danfulani, the director general of the Nigeria Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS). He had had another engagement to attend that morning and came about an hour or so into the program. He spoke almost exclusively in Hausa but I could understand enough to be impressed. He said all of the right things. He condemned violence. He stressed the common roots of Christianity and Islam. He even called a man from the front row and said, “If this man goes to America and looks for a job, they will not ask him if he is a Berom or a Hausa. They will simply ask him is he qualified for the job.” He certainly had the words and spirit of a peacemaker.

 

Honoring the Peace Makers

That was the last speech but there was still one more part of the program. People started getting up and leaving. However, Pam stood up and pleaded with them to stay just a few more minutes. Gradually everybody sat back down.

Pam then basically repeated the story I told at the beginning of this journal about how a potential crisis was averted the previous week, but this time he spoke in Hausa. The fact that he repeated all of this to the primary actors in the drama gave me confidence that what he had told me was exactly as it had happened.

Pam then explained that the organization was providing special recognition for the two people who had helped to avert that serious crisis. He then pulled out our certificates and called Magaji Sule, the Muslim youth leader forward. Later, Ishaya Bot, the Christian leader came forward.

The chairman presented the certificates to them with a strong exhortation to be peace makers. He then had them raise their right hands and repeat after him phrase by phrase a spontaneous pledge that went something like this: “As a leader of the youth, I commit myself to be a peace maker. I will not allow the peace to be broken again. When I learn of trouble, I will go there and intervene. I will encourage others to be peace makers until peace is restored to Plateau. So help me God.” I shook hands with both of the recipients and then took pictures with them afterward.

One of the most moving moments of the whole event was when these two youth leaders came together and embraced each other enthusiastically, with big smiles on their faces. What a powerful statement that made to their followers! Both were very happy—genuinely happy for the recognition and for the hope of peace.

The crowd was happy as well. Before they had hardly received the certificates, people were already shouting, “Take care. You need to get those laminated.” The certificate read: “The Young Ambassadors for Community Peace And Inter-Faith Foundation presents the Young Ambassador Peace Award to Ishaya Bot for his exemplary leadership in helping to maintain peace in Bukuru During the Two Thousand and Ten Crisis.”

This was just the ideal way to conclude the meeting. We then had some final instructions about future meetings and other good things that were going to happen, like football matches and T-shirts to be given out identifying the wearers as peace makers. Then there was a closing prayer and the program was over.

As soon as the program was over, there was a surge toward the front. The little kids came and cleaned up all of the bottles of water and juice that was still on the tables. And there were several people who wanted to have their picture taken with me and some who wanted pictures taken with Katrina. It was a very warm and friendly atmosphere, totally devoid of any kind of animosity or conflict. I felt very good as I made my way out of the meeting.

 

Afterward

A couple of hours after I got home, I received a phone call from Yakubu Pam profusely thanking me for my part in the meeting. He was thrilled with the outcome. While we were eating supper, I got a phone call from Ahmed who was also very generous in his praise for my role. He said after the meeting and even after he left people were calling him and saying, “Who is that white man? We should have him come to all of our future meetings.” He said that many of the Muslims had commented how much they appreciated my story about Mohammed and he complemented me on the way the story was told.

At 8:57 PM that evening, I got this text from Pam: “To all our friends and Partners. The Young Ambassadors for Community Peace and Inter-Faith Foundation is saying a BIG THANK U. Rev Pam.” I was very grateful that I could just be able to attend this historic meeting. To be able to be the main speaker was just more than I could have ever asked for.

I am encouraged. Certainly we are not going to solve all the problems that Bukuru and Jos experienced with one three hour meeting. However, this meeting was a very significant step in the right direction. It is my prayer that God will take our weak and imperfect efforts and multiply them like the loaves and fish and that we will see a return to the peace in Plateau that we used to enjoy.

An Amazing Peace Effort in Bukuru—Part IV: Peace

A report of a peace-making event in Jos, attended by several hundred Christian and Muslim youth leaders from various tribes. See Parts

• I—A conflict averted
• II—Origins of the meeting at Bukuru
• III—Keynote address part 1: Jesus and Mohammed; Forgiveness
• IV—Keynote address part 2: Peace, the gold prize
• V—Other speakers; conclusion; afterward

Peace

As I suggested earlier, forgiveness leads to peace. And peace is what we desperately need. We must have peace on the plateau. I want to have peace and I am sure that you also want to have peace. Peace has so many benefits.

• Peace will give you a chance for education.
• Peace will give you a chance to get a job.
• Peace will give you a chance to make more friends.
• Peace will give you a chance for a life—to get married and have a family.
• Peace will give you a chance to do everything you have always wanted to do in life.

However, fighting and killing and burning will take away everything you have wanted to do.

• It will rob you of an education and a job and a family and friends.
• It will rob you of sleep at night and a comfortable life
• It may even rob your of your life.

Your Turn

For reasons I do not fully understand, God Almighty has chosen your generation to deal with this huge problem. In your grandfather’s generation, there was peace on the plateau. No one cared whether a person was a Christian or a Muslim, a Hausa or Berom or Afirzere or Naraguta or Yoruba or Igbo or an Oyebo (white man). That was when Plateau State was known as the home of peace and tourism. However, something has disturbed our peace.

Your parents’ generation spoiled things. Either because of their greed or their ignorance or something else, they lost the peace this city once enjoyed. And do you know what else they have done? Many of them are using you to fight their battles for them. You know better than I that often the manya manya [big] people get the little people like you to fight their battles for them. And you are the ones who suffer.

It is time for the youth to say “It is enough. We are no longer going to fight the battles for the older generation.” In fact, I am convinced that God Almighty allowed these problems to develop on the plateau at this time because God Almighty knew that you would be the best generation to know how to solve them. To be honest, I do not know the best way to solve these problems. However, I believe that God Almighty is going to give you the answers on how to solve these problems of violence and loss of peace. The question is, will you rise to the challenge and reject the violence that is trying to destroy you; will you work hard for peace?

I challenge you to leave a legacy to your children and grandchildren that it was this generation that solved the violence problems on the plateau.

 

The Voices

Before I conclude, I want to tell you about some voice that I am hearing now. Do you hear those voices? I hear voices. Whose are those voices?

They are voices of children. In fact, they are the voices of your children—your future children—speaking to me and to you. Do you know what they are saying? They are saying, “Tell our future parents not to participate in violence.”

Did you hear that? They said, “Tell our future parents not to participate in violence because if they participate in violence, they may be killed. And if they are killed, they will never be able to get married and if they do not get married, they will never be able to give birth to us.” Therefore, on behalf of your future children, I am pleading with you not to engage in violence.

I know that some of you have probably said in the past, “Well, I don’t care what happens to me, whether I live or die. I am just going to deal with those people.” That is a nice pious-sounding statement which even sounds selfless on the surface. However, remember that if you die while participating in some violent action, all of the children that you would have given birth to and all of the children that they would have given birth to and all the subsequent generations will never be born. Do not deny your future children a chance to live by your angry and violent retaliations today.

 

Conclusion

I am calling on each of you individually to establish peace with your neighbor and with those you have been battling with. Establish peace well, that you can marry some day and give birth to those children. Establish the kind of peace that will last so that one day you can sit under the mango tree with your friends, with whom you used to fight, and tell your grandchildren and his grandchildren that there was a time that you fought each other but that you learned that peace is better than war. You learned that love is stronger than hate. You learned that forgiveness is better than retaliation. You learned that rejecting violence and embracing peace was what gave you a life that you lived until old age.

 

Reaction to My Address

Although everyone had spoken only in English up to that point, when I started speaking, Ahmed, the previous speaker, came up beside me and started translating into Hausa. He was very good. As I was speaking, I thought, “I think this is the first time I have ever preached a sermon with a Muslim interpreter.”

I was pleased with the presentation. By the time I started speaking, the hall appeared to be packed. I would guess that there were somewhere between 800 and 1200 there at that time.

I am not sure if it was something that I said or not, but at one point, about 50 or 60 people got up and walked out. It was about the time that I was talking about forgiveness and doing good to those on the other side so I suspect the walk-out was a statement by some of those who were still feeling angry. My speaking was a very clear call to lay down the sword and focus on peace so if there were those who were not ready to do that, my message would not have been what they wanted to hear. However, as a general rule, I think the presentation was well received.

There were about four elderly Muslim men sitting on the front row. I was afraid they would not understand my English. However, I could see them nodding even before the Hausa translation was done. They were vigorously nodding and smiling when I was telling the story of Mohammed.

Next:  V—Other speakers; conclusion; afterward

An Amazing Peace Effort in Bukuru -- Part III

A report of a peace-making event in Jos, attended by several hundred Christian and Muslim youth leaders from various tribes. See Parts

• I—A conflict averted
• II—Origins of the meeting at Bukuru
• III—Keynote address part 1: Jesus and Mohammed; Forgiveness
• IV—Keynote address part 2: Peace, the gold prize
• V—Other speakers; conclusion; afterward

Keynote Address by Professor Danny McCain

Greetings to all of you. I am happy to see so many people gathered together for peace. I have lived in your country since 1988 and have lived in Jos since 1991. I have raised my family here and have been here so long I have decided to apply for an indigeneship certificate (a little attempt at a joke since being recognized as an indigene, or official local resident, is one of the sticky issues in this conflict between the Hausas and the Beroms).

I am a professor in the Department of Religious Studies so I would like to start my remarks by telling two stories from our respective religions. In fact, these are two stories from the two founders of our religions, Christianity and Islam. I believe that these stories have a bearing on the purpose for our meeting today.

A Story about Jesus

Today is Thursday of the Passion Week. On this day of the Passion Week, the day before Jesus was crucified on the cross, Jesus and his disciples were praying very late in the evening in the Garden of Gethsemane. A group of soldiers from the Temple came to arrest Jesus. Peter pulled out his sword and took a swing at the closest man to him, who happened to be Malchus, a servant of the high priest. Apparently Malchus saw the sword coming so he ducked. However, he did not duck quite fast enough and the sword caught off his ear.

If I had been there, I am not sure what I would have done. Perhaps I would have been happy to see my enemy suffer. Perhaps I would have put my foot on the severed ear and twisted it in the ground. However, that is not what Jesus did. He did two things.

• First, he rebuked Peter, saying, “Put your sword back in its place” (Matthew 26:52). And then Jesus said to his other disciples, “No more of this” (Luke 22:51). Jesus did not want any of his followers using violence.
• Then Jesus did something else. He reached down, took the ear and put it back on the man's head of the man. Instantly, the ear was completely healed.

This was the first physical violence that Jesus experienced in his ministry as for as we know. What did he do when he experienced violence? He corrected his disciples who wanted to respond to violence with violence. In addition, he used his supernatural ability to touch this wounded person who had come to arrest him. That tells you something about the attitude of Jesus toward violence and retaliation. When he began to experience the violence that would eventually kill him, his thought was on how he could help one of his “enemies” who had come to arrest him.

A Story about Mohammed

I have worked in the same department of religious studies at the University of Jos with my Muslim colleague, Professor M. T. Yahya, for the last 18 years. In addition, for the last ten years we have been going to various places doing HIV/AIDS workshops together. I have heard Professor Yahya tell this story many times. I ask my Muslim friends to please forgive me if I do not get the details exactly right.

One day Mohammed had left his house and was going to the mosque. At one point, he passed a man who started abusing him and even throwing rubbish at him. However, the prophet did not harm him or even speak harshly to him. The next day, the prophet passed the same place and the man continued to abuse him and shout insults at him. This continued every day for months and perhaps even years.

One day, the prophet passed through that same area but the man was not there to shout at him. Mohammed inquired about the man. His companions said, “Have you not heard? The man is very sick.” The prophet stopped his trip to the mosque and said. “We must go and greet him.” Mohammed then went immediately to the man’s house where he met him in the bed and prayed for him. The man was very ashamed that the prophet who he had abused so many times had come to see him. But this act of kindness for the abuse he had done to him for so many years so impressed him that he turned from his pagan ways and was converted to Islam.

Two Lessons

There are two lessons I would like to point out that come from these stories from the founders of Christianity and Islam. Both stories teach us a lesson about peace.

We must forgive if we are to have peace.

All of life is filled with one disagreement or another.

• You disagree with your relatives including your husband or wife and brothers.
  
• You disagree with your friends and mates.
  
• You will obviously disagree with your neighbors at times.
  
• You will disagree with the people in the market and those sitting next to you on public transportation.
  
• You will certainly disagree with those who are different from you—those from a different ethnic group, those from a different political party, those from a different religion and even those who like a different sports team.
  

There is no perfect human being. We all make mistakes and we often offend one another, either knowingly or unknowingly. Therefore the only way to have peace is to simply forgive. What does that mean today?

• Has someone burned down your house? You can go burn his house—that might give you some temporary sense of satisfaction but it will not bring about peace. Unfortunately, it will bring about retaliation and revenge from the other side. Or, you can choose to forgive. It takes a bigger man to forgive than to retaliate. Retaliation is a human response but forgiveness is a divine response.
  
• Has someone killed one of your relatives? This is a very painful thing. However, even when Jesus was hanging on the cross and the Romans were killing him, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Again, you can hate that person and look for an opportunity to kill him or his brother, but when you do that his brother will seek revenge that will cause even more problems. Or, you can choose to forgive and stop the cycle of violence.

Are you willing to have that same attitude that Jesus and Mohammed had, an attitude of forgiveness? I assure you that if you forgive another person, God will give you peace in your heart and you will have peace with that other person. And if you can have peace with those who have abused and offended you and your family, you can have peace in Bukuru. And if we can have peace in Bukuru, we can have peace in Jos. And if we can have peace in Jos, we can have peace in Nigeria.

A part of forgiveness is to look for good things to do to those who abuse us.

It is one thing to say “I forgive you.” It is another thing to do something good for someone who has treated you badly. When Jesus experience violence, he first thought about the welfare of the other person. When Mohammed experienced violence he first thought about the health of the man who had been abusing him.

The way that we demonstrate our forgiveness is by doing deeds of goodness and kindness to those who have injured you or abused you.

About five years ago, I visited Sudan at the invitation of the former president of Sudan, President Nimiri, who is now an old man. I was met at the airport by a man who took care of the various protocols and then took me to the hotel. He continued to be with me and our group the whole time I was there. I visited Sudan a second time and this same man continued to be with us on that trip as well. Someone finally told me his story.

When Nimiri was head of state, this man, named Mutalib, was a soldier in the army. Several army officers decided to assassinate President Nimiri and stage a coup. Mutalib was part of the assassination team. The team attempted the killing but it failed. Some plotters were shot and others captured. Mutalib was thrown in prison and condemned to die. However, shortly before he was to be executed, President Nimiri called Mutalib into his office and said, “Young man, I am going to forgive you for what you tried to do to me. I am releasing you unconditionally. You are free to go.”

Mutalib was shocked. He was happy for his freedom but after thinking about it for a while, he went back to Nimiri and said to him, “Sir, I deserve to die. You have spared my life which means I owe the rest of my life to you. Therefore, I am surrendering my life to you as your servant. The rest of my life is at your disposal. I will do anything you ask me to do.” That was almost 30 years ago. This man has been serving Nimiri almost like a slave for the last 30 years. Even after he ceased being president, Mutalib has continued to do anything the man has asked.

Now here is the question: Would Nimiri have been better off enjoying the little bit of satisfaction knowing that his assassin had been killed or did he get more benefit from forgiving this man who tried to kill him? The answer is very obvious.

I challenge you to look for a way to do demonstrate your forgiveness by doing something good for the person or group who has caused you great harm? If you do that, you will be demonstrating the characteristics of the founders of your religions. And you will be doing what is ultimately the best for you, your family and your community.

Next: Part IV—Peace.

An Amazing Peace Effort in Bukuru -- Part II

A report of a peace-making event in Jos, attended by several hundred Christian and Muslim youth leaders from various tribes. See Parts

• I—A conflict averted
• II—Origins of the meeting at Bukuru
• III—Keynote address part 1: Jesus and Mohammed; Forgiveness
• IV—Keynote address part 2: Peace, the gold prize
• V—Other speakers; conclusion; afterward

Origins of this peacemaking effort

I asked Pam how all of this had started and he told me his own story. He was the Plateau State chairman of CAN (Christian Association of Nigeria) in 2001 when President Obasanjo made a trip to Jos, shortly after our first major crisis in Jos. Apparently during their meeting with the president, Pam said something that the president did not like and the president publicly rebuked him and called him an “idiot.” That obviously was a great embarrassment to him but it also made him a hero in the eyes of other people. Whether because of this incident or not, some people from the United Nations came to see him and asked him if he would be willing to attend a peace course in New York. Pam agreed and attended the course.

The course changed his life. He told me during our lunch that before he went to New York he thought the only thing that could change the minds of “these Muslims” was violence. He believed what many express here in Jos and that is “the only language they understand is force.” However, his course in New York and a subsequent follow up course convinced him that something should be done and that Muslims were indeed capable of and interested in peace.

Rev. Pam came back to Nigeria and started working to put together an organization called “Young Ambassadors for Community Peace and Inter-Faith Foundation.” He got Solomon Lar, former governor of Plateau State, Professor Danjuma, the director general of NIPSS (Nigeria Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies) and the former governor of Kaduna State to become trustees of his peace organization.

These are obviously well-placed men who had some financial resources to help him start working to register the organization. They had been working to get their official registration complete and only the day before our lunch they had gotten word that the certificate was out. The first official activity of this body was the event that they sponsored at the Kwarafa Cinema in Jos on Tuesday, 23 March 2010 that Katrina and I participated in.

More Contact with the Youth Leaders

While we were eating lunch, Pam’s phone rang. He looked at his phone and smiled and said, “This is Magaji, the Muslim youth leader in Bukuru.” I encouraged him to answer the call. They talked in Hausa and afterward he told me with a big smile on his face that Magaji had come back from Kano a day early because of this peace initiative.

Magaji had gone around all over Bukuru and met with about thirty other Muslim youth leaders who were under his leadership. He had told them about a meeting that Pam had promised to have at the Bukuru cinema with the Christian youth. He was very happy about this meeting and was giving it his full attention. He said that he wanted Pam to come to Bukuru that afternoon and go around and meet these youth leaders. Pam agreed that he would do so as soon as he finished lunch.

Pam called me about 5:30 PM that same evening. He had gone down to Bukuru and met Magaji, the Muslim youth leader, who was apparently very happy to see him. There was even a little cheer that went up when he arrived, as if a real celebrity had come.

Magaji then took Pam to several of the Muslim areas in Bukuru so he could meet with the various youth leaders. At the present time, Christians are not going into certain Muslim areas because of the possibility of secret killings. However, Magaji took him to all those “off limits” areas to show him that nothing would happen to him.

Pam had originally told me that the earliest they could have a public meeting in Bukuru was on the Wednesday after Easter. That would be almost two weeks away. I urged him to try to find a day that would be closer. He consulted his calendar and thought that they might be able to do something on Thursday before Easter. When he called me late that afternoon, he confirmed that they had set up a meeting for Thursday at the cinema in Bukuru. He spent all day Saturday going around to the Christian groups to get their support for the meeting. He had already talked to them on the phone and they agreed to come to the meeting.

Pam and I were in contact several times during the week. He confessed, “This peace work is very hard work.” He also said that he was having more trouble with the “Christian youth” than with the Muslims. He asked me if I would be the “guest speaker” for the occasion. I was more than happy to do accept his invitation.

At our lunch on Friday, I had suggested to Pam that we would be happy to put together a little certificate for the Christian and Muslim youth leaders that could be given to them publicly on the day of the meeting. Pam was happy about that and later forwarded the names of the recipients to me. Mary put the certificate together and we printed it on very nice paper we reserve for special occasions.

The Bukuru Meeting

I had to teach an 8 AM class on that Thursday morning. Also, I had a 9:00 AM class with my HIV/AIDS students. However, I had arranged to have a guest speaker so it worked out well for me to get away by 9:45 or so. I stopped by the house and picked up Katrina and we headed to Bukuru.

We missed the proper turn the first time but eventually found the cinema. It was right next door to the Division B police headquarters which was encouraging. It was also within a block or so of the market that had been totally destroyed. I was happy to note that there was a small, rubber-wheeled armored personnel carrier out front with several soldiers in their desert camouflage uniforms standing around holding their AK-47’s.

Pam was smiling very widely when he met us. He took us immediately into the Cinema. This building was not quite as big as the Kwarafa Cinema but perhaps two-thirds the size. It was a very old building, at least 50 and perhaps 75 years old. The lower part of the building was painted green and the upper part was painted orange. The very high ceiling was made of asbestos sheets, several of which had pulled loose on one end and were hanging down. Small fans near the ceiling were pulling the hot air out of the building. A gigantic screen painted on the front wall was probably 100 feet wide and perhaps 30 feet high. There were two sections of 15 seats across and I would guess that there were at least 35 to 40 seats deep.

About 150 people were sitting around when we arrived. That was a good start, certainly enough to have the program for, but would there be more? The Kwarafa event had raised our expectations.

The atmosphere was relaxed. We went up front and sat down a minute or two. Then I got up and moved down the front row greeting the people in Hausa. One of them teased me about being a Fulani man. I said, “What is it that makes me look like a Fulani man?” He said, “It is the thin nose.” I said, “But what about this hair?” They all laughed.

I walked over to the other side and started greeting the people on the other side. They refused to speak to me in Hausa and insisted on speaking in Berom. I had heard that there were some of the local tribes who were refusing to speak Hausa because of this conflict with the Hausas. However, everyone seemed to be friendly enough.

The program was supposed to start at 11:00. By 11:30, the people were still coming. I would guess that there must have been 300 to 400 by that time. That was good. The program finally started about noon. The MC got everyone’s attention, then introduced the people at the head table. After that, a Muslim and a Christian were called to pray. That was civil enough.

The first substantive item on the agenda was a general overview by Rev. Yakubu Pam, the program's founder and executive director. He spoke in English and explained what this program was trying to accomplish. After this, a young man named Ahmed gave a quite excellent presentation on the history of Islam. He explained that when Mohammed was being persecuted by the pagans it was the Christians who had received them in Abyssinia. It was a very forceful and dynamic presentation calling on Christians and Muslims to come together and stop the fighting. At one time, Ahmed even got down on his knees and begged the warring parties to stop the fighting.

Next it was my turn to speak ...

See the next part of this blog to read my address to these Christian and Muslim Youth

An Amazing Peace Effort in Bukuru

A report of a peace-making event in Jos, attended by several hundred Christian and Muslim youth leaders from various tribes. See Parts

• I—A conflict averted
• II—Origins of the meeting at Bukuru
• III—Keynote address part 1: Jesus and Mohammed; Forgiveness
• IV—Keynote address part 2: Peace, the gold prize
• V—Other speakers; conclusion; afterward

Peacemaking Success Story—A Crisis Averted

More Trouble in Bukuru

Rev. Yakubu Pam called me on last Thursday morning. (The name is pronounced like the “palm” tree, not like the woman’s name.) He is the chairman of the North-Central zone of CAN (Christian Association of Nigeria, the umbrella organization of all Christian denominations in Nigeria). He is also the person who arranged the amazing meeting between the Christian and Muslim youth in the Kwarafa Cinema earlier that week.

Children in Bukuru

Pam had a very excited tone in his voice. He said, “Did you hear about Bukuru yesterday? There were more problems there.” I groaned a little bit when I heard it. The crisis in January had started on a Sunday. By Tuesday, it had spread to Bukuru, about ten miles south of Jos. The losses there were incredible. The main market that contained hundreds of shops was completely destroyed. In addition, I would guess that hundreds of homes and businesses were destroyed and dozens of people were killed.

People who had lived side by side for decades were now turning against each other and burning one another’s homes and killing each other. And as the violence spread out to some of the villages near Bukuru over the next few weeks, the area experienced almost genocide-like conditions, in which whole villages were destroyed and hundreds of men, women and children were killed.

A Pastor’s Response

Still on the phone, Pam told me this story.

Apparently, there was some kind of flare up in Bukuru associated with a soccer match. A person from the “other side” stopped to watch and some youths there attacked him and would have killed him if not for the intervention of soldiers who were there. Things turned very ugly. Several people were injured and there is a rumor that at least one person was killed, though this has not been confirmed. Pam was in Abuja at the time, but he received a phone call from Gideon Para-Mallam, who told him that there was fighting in Bukuru and tension in his own village, Gel, which is right outside Bukuru. Pam quickly called the leader of the Christian youth in Bukuru. He had just met with the leader the previous week and had urged him and his followers to follow the path of peace and not violence.

When the youth leader answered the phone, Pam asked him about the tension. The youth leader confirmed the tense situation and said that the Christian boys were already assembled and preparing to go fight the Muslim youth. Pam told him that he should tell the boys to go back home. The youth leader argued with him for a bit. Pam told him, “You should know that there are already soldiers in Bukuru and they will just kill you if you go in there planning to fight. The lives of your boys will just be wasted. You do not want to waste the lives of these youth.” The youth leader finally agreed that he would tell the boys to go back.

Pam then called the Muslim youth leader. This young man told Pam that he was in Kano but was aware of the problems in Bukuru. Pam told him that he had to call his boys and tell them to go back home. There must be no fighting. The Muslim leader eventually agreed to do so. However, he called Pam back in a few minutes and said that his boys were afraid that if they disbanded the Christian youth would come and kill them. Pam told him that the Christian boys had already disbanded and promised the youth leader there would be no problem.

The Muslim leader eventually called Pam back and said that the Muslim youth had followed his instructions and dispersed.

Pam was elated while telling me about this and I was just as happy to receive this information. A serious battle was averted by the actions of a committed Christian pastor who had taken some initiative to build peace. And who knows what else his decisive action may have stopped? Had this battle reopened in Bukuru, the knowledge would have quickly spread by cell phones and text messages to other parts of the state, and violence could have exploded all over the state and been worse than January.

The next day, the Christian and the Muslim leaders both called Pam to thank him for his intervention. Apparently, they realized there would have been serious casualties if they had continued the way they were going. Both of them also agreed to participate in any peace initiative that Pam would create.

Lunch with Pam

The next day, Friday, 26 March, Rev. Pam filled me in on a few more details while we had lunch together. He said that one of the things that had helped spur this project forward was that around last Christmas he had met and provided some training for 24 Muslim youths who live near his church.

The church is located directly across the street from the Kwarafa Cinema, in the heart of the Muslim area in Jos. During the crisis, some Muslim youth came to burn his church. However, these 24 Muslim youth protected his church and arrested one of the boys. After beating him very well, they turned him over to the police. This event encouraged Pam to do more. It also encouraged some of the people who were helping Pam that perhaps some of his strategies might work.

Pam was very happy with the Kwarafa meeting and with the good coverage that the media gave it. It was not only on local news but made national news as well. He said that he had tried to give the soldiers a little token financial appreciation gift for helping provide security but they had refused. This, too, was an encouragement to him. Police and soldiers seldom turn down financial gifts.

Pam’s team had obviously learned some things from that event which they planned to include in the next meeting. He had been very pleased with the participation of the director general of NIPSS, who is a Hausa Fulani Muslim. He knew the language of the majority of those boys and really communicated well with them. Pam was also kind enough to say that he felt that my brief little speech really connected with the boys.

II—Origins of the meeting at Bukuru

Be cautious about the cautions you hear and pass to others

27 March 2010

Dear Friend,

Greetings and thank you for forwarding me the document that you received from your friend, outlining the arguments that former Muslims were using against their former religion. I am a learner and always anxious to discover more about Islam. Although you did not mention the reason you forwarded this article to me, based upon its contents, I would assume that this was a caution that we as Christians should be careful about accepting the statements of Muslims that Islam is a religion of peace.

I accept this call to be cautious. In fact, on December 31, 2009, as I was having my normal morning quiet time, I read a passage from Ephesians 6:18b, which I accepted at that time as a key verse I should especially concentrate on during 2010. It simply says, “. . . be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” Seventeen days later, Jos erupted in violence and I have been forced to be alert ever since. Certainly, as we are passing through a time of social and religious turmoil, this is a time to be alert. However, there are many ways to be alert and there are many things that we should be alert about. For example, here are some specific issues we should be alert about:

• Be alert that there are many people trying to use our religions to stir up hatred and animosity among us.
• Be alert that there are propaganda pieces floating around, actually created by the “other side.” In fact, I have received positive confirmation that some of these supposedly written by Muslims were not indeed written by Muslims.
• Be alert that our greatest enemy, the devil, is prowling around, seeking to use his greatest weapon, which is deceit and his other heavy weapons such as mistrust, hatred, and violence. It is not just within the Muslim community that the devil is prowling, but within the ranks of the Christian community as well.

Therefore, my practical caution is that we should be careful about forwarding around messages that could be misunderstood and could potentially stir up anger, misunderstanding and mistrust. I suggest this for the following reasons:

1. Interpreting the Documents of Other Religions. We must be cautious about interpreting the documents of Muslims and giving the impression that we understand their religion better than they do. We can obviously read the English translation of the Qur’an very well and understand the words but just understanding the words does not mean that we understand their context and their meaning and the way that they have been interpreted and applied by the practitioners of that religion over the years. Of course, there are statements in the Qur’an which tolerate and perhaps even encourage violence in certain instances. And, I think that most of our Muslim friends would agree that Islam has a slightly higher tolerance for “violence” than Christianity. Though we still may not accept their explanations, they would explain that we Christians hand over issues of justice and war to the state (Romans 13:4). However because Islam is a holistic religion that covers every part of society, issues of justice and war are still viewed within the realm of the religion. Without a much greater understanding of Islam than most Christians have, it seems unwise for us to make pronouncements about Islamic beliefs especially those that contradict the practitioners. We must give them the respect to interpret these things themselves and explain what they mean.

Within Islam, as within Christianity, there is a great variety of interpretations. Some, like the Bin Laden followers, focus on the verses that encourage violence and ignore the verses that promote peace. Others, which I think are the great majority of Muslims worldwide, tend to play down the violence verses and stress the peace verses. Certainly, all of my Muslim friends fall into the second category. And these are the people we must work together with to restore peace and mutual respect in Jos once again.

2. Opinions of Former Muslims. Obviously former Muslims know a great deal more about Islam than the typical Christian. However, I still believe we must be cautious about using arguments of former Muslims to provide a definitive understanding of Islam. The document you sent was written by those who identify themselves as “cultural Muslims” but who have rejected their former religion. In all fairness, would we appreciate it if people who identified themselves as “cultural Christians” but who had actually rejected our Christian faith, were to try to explain what Christianity teaches? I think we would say that the fact they have abandoned their Christian faith disqualifies them from speaking with any authority about Christianity.

For example, there are many homosexuals who have abandoned Christianity because of the church’s rigid stand on homosexuality. If a practicing homosexual, who now professes to be a former Christian, were to write something about the legalism of Christianity on sexual issues, we would say that person’s personal experiences have skewed his interpretation of Christianity. By rejecting the teachings of the Bible, he no longer has any ability to speak with any degree of authority about Christianity. Therefore, I am not sure how much weight we should give to former practitioners of the religion.

I personally would prefer to deal with more official Muslim sources in trying to understand what Muslims believe rather than renegade Muslims, either those who are extremists in their views of violence or those who have abandoned Islam. For example, if you would like an official summary of what Muslims believe about key issues, I would suggest that you see “A Common Word Between Us and You,” a document signed by 138 scholars and Muslim leaders from all over the world, including the Sultan of Sokoto. The document attempts to point out some of the commonalities between Christianity and Islam. See http://www.acommonword.com/index.php?lang=en&page=option1

If you want to see a summary of the official views of Muslim scholars and leaders about warfare and violence and other contemporary issues, see “An Open Letter to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI” a letter signed by a similar group of scholars and leaders, which outlines these three basic issues about Islam and war/violence:

1. Non-combatants are not permitted as legitimate targets. This was emphasized explicitly time and again by the Prophet, his Companions, and by the learned tradition since then.

2. Religious belief alone does not make anyone the object of attack. The original Muslim community was fighting against pagans who had expelled them from their homes, persecuted, tortured, and murdered them. Thereafter, the Islamic conquests were political in nature.

3. Muslims can and should live peacefully with their neighbors. And if they incline to peace, do thou incline to it; and put thy trust in God (al-Anfal ). However, this does not exclude legitimate self-defense and maintenance of sovereignty. See http://ammanmessage.com/media/openLetter/english.pdf

3. The Other Side of the Coin—Manipulation of the Bible. We must remember that the words of the Bible can be manipulated also. As I am sure you know, the Bible contains much language that is capable of making those who accept the Bible as the inspired Word of God look very violent. Consider these scriptures:

• 1 Samuel 15:2: Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.
• Exodus 21:17 Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.
• Matthew 10:34: Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
• Luke 22:36: He said to them, "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.”

These are all verses from our Holy Bible. Do we as Christians believe that it would be legitimate for anyone today to “put to death men and women, children and infants”? Do we believe that a young person who curses his father or mother should be put to death? Do we believe that Jesus really taught that his servants should go out and buy swords and use them to defend themselves against the Jews and Romans? Though we do believe that all Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable to us (2 Timothy 3:16), we do not believe that Christians should practice those things. Our theologians and even many laymen can explain how those things should be interpreted and how they relate to Jesus’ teachings of non-violence. Therefore, just as we would resent someone taking verses from the Bible and trying to use them to describe Christians as violent people, I am reasonably sure that Muslims resent us trying to do the same with the Qur’an.

4. Christian Examples. We must remember that many things have been done in the name of Christianity that are not consistent with historic mainstream Christianity and the teachings of Jesus. It is easy to point to the actions of Muslims over the centuries to demonstrate that they are simply following the violent teachings found in their scripture. However, when they look at us, they can also point out violent tendencies within Christianity. For example, Dr. Ahmad Shafaat, who represents a fairly typical Arab/Muslim perspective, makes these statements:

In Rwanda the tribe that perpetuated a holocaust of another tribe follows the Catholic religion. The most cruel tyrant in history (Hitler) came from a Christian country and there has been no shortage of other somewhat less ruthless dictators in Christian countries, especially in South America and Africa. Even in terrorism, associated in the media mostly with the Muslims, it is the Christians that hold the record when it comes to the number of children and other innocent people killed . . . Terrorism in Northern Ireland which is a direct result of a sectarian conflict between Catholics and Protestants and is often supported by the religious leaders, has probably killed more children and innocent people than Middle East terrorism . . . Several doctors have been murdered by anti-abortionists . . . Black churches have been burned in America . . . Such acts are often carried out by members of groups who also carry crosses. And in South Africa the inhuman system of apartheid was maintained by the church-going white community with the blessing of the churches and indeed the apartheid was practiced by the churches themselves. (first published in Al-Ummah, Montreal, Canada in 1983. Copyright. Dr. Ahmad Shafaat. See http://www.islamicperspectives.com/Violence.htm)

Of course, we immediately cry out that these linkages are unfair. These people were not “real Christians.” However, I think many of our Muslim friends would say that the extremist actions of Muslim terrorists and other violent people are not the actions of “real Muslims.” Until we get our own house in order and stop “Christians” killing Muslims and stop other “Christian” acts of retaliation and violence, I am not sure we have a lot of moral authority to complain about the violent verses in the Qur’an.

5. Documents of Unknown Origin. As an academic, I am normally suspicious about documents of unknown origin. There are thousands of documents like this that bounce around the Internet. However, any document about such an important subject that does not carry the name of the author and some way to verify the original source is suspect. It is generally accepted in the academic world that sources without proper documentation are considered unreliable for establishing truth.

All of us who have lived in Jos during the last few weeks have seen emails and text messages and photocopied documents that contain all kinds of information. However, it is my conviction that these documents from unknown sources are generally unhelpful at best and often forgeries or propaganda at worst. For example, recently there has been a text message going around warning people that NASA has predicted acid rain during the last ten days or so of March. Fortunately, this has been totally debunked by NASA, but it is still believed as the gospel truth by many and the phone companies are making plenty money through our foolishness. There are enough facts related to violence that we have to deal with in Jos right now that are clear and undisputed. I believe it is wise to focus on those facts that we know and not worry so much about unsigned documents.

I might add that there are things about this document that cause me to question the professionalism and competence of the writers. For example, in the description of the article the word Muslim is misspelled “Muslin” and in the next paragraph the word “muslim” is not capitalized. The holy book of Islam is referred to both as Qu’ran and Qur’an. The translator of the English version used in this work is referred to as Yusufali rather than Yusuf Ali. Although these are not substantive issues, they do suggest a level of carelessness that makes one wonder if the authors were equally careless with the other facts in the document.

6. Distrust and Suspicion. It is my opinion that documents like these only create greater distrust and suspicion on the part of Christians toward Muslims. Such documents confirm in the minds of Christians what others are already telling them and that is “Muslims are violent people who are looking for an opportunity to kill you. Therefore, have nothing to do with them.” Does the history of Jos really bear that out? Our city is desperately suffering from a lack of trust and suspicion by practically everyone. We do not need to add to that by circulating unsigned documents of unknown origin that further flame the fires of mistrust.

I am convinced that what we should be doing right now is trying to focus not on the things that divide us but the things that unite us. This is the time when we must emphasize not our differences but our similarities. This is the only way that we are going to build bridges that will bring about peace. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification” (Romans 14:19) and Hebrews 12:14 says “Make every effort to live in peace with all men.” Those verses suggest that as much as we can maintain a conscience that is clear before God and man (Acts 24:16), we must make a deliberate effort to create peace and avoid things that will disturb the peace.

7. Time for All Things. We must remember there is a time for all things (Ecclesiastes 3:1). There is nothing inherently wrong with investigating the claims that are found in this document and challenging our Muslim friends and colleagues to answer the objections these people raise about their former faith. The document does raise disturbing issues that should be addressed. However, dialogue over highly emotional issues like these is not something that can be done in a tense and suspicious atmosphere like we now have in Jos. The first African proverb I learned 22 years ago was “What you have not said, you can always say.”

Jesus said, “you will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). However, there is a time and a place for all truth. For example, in our HIV/AIDS work, we talk very straight to young people about the dangers of pre-marital sex. We warn them that if they play around sexually, they can contract a disease that can cause them to die young.

However, when a young man goes to the clinic and suddenly learns that he has tested positive for HIV, he no longer needs the same message as he needed before. He does not need to be told about the consequences of his immoral behavior. The consequences are staring him in the face. He does not need to be reminded that he may die young. What he needs now is hope. He needs to know God can forgive him if he has been immoral. He needs to be reminded that his life is not over and that with proper care, he can still live many years. Though the other things we were telling him before are still true, that is not the particular message he needs at that moment.

I hope the point is obvious. We now are infected with the “disease” of violence. Therefore, we need a different message than we may have needed before. We need a message of hope and peace. We need to appeal to the verses on peace in the Qur’an and urge the moderates to emphasize them rather than pointing out the verses on violence, which have the ability to incite Christians to react. Now is not the time for circulating documents that have the ability to stir up anger and create more distrust. Now is the time to focus on the positive and do things that will cool tempers and encourage reconciliation.

For peace to be restored in Plateau, I recognize that the government must do some things and Muslims must do some things. However, I am most concerned about what Christians should do. I believe every Christian must make an active commitment toward peace which includes:

• Condemning violence in no uncertain terms. Violence certainly involves taking up weapons and fire, but violence may also include violence with the tongue and pen.
• Speaking words of non-retaliation, forgiveness, and reconciliation.
• Renewing the spirit of trust in our communities by reaching out to our Muslim neighbors in understanding, compassion and practical deeds of kindness.

I have taken some time to respond to your forwarded document because I respect you and believe that you are an honest and fair-minded person. I trust that my words will be accepted in the spirit of peace in which they are given.

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8).

Grace and Peace!

Prof. Danny McCain University of Jos

Forgeries generate fear and anger

Yesterday I was given a letter supposedly written by Juma’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) on 25 January 2010. This letter makes all kinds of claims about what Muslims are planning to do in Jos and thanks many big political leaders by name for their financial contributions to their causes. I passed the letter on to my Muslim colleague at JNI who immediately pointed out several things in the letter than demonstrate it could not have been written by a Muslim in JNI.

First, it was not written on any JNI letterhead paper. JNI would never send out a letter without being on a proper letter-headed paper. Second, the name of the organization was misspelled in two different places. Third, it supposedly came from the “Plateau State Chapter.” JNI does not use the word “chapter” but “branch.” Fourth, the letter begins with “Allahu Akbar.” My friend informed me that all Muslim correspondence begins with “As-Salamu Alaykum” (or some variant spelling since this is a transliteration from Arabic). He also mentioned several other inconsistencies in the letter. Therefore, the letter is obviously a forgery prepared by some non-Muslim to stir up fear and hatred and mistrust of Muslims.

My friend also told me that they had received a copy of a similar letter, supposedly written by Christians, which they also strongly believed was a forgery. The point is that we should be careful about photocopying and passing along these documents or forwarding on emails or text messages that only generate fear and anger and thoughts of evil.

Whereas we should always be cautious and careful about our safety, let us do things that will build peace in Jos and avoid things that will encourage mistrust and suspicion which lay the groundwork for retaliation and violence.

Grace and Peace!

Prof. Danny McCain
University of Jos