Wednesday, 20 March 2019

Religious Conflict in Nigeria - another take

Nigeria. Image credit: www.guttmacher.org
Snopes has done an excellent analysis of a widely publicised accusation by Breitbart that the 'left wing' media only report killings of Muslims by Christians and not killings of Christians by Muslims. As an example Breitbart pointed to some recent events in Nigeria. I found it helpful to have explained to me how the current spate of killings in Nigeria do not appear to be rooted in religious differences - though that is an added complication.
"The conflict’s roots lie in climate-induced degradation of pasture and increasing violence in the country’s far north, which have forced herders south; the expansion of farms and settlements that swallow up grazing reserves and block traditional migration routes; and the damage to farmers’ crops wrought by herders’ indiscriminate grazing."
It strikes me that this is a good example of why Pope Francis wrote "Laudato Si'".

You can read the full Snopes analysis here: Did ‘Muslim Militants’ Kill 120 Christians in Nigeria in February/March 2019? https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/nigeria-christians-muslims/