Religion: Fertile Ground for Terrorism in Africa

There has been a significant increase in the number of terrorist attacks on the continent over the last five years. According to the Global Terrorism Index published this year, 17 958 people were killed in terrorist attacks in 2013. That’s 61% more than the previous year, and 82% of these deaths occurred in five countries:  Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and Syria. The report claims that thirteen countries are at risk of increased terrorist attacks, seven of which are African countries – Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Mali, and Uganda. Most of us will agree that terrorism is becoming an increasing threat on the continent. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of why. Some are convinced that the increase of terrorism is because of the increase in urban poverty, others maintain that it is because of poor education on the continent. My own view is that the root cause of terrorism, especially in Africa, is the inability to tolerate religious difference.

The governments in Africa influence people and their approach in dealing with religious difference. On the African continent, 59 % of the countries are religious states where the religion adopted by the government represents the majority and not the whole population. Nigeria is a Christian state with all its constitutional laws closely adhering to some of the guidelines in the Bible; however 45.5% of the population are Muslim while 53.1% practice Christianity and the remainder make up the minority religions. The state adopting a religion and not being secular creates division amongst citizens and creates a feeling of marginalization for the minorities who feel underrepresented by the state.

In 2009, the militant Islamist group Boko Haram broke out of Nigeria and began to attack and kill. Boko Haram is suspected to have killed about 3 600(although other sources claim different numbers) people since the beginning of the group’s insurgency. Boko Haram is against the western system and beliefs especially Christianity and education.

The underlying factor that makes Africa fertile ground for terrorism is the narrow mind-set we as Africans grow up with because of the homogenous environments we are born into. These environments teach us not to tolerate difference and reflect the voice of the majority which is mostly never questioned. Tolerating difference does not mean compromising on one’s own principle and opinions but rather it means learning to co-exist with individuals who exhibit different opinions and hold different principles to us.

In most African countries, children grow up learning to always pray and praise God at school, national assemblies, on Independence Day and during meals; one implication of such training is that it cultivates a mind that is not akin to people who may have different religions or habits. I was born into a religious family and all my friends attended Sunday school.  Growing up my mother would warn me against the “naughty” children who did not go to Sunday school.

It is in being told that people who do not pray to Allah are cursed that the mind of a five year old is being made malleable to accepting religious extremism. Instead of growing up in an environment where your “right” is the only way children should grow up in an environment where they are taught that their opinions are theirs to have and are not meant to be imposed on others.

Many would argue that religious tolerance is not the underlying root cause of terrorism because of its simplicity. Although I agree that a factor like urban poverty plays a pivotal role in breeding terrorism I cannot fully agree that terrorism can simply be fixed by addressing urban poverty. If we look at the example of the Westgate mall, the attack was not only on the black middle to upper class, the attack was on all Kenyans but Muslim Kenyans who were able to recite a particular prayer were spared and this is a significant detail we cannot ignore because religion was ultimately the deciding factor between who lived and who died that day.

Terrorism I believe is a reaction that is demonstrated when one individual or group of people feel threatened and want to demonstrate power so that they do not feel insignificant. In the process innocent lives are lost and irreparable damage is committed. Looking at the African continent this is the case for most and not all cases. Dichotomy within the state leads to tension and possible terror, Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie emphasizes when she writes that “the mark of a true democracy is not in the rule of its majority but in the protection of its minority.” I would further argue that it is the protection of this minority that fosters a mind-set that is going to be accustomed to religious difference and not engender a breeding ground for terrorism. This is something that we all as African citizens must hold ourselves accountable to and realise that if we begin to embrace true diversity then we may play an important role in combating the rise of terrorism on our continent.