Storbyen Kaduna i det nordlige Nigeria var engang et sted med religiøs sameksistens, men efter flere års terrorbølge er mistilliden mellem kristne og muslimer dyb – alligevel fæstner man sin lid til, at håbet og tolerancen vil sejre til sidst.
Nigeria’s militant Islamist group, Boko Haram, and the security forces have been accused by Amnesty International of committing widespread atrocities in the mainly Muslim north, writes BBC online Thursday.
Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is forbidden”, is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state.
On Sunday, a church was bombed, leaving eight people dead in Kaduna, one of the cities affected by the conflict. Although Boko Haram has not said it carried out the attacks, it has claimed responsibility for similar bombings across northern and central Nigeria.
Obadiah Diji, youth leader of the Christian Association of Kaduna, gave the BBC an account of how life has changed in the city.
I have lived in Kaduna city nearly all my life – and I am filled with sadness when I look how sharply divided it has become along religious lines.
Muslims live in areas where there is a Muslim majority; Christians where there is a Christian majority. So, the two groups lead separate lives, with little social contact.
It was not always like this. We once took pride in the fact that Kaduna was cosmopolitan and welcoming of everyone.
Christians and Muslims were in an out of each other’s homes. Our children went to the same schools, learning from each other about their respective religions and cultures.
People even married across religious lines – my stepmother became a Muslim and married a Muslim. My sister also married a Muslim, but remained a Christian.
Things changed around the year 2000, when Kaduna was hit, for the first time, by religious conflict attributed to the introduction of Islamic law in the state.
That is when segregated settlements emerged. People fled their homes to escape violence. Christians ended up living in one part of the city; Muslims in another.
I have always been opposed to segregated areas – and that is why I still live, with my wife and four children, in a mainly Muslim area.
But it is true that since Boko Haram started its insurgency, Christians have been living in constant fear.
Many churches now have metal detectors that you have to go through.
The streets of the city centre are almost deserted at night. People are too scared to go clubbing (på bar) or to just sit around a table, drinking beer and eating fish.
We now lead secluded lives, staying at home. It is only the police who are on the streets of the city at night.
But the message that we, in the Christian Association of Kaduna, spread is that most Muslims are good people – and the small number who cause violence should not harm relations between the two communities.
When Muslims celebrated Eid al-Kabir last Friday, we got together with them at a popular roundabout (rundkørsel) in the city.
A tent was put up and after a ram (vædder) slaughtered we ate together to strengthen our covenant (pagt) of unity and peace.
Two days later, a church was bombed – but it will not stop us from reaching out to each other.
