CNA<\/a>).- For Bishop Matthew Kukah, persecution is not just the history of the Church. It\u2019s a reality that he lives every day.<\/p>\nIn the diocese of Sokoto, located in northern Nigeria, ministry includes not only the normal sacramental and pastoral concerns of any other diocese. It also includes regularly responding to violence and attacks against the small Christian minority living in the majority-Muslim area.<\/p>\n
Christians living in northern Nigeria today wonder \u201cwhy have they and their institutions become target practice,\u201d Bishop Kukah told CNA.<\/p>\n
Christian churches and businesses \u2013 as well as the people who frequent them \u2013 suffer both targeted violence at the hands of Islamist extremists and destruction stemming from frustrations with the government, economy and social order, he said. And after the attacks, Christian communities face a wall of bureaucratic challenges and lack of government support as they struggle to rebuild.<\/p>\n
The bishop said that he would not characterize the situation as a constant state of fear, but rather one of uncertainty.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Y)ou live in a state that is less than you expect as a citizen,\u201d he said. \u201cYou don\u2019t know what to expect tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bishop Kukah spoke to CNA during a trip to the United States earlier this year to alert U.S. officials and organizations about the plight faced by his people and other targets of Islamist fundamentalism. He made the trip as a guest of Aid to the Church in Need, a Catholic charity that focuses on helping persecuted Christians around the world.<\/p>\n
A complex problem<\/strong><\/p>\n\u201cChristians suffer disproportionate violence from Muslim extremists for reasons that very often have nothing to do with the Christian community,\u201d Bishop Kukah said.<\/p>\n
In many cases, he elaborated, violence in the region is \u201cunprovoked\u201d by the Christian community, but instead occurs as a reaction to events such as unfair elections, economic misfortunes, or international events such as American military actions in Libya or Iraq.<\/p>\n
In addition, both Christian and moderate Muslim communities face attacks from Boko Haram, an Islamist terrorist group based in the country. Since 2009, changing government relations and radicalization within Boko Haram have resulted in a dramatic increase in violent attacks against civilian targets, including the 2014 abduction of 276 schoolgirls from Chibook, Nigeria. In 2015, the Global Terrorism Index named Boko Haram the world\u2019s deadliest terrorist organization, greater than ISIS.<\/p>\n
Adding to the suffering of the community, Bishop Kukah said, is a lack of support from the government. While some targets of violence find government and societal aid in rebuilding and accessing services such as schools and hospitals, the state in northern Nigeria merely \u201clooks on\u201d as Christian churches and institutions struggle to rebuild.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur churches are being bombed with no compensation paid for the schools or other properties of the Church.\u201d<\/p>\n
Furthermore, non-Muslim institutions in general \u2013 including churches, schools and hospitals \u2013 are legally limited in northern Nigeria, the bishop said. Non-Muslims face restrictions purchasing land, constructing buildings, and seeking government funding for schools, along with a number of bureaucratic obstacles that do not exist for Muslim citizens living in the region.<\/p>\n
And while heightened waves of violence have drawn some recent media attention, the roots of the conflict go back centuries, Bishop Kukah said. Conquest of the area by Muslim rulers, along with attitudes carried by British colonial leaders, have created the perception that Western education is opposed to Islam \u2013 a social divide which heightens the tension between Christian and Muslim neighbors today.<\/p>\n
In addition, citizens are living in an area where there is \u201can almost total breakdown of trust,\u201d he said: parents and children are separated, spouses or other family members may not have confirmation that their loved ones are even alive.<\/p>\n
In this uncertainty, both the Christian and Muslim communities have separated even further, Bishop Kukah continued. \u201cPeople were living side-by-side with one another, but now what you witness is a tale of two cities.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cChristians have relocated themselves to where they feel safe. Muslims have done the same.\u201d<\/p>\n
Building blocks of peace<\/strong><\/p>\nAmid the division and disharmony, Bishop Kukah still hopes that northern Nigeria can move towards unification, a process that will require \u201cleaders to bring things back together.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first step in countering violence, he said, is educating the public to counter projections and prejudices, which he claimed \u201care based on fear\u201d as well as misunderstanding.<\/p>\n
Catholic schools play a unique role in achieving this aim. The bishop pointed to a recent testing of northern Nigerian state\u2019s students, in which the top two students from the entire state were selected to meet the governor.\u00a0 Both students \u2013 one girl, one boy \u2013 came from the same Catholic school, one that does not receive any government support.\u00a0 What\u2019s more, he continued, both students were Muslim.<\/p>\n
The meeting with the students was an opportunity to celebrate their achievements, Bishop Kukah said, but also to discuss the challenges Catholic schools face in the state. \u201cThe governor responded by telling me, even if it meant him buying the land, he would pay for [new land for schools].\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition, the bishop said, international actors have a role to play in reducing violence throughout northern Nigeria.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government of America must take full responsibility for how it shapes leadership around the world,\u201d he commented, adding that policies and conflicts around the world bear consequences for the people of northern Nigeria. \u201cWe are suffering the collateral damage,\u201d he lamented. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The U.S. and other countries can also call attention to the persecution faced by Christians and other communities in Nigeria, he said, emphasizing that the opportunity to help those facing violence \u201cis really a call to appreciation of our common humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n
But while international support is important, the solution to violence in Nigeria will ultimately come from within Nigeria, Bishop Kukah said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe primary responsibility of rebuilding our country rests with us,\u201d he stressed, noting that change will take time and discussion with others in the community. He suggested engagement with the government to make concerns known, but also cautioned that government should focus on providing specific, practical solutions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we talk about reconstruction, it is very important that the government of Nigeria appreciates the scope of the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moving towards peace will require a collective effort, but to Bishop Kukah, it is one worth making.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we\u2019re making progress, we\u2019re also assuming responsibility,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
This article was originally published May 5, 2016.<\/em><\/p>\n\n
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Washington D.C., Sep 16, 2016 \/ 06:29 am (CNA).- For Bishop Matthew Kukah, persecution is not just the history of the Church. It’s a reality that he lives every day.<\/p>\n
In the diocese of Sokoto, located in northern Nigeria, ministry includes not on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-middle-east-africa"],"yoast_head":"\n
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