December 16, 2008

The treatment of Non-muslim people in Africa

In this assignment we were asked to write three paragraphs about the treatment of Non-Muslim people in Africa and the some of the background behind it.


 
    In Africa the distance between Muslim and Non-Muslim people has begun to grow wider.  The relationship between them has begun to grow strained and violence has begun to break out. In Kaduna, Nigeria three years ago 2,000 people were killed in street protests that had to be brought under control by the army.  It is estimated that from 1999-2003 10,000 people in Nigeria were killed in fights between Muslim and Non-Muslim faiths (specifically Christianity). However these were seen as fights provoked by bias politicians who were trying to destabilize the country using cultural differences and misunderstandings.
    Because of the high population of Muslims in Nigeria there have been integrations of the Islamic civil code. All though there are already aspects of this code integrated into the Nigerian law they just integrated a set of harsh Sharia punishments. These punishments include, being stoned to death, amputation of limbs, and floggings. However Non- Muslims do not have to participate in these punishments. Though they do feel that these these additions to the law lead to a increase in Islamization and a decrease in the tolerance of Non-Muslim beliefs. They find it unacceptable that Sharia Law should make converting to Christianity punishable to death.
      There however has not always been such conflict between Muslim and Non-Muslim faiths. Early in its beginning Islam was often very tolerant of other faiths, and it was off the ideas of Christianity and Judaism that Islam was built. But when Islam began to spread it's battle for religious territory with Christianity might have turned the two against each for competitive reasons. Islam began to spread in Northern Africa through conquest and trade in the Post Classical Period. This Area was originally controlled by the Roman Empire, making it's religious beliefs Christian.  Islam then spread through trade to the rest of Africa, but it could not however hard it tried make Christian Ethiopia convert to the Islamic religion. Which probably caused a little angry spot to form in the Muslims heart. Despite the lineage relationship between the two religions they still remain major competitors with major conflicts.
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