Interfaith Peacebuilding in Nigeria

Background information

Since 2009, the Islamist terrorist organization Boko Haram has been terrorizing northeastern Nigeria with violent attacks, kidnappings and bombings. In addition, violent clashes between Fulani militants and sedentary farmers in central Nigeria, which have been going on since the 1990s, continue to flare up. These two sources of conflict have had a massive impact on the relationship between Christians and Muslims throughout the country. In the course of the conflicts, many people have lost friends and family members or even experienced violence themselves and are traumatized. The anger over what has happened, the insecurity and the mistrust among the population toward other ethnic and religious groups are correspondingly great. The situation is further exacerbated by the poor economic situation and political power struggles in the country. Under these challenging circumstances, Mission 21 and its partners promote dialogue between people of different religious and ethnic backgrounds in order to facilitate peaceful coexistence. It also trains the population in conflict prevention and non-violent conflict management. It supports conflict-affected and traumatized people, especially young people and widowed women, by providing vocational training in religiously and ethnically mixed groups and psychosocial support.

Project goals

• Interreligious, interethnic and intercultural dialogue is promoted and improves mutual understanding, social cohesion and the peaceful coexistence of society.
• Society is sensitized to interethnic and interreligious conflicts and outbreaks of violence through advocacy campaigns.
• Key people in society, e.g. religious or traditional leaders and organizational staff, are trained in peacebuilding and non-violent conflict transformation.
• Trained peace workers and leaders act as bridge builders in society.
• People affected by conflict and sexual/gender-based violence are empowered in the long term through psychosocial support.

Target group

• Persons of Christian and Muslim faiths.
• Religious dignitaries, faith communities and community leaders as well as traditional leaders
• People who work for social interaction and peaceful coexistence of society.
• People directly affected by the violent conflicts in north-eastern and central Nigeria, especially widows and young people from affected regions and victims of gender-based violence.

Activities

• Establish Christian-Muslim dialogue forums with peacebuilding and bridge-building activities between social groups.
• Awareness campaigns on peaceful coexistence.
• Advocacy for reconciliation and restoration of justice through the "Restorative Justice" initiative
• Training in the areas of forgiveness, interreligious and intercultural dialog, non-violent conflict resolution, social cohesion, recognizing early signs of conflict outbreaks and following up on them
• Interreligious and interethnic self-help groups and opportunities for vocational training
• Psychosocial support for those affected by the conflicts by trained volunteers.

Project progress

In 2024, it was also possible to build on the success of the interfaith dialog groups held in the previous year. These groups continue to promote peace in their communities independently. A particular focus is on interfaith activities for young people, young women and widows affected by the violent clashes in Plateau State. Joint further education measures, including the opportunity to complete an apprenticeship, contribute to the peaceful coexistence of different ethnic and religious groups. Awareness-raising measures and joint activities involving Muslims and Christians help to create understanding and tolerance. As part of the "Restorative Justice" initiative, roundtables and community meetings were organized and key people from the judiciary and administration as well as from various peace-building organizations were brought together to jointly find a way out of the spiral of violence in Plateau State.