_WORLD WATCH______________________________
____________________ Nigeria ________________

New violence on Sharia
Religious factions clash as tensions rise
New fighting between Christians and Muslims in the northern Nigerian city of Kano left at least 13 people dead in October. The latest fighting was apparently sparked by Muslim protests against the US-led air strikes in Afghanistan. The violence was certainly directed against religious targets. Witnesses said three churches and a mosque were partially burned, although government officials reported that only one church and one mosque were damaged.

Nigeria has been the scene of fighting between Christians and Muslims in recent years as northern states, where Muslims are the majority, have taken steps to implement Islamic Sharia law as the government judicial code. Christians object to the move as an infringement on their rights.

In the northern state of Kaduna, plans to implement Sharia moved forward despite the violent protests. Officials said that the Islamic code would be enforced only in areas where Muslims form a majority of the population. In predominantly Christian areas, they said, consumption of alcohol would still be legal, and criminal cases would be heard in secular rather than Islamic courts. But Christians living in mainly Muslim areas would be obliged to live under Islamic law.

That announcement sparked a new round of rioting in the city of Kaduna—where the population is split almost equally between Muslims and Christians, and it is not clear how Sharia would be applied. Early in November, gangs of young people prowled through the city, setting fires in churches or throwing rocks through the windows of stores adorned with pictures of Osama bin Laden. Police reported at least 11 deaths in the first week of fighting after the November 5 imposition of Islamic law.

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