Geez.... From reading that article you'd come to conclusion that religion was playing little to no part in that conflict in the Ivory Coast.. But my sources tell me that religion is being used heavily by both sides to support their agendas:
ird-renew.org
December 4, 2002
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IVORY COAST: SERIOUS SITUATION
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The fragile peace in Ivory Coast is under great stress. Whilst the conflict is essentially political, it divides the nation along ethnic and religious lines, with Christians generally supporting the government (with a Christian President) and Muslims generally supporting the rebels. So the conflict, which started as a failed political coup, has thus polarised the nation and has the potential to degenerate further into a horrific religious war of national and even regional proportions.
The rebels' demands are a stumbling block to the peace talks. The rebels (the Patriotic Movement of Ivory Coast [MPCI]) want 'a new political order' and are insisting on President Gbagbo's resignation. On top of this, government forces reported on 27 November that two new groups of rebels, assisted by Liberian militants, had broken the truce by advancing, attacking military positions and capturing the key western towns of Danane and Man. Government forces responded and re-took the towns after two days of heavy fighting. The new rebel groups, the Movement for Justice and Peace and the Ivorian Popular Movement for the Great West, want to merge with the main rebel group, the MPCI, which presently controls the predominantly Muslim north of Ivory Coast. This would greatly strengthen the rebel position.
Ivory Coast has secular government and full religious freedom. Church growth over the past decade has been phenomenal, particularly amongst evangelicals.
To relieve financial stress, Ivory Coast, which is 31.8% Christian and 38.6% Muslim (Operation World figures), joined the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) in June 2001, to access the limitless funds of the Islamic Development Bank. Non-Muslim African nations (including many that are majority Christian) are being similarly tempted, and many have already succumbed. The Saudis and Libya's Colonel Gadhafi are the main drivers of this strategy of quiet absorption, which some observers believe is aimed at creating a united Islamic Africa. Militant and hardline Islamist groups demand more than absorption. They demand a Muslim government and ultimately Sharia (Islamic) law. There is no doubt these groups have become increasingly active in recent years, and those who desire a united Islamic Africa are keen to fund and employ their services. This is a spiritual battle.
Hawk |
