Christians fear Muslim takeover
February 8, 2003
French-brokered deal could lead to Islamic state in Ivory Coast
Christians in Ivory Coast fear an Islamic insurrection could succeed in creating a Muslim state in the African nation after the signing of a French-brokered peace accord that gives important positions of power to rebels.
The majority Christian population in the south views the deal as capitulation to political and military leaders in the Muslim north who last September abandoned the democratic process and resorted to violent means in order to achieve power, according to the British charity Barnabas Fund. The peace plan calls for a government of national unity in which rebels would hold the key interior and defense posts.
Hundreds of people have been killed in four months of violence and more than a million internally displaced. Since the agreement was announced, Jan. 25, Abidjan and other parts of the Ivory Coast have seen widespread protests almost daily.
Last week, Muslim mobs stoned Christian protestors in Abidjan and Agboville, which led to fighting in which 15 people were killed, 40 wounded and several churches and mosques razed to the ground.
On Feb. 2, Christians in several suburbs of Abidjan were injured in attacks by Muslim mobs angered by the murder of a famous Muslim who also was a member of a mainly-Muslim political party, the Rally of the Republicans.
Ivory Coast is one of several countries in northern Africa where Muslims are seeking to expand their power and impose Islamic law among Christians, including Sudan and Nigeria. Many Christians in southern Ivory Coast believe neighboring Muslim-majority Burkina Faso is supporting the rebels.
Christian districts have been targeted for attack in the rebel stronghold of Boukae, where homes have been looted and burned. Muslim northerners also reportedly have been targeted in southern areas loyal to the government.
The fighting began on Sept. 19 when a failed military coup sparked clashes between rebel military units and troops loyal to President Laurent Gbagbo's government. Early on, it became clear that Muslims backed the rebels while the ethnic Ivorian Christians supported the government.
Traditionally Côte d'Ivoire has had a reputation as a haven of peace and stability in West Africa where different religious and ethnic groups have been able to live together in harmony.
Though Ivory Coast has had a reputation for stability, tensions between Muslims and Christians have increased in recent years with the influx of Muslim immigrants in the north, mainly from Burkina Faso. The newcomers now comprise about one-third of the north's population.
The tensions have grown as the Muslim community has sought to increase its political power. In December 2000, Muslim supporters of the Rally of the Republicans party violently protested in the streets of Abidjan after the party's leader was prevented from running for parliament because he was not born in Ivory Coast.
Dozens of Christians were killed by machete-wielding RDR supporters. At that time dozens of Christians were killed by enraged RDR supporters chanting "Allahu Akhbar," Allah is great.
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