Nigeria religious leaders look past hate in conflicted country

Feb. 27 (UPI) -- The rise in hate groups and hate-related incidents in the United States – and elsewhere – is stoking concerns about social peace.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has described the U.S. presidential election as having "electrified the radical right," and as recently as last week a Missouri man was arrested on charges of fatally shooting an Indian man, and injuring two others, in what the FBI has called a hate crime.

Yet in other parts of the world, everyday peacemakers are intervening in the escalation of tensions and violence that have upended villages and traumatized girls in the wake of sexual violence – as was the case in west Africa as the Islamic militant group Boko Haram began to launch increasingly sophisticated attacks on villagers in Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad.

Aya Goto, the senior vice president of the Global Peace Foundation, told reporters in Manila on Sunday that community leaders in Nigeria's Kaduna State are overcoming their religious differences with peace-building workshops involving Christian and Muslim participants.

"At this point we have lots of conflict and war, where [people] are killing each other, such as Islamic, Christian believers," Goto said.

Goto's foundation launched a social program in Nigeria, with Rev. John Joseph Hayab, a Christian, and Sheikh Khidir Maraya Abdullah, a Muslim cleric, leading an effort to build "respect across religious divides."

The workshops made progress in easing suspicion between rival Christian and Muslim groups in religiously diverse Nigeria, and have worked to encourage dialogue among local leaders.

In 2016, the workshops were in progress in six communities in Kaduna and six more are to begin soon or may be running. Last March a first step to conflict prevention in southern Kaduna, the Kafanchan Peace Declaration, was signed, with dialogue being supported by local leaders from 35 communities.

In February, a local Nigerian news service reported Global Peace Foundation representatives met with tribes and Christian groups to resolve problems through dialogue.

Hayab and Maraya Abdullah are being recognized for their achievement by the foundation with its annual Interfaith Leadership Award, and for helping different groups see a "common identity," Goto said.

"[Emphasizing] identity difference increases conflict...[we use] a common point to solve the problem," Goto said. "Our programs are not only about seeing difference but also seeing common identity."

Hayab and Maraya Abdullah are to be honored at the 2017 Global Peace Awards Banquet on Wednesday in Manila.