A Slight and Prudent Detour

My reason for wanting to go to Bauchi is simple. Fulani live there in many permanent and temporary settlements. The Anglican Church there has very determined and strategic outreach to them. I want to see what they are doing and learn what sort of support St. Stephen’s Anglican Church in Heathsville can offer.

My plan, actually my bishop’s plan, was to spend time with Bp. Tula, go out to some of the camps, see the clinics and mission stations he has planted, and meet some of the leaders. In fact Bishop Inyom and I were talking about the visit the evening before, when Bishop Tula called about the prison battle.

Immediately all three of us could foresee the possibility of a conflagration throughout northern Nigeria. That’s because of past events, current events, and a spark.

The past events:
1. Remember the editor in a local paper in Denmark who decided to print some cartoons of Mohammed? Remember the storm that caused? The worst damage was in Maiduguri, the state in the northeast corner of Nigeria. Several Catholic churches were burned and pastors killed.
2. The Boko Haram uprising of July 2009 was not confined to Bauchi. Jos, in Plateau State next to Bauchi, saw riots and fighting aimed at the Christians.
3. In January of this year another Muslim group rioted in Jos with many Christian deaths.

Current events:
1. Was this pastor in Florida just wanting to make news? Well, he did, all over the world, with special attention throughout the Muslim world. We heard about fears of retaliation to our troops in Afghanistan. Anglican leaders here were fearful of reprisals at the very local levels.
2. The month of fasting for Muslims, Ramadan, end with the new moon this week. In Nigeria and Saudi Arabia the decision was for September 10th. Other parts of the Islamic world decided on September 9th. Take your pick, Eid al Fitr is a day of high Muslim pride, vulnerable to a spark to set in motion a rampage.
3. This comes on the ninth anniversary of 9/11.

President Obama has worked hard and skillfully to put a wedge between the Muslim extremists and the moderates. The Christian church is slowly moving to a greater awareness of the presence of Muslims around them and the need to build relationships for outreach. All this could be undone on a global stage with one wee little spark somewhere –anywhere – in the Islamic world.

So it seemed prudent for the bishops and myself to shift my plans from Bauchi to Kafanchan, hours to the west and with a strong Christian majority.

As it turned out, the Boko Haram prison breakout was confined to just that. No more came of it than for them to declare jihad. Tell me something new… Still, it would not have played well at my home in Heathsville to go near the dry tinder when sparks were flying.