TENSION

Tensions Rising between Kenyan Christians and Muslims

By George Thomas
CBN News Sr. Reporter

CBN.com – NAIROBI, Kenya - Welcome to the safari capital of the world. Palm-fringed, white sandy beaches, breath-taking views and abundant wildlife have made Kenya one of the finest adventure spots on the globe.

Straddling the equator on the east coast of Africa, Kenya boasts a vibrant multi-ethnic and multi-religious culture. Roughly twice the size of Nevada, it has a Christian majority and a historically peaceful Muslim minority.

For the most part, the two faith groups have lived together peacefully here in Kenya. The one exception was in 2000, when clashes between Christians and Muslims led to the destruction of one mosque and two churches. But nothing has divided Kenyans, particularly along religious lines, as much as the events of September 11, 2001 and afterwards.

One Muslim commented, "America just wants to conquer the whole world. That's what this war on terror is all about -- a war against Islam."

Muslims and Christians, who once lived peacefully side-by-side, now find religious tensions rising to levels not seen here before.

Another Kenyan Muslim added, "When the Christians say they want to convert every person in Kenya to be a Christian, nobody complains. But if we say as Muslims that we want everybody here to become a Muslim, everybody is up in arms!"

A growing number of Muslims are turning towards the more radical and militant expressions of Islam.

Sheikh Al-Hajj Yussuf Murigu, a prominent Islamic leader in Kenya, says he is more comfortable obeying Allah's laws than Kenya's man-made laws.

We asked him, "Do you believe in Sharia law?" Murigu replied, "Yes, of course! How can I be a Muslim and not believe in Sharia law?"

So it came as no surprise to Christians when Sheikh Murigu and others began demanding that Sharia courts be included in the country's new draft constitution.

David Oginde pastors an evangelical church in Kenya's capital city Nairobi. He said, "So when the draft constitution came out, we discovered that the Islamic religion had been given a very special treatment in the document, which was not given to any other religion. This was the only religion that was mentioned specifically, extensively and expressly in the document."

Under the draft constitution, Islamic courts, known in Kenya as Kadhi courts, will handle marriage, divorce and inheritance cases. Muslims say Sharia courts bolster their status as a minority group in Kenya.

Imam Hussain of the Wari Masjid Mosque said, "These courts will guarantee our rights under the constitution. Besides, no other court has the right to oversee matters of Islamic faith. Secular law cannot rule on matters of faith. It has no place in our way of life."

But opponents of Kadhi courts argue that Kenya is a secular state, and all citizens should be subject to the same law.

Oginde said, "We must recognize that this country is not for one community, this nation is not for Christians, this nation is not for Hindus, this nation is not for Muslims. This nation is for all of us, and therefore we must find a level playing ground."

Incidentally, Muslims initially sought to widen the powers of the Islamic courts to include criminal law. Criminal prosecutions under Sharia law allow for stoning and amputations, a popular practice during the Taliban regime.

The West calls Islamic Sharia law barbaric. But Muslims here and around the world argue it brings stability.

In the end, Kenyan politicians rejected the proposal.

Oginde said, "The Muslim leaders are on record saying that they asked for a loaf and they were given a slice."

Still, many Christians claim that enshrining the Kadhis' courts in the constitution is the first step towards implementing full Sharia law.

"That is a recipe for war, a recipe for strife, a recipe for trouble," said Oginde.

Twenty-six church leaders have filed a lawsuit seeking to remove all references to Islam and the Kadhis court from the draft constitution.

Jesse Kamau, chairman of the National Council of Churches in Kenya, fears his country risks going the way of Nigeria and Sudan. When asked what they were afraid of, Kamau replied, "We don't want to be dominated. Have you heard stories about Nigeria? Have you heard stories about Sudan?"

To date, 12 of Nigeria's 36 states have adopted Sharia law. Thousands have died in recent years following widespread violence between Christians and Muslims. Hundreds of churches have been destroyed.

In Sudan, tensions between the Muslim north and the Christian and animist south led to a 20-year civil war that claimed more than two million lives.

"You cannot convince me, and not only me -- many, many others," Kamau said, "that there isn't a hidden agenda. There is one!"

When asked what he felt the hidden agenda was, Kamau replied, "What the declaration says: they will take the country, they will take Africa. Not only Kenya, but even the whole of Africa!"

Kamau is referring to the declaration issued in 1989 during a high-level meeting of top Islamic leaders in Abuja, Nigeria. Their goal, according to Oginde, is to make Africa "the first Islamic continent of the world."

Among their objectives:

1) Eradicate all non-Muslim religions
2) Appoint Muslims to key national and international positions
3) Implement Sharia (Islamic law) across the continent, and
4) Push for Kadhis courts in the constitutions of African countries.

Kamau remarked, "The Muslims would like to Islamize Africa by 2020 or the year 2025, and similar talks have been held in places like Saudi Arabia and other places. And so we've got to be very, very careful."

Kenyans have a lot of experience with radical Islam. In recent years, their nation has become an innocent bystander in a war waged by Islamic militants. In 1998, al Qaeda bombed the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi.

Four years later, three suicide bombers attacked an Israeli-owned hotel. Almost simultaneously, two missiles were fired at but missed an Israeli airliner taking off from a seaside resort.

Growing anti-American sentiment and a rising frustration among young Islamists have made Kenya a potential haven for global terrorists.

And now the battle over Sharia has only emboldened Kenyan Islamists.

Sheikh Ali Shee, a top radical leader and supporter of Osama bin Laden, warned that Muslims around Kenya will mobilize for Jihad if anyone tries to stop Sharia law from becoming a reality.

When asked whether this issue could lead to a religious war, Kamau responded, "We don't want it to. But it could. But God will stop it. It is not going to help them, it is not going to help us. It will not even help our children. No, war is bad and war is destructive, we don't want it!"

Sheikh Murigu was asked the likelihood of his country becoming 'the Islamic Republic of Kenya.' He responded, "Maybe what you would like to ask instead is, would I like to see many Kenyans becoming Muslims? Not many -- all of them, everybody in the world! I would like them to be Muslims."

This is one reason why many Christians are working to stop what they see as a dangerous turn from a free democracy to a federal Islamic republic.

Kamau remarked, "It is good to foresee danger before it takes over."

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