For the thesis, when different beliefs result in violent conflict due to ineffective preventive measures, I will be studying the case of Nigeria where tension between the Christians and Muslims escalated into a violent conflict involving terrorism. In Nigeria, the two main religions are Christianity and Islam (National Bureau Of Statistics Nigeria) with Muslims constituting 50% of the population, Christians constituting 40% of the population and the other 10% made up of several indigenous religions. Christians mostly congregate in the south of Nigeria while the Muslims mainly congregate in the north of Nigeria. Sharia law is already implemented in 12 states of Nigeria as of 1999, nine of which are made up of mainly Muslims (Nigerian Exchange). The religious conflict I'll be focusing in takes place in the Plateau state of Nigeria. In the administrative capital of Plateau state, Jos, religious riots have broke out 2001, 2008 and 2011 (Campbell, 2013; Harwood, 2013). The roots of the religious conflicts in Jos are from the colonial period when the British allowed other people to come to Jos to work in the tin mines. Jos is a historically Christian place and the people that arrived in Jos were mostly Muslim. In …show more content…
Singapore is a multi-religious society due to the diverse racial mix of people from all over the world. Around 1/3 of the population is Buddhist. 14.3% of the population is Muslim, 11.3% Taoist, 7.1% Catholic, 5.2% Hindu, 11% other Christian and the rest having other faiths or none at all (Singapore Demographics Profile, 2010). The Maria Hertogh riots was a conflict which happened from 11 and 13 December 1950 between the Muslim community and the Roman Catholic community in Singapore. During World War II, a Dutch couple was imprisoned by the Japanese. Thus, they placed their child, Maria Hertogh, under the care of a Muslim family friend, Che Aminah. Maria Hertogh was raised as a Muslim from a young age and learnt Muslim traditions, customs and ways of life. Since she was under the care of Che Aminah from a young age, she looked to her as her mother. At the age of 13, Maria was married to a Malay teacher as a willing bride under a truncated marriage which was common in the Malay community at that time. When the Hertoghs returned after World War II, they demanded Maria be returned to them. This was followed by a court trial which caused unhappiness among the Muslim community. The court decided to give custody of Maria to her birth parents and annulled Maria's