Archbishop calls for tolerance

Religious riots caused devastation last year

By Barnaby Phillips in Kaduna, Nigeria

The spiritual leader of the Anglican Church, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has called on Christians and Muslims to recognise what they have in common.

As the two most powerful religions in the world, we have a responsibility to encourage tolerance

George Carey, Archbishop of Canterbury

Speaking during his tour of northern Nigeria, George Carey said that the world often made a mistake by assuming that there was total war between Islam and Christianity.

"As the two most powerful religions in the world, we have a responsibility to encourage tolerance," he said.

He could not have chosen a more poignant place in which to make these remarks. Kaduna is only now beginning to recover from the terrible violence which left more than 2,000 people dead last year.

The local governor, Ahmed Makarfi, told the archbishop that illiteracy and economic and ethnic problems caused most of the city's difficulties.

He said that if these were solved, then religion would not be such a divisive issue in Kaduna.

Sharia law

The archbishop says he has a lot to learn about tensions between Muslims and the Christian minority in northern Nigeria.

During the past year these tensions have centred on the issue of Sharia or Islamic law, which has been adopted in several states.

From Kaduna, the archbishop travels on to Zamfara - the state which has led the campaign for Sharia law.