February 14, 2017
If religious extremism and interfaith tension in Nigeria is to be reduced, the core of extremist religious ideologies that often lead to religious violence and crime must be addressed.
The Development Initiative of West Africa and the Islamic Education Trust’s- led Faith based Advocacy against Religious Extremism (FARE) for Peace project has conducted a number of activities aimed at repelling key religious misinterpretations by extremist groups. The activities involved three media and audience outreach methods viz: radio broadcast content, Hausa Television Content and Opinion Leaders Seminar
Radio Broadcast content: This consists of seventeen (17) programs, each 2 to 5 minutes in length addressing a key extremist area of focus. Of the seventeen programs, ten are radio jingles addressing extremist Muslim messaging, while seven are addressing radical Christian rhetoric.
Hausa Television Content: This involves television recording of ten 30-minute episodes of religious scholars presenting moderate messages on key topics of concern to both Muslims and Christian rhetoric.
Opinion Leaders Seminar: The key opinion leader seminar invites civil society NGO leaders for discussions. The objective of the opinion leader seminar is to discuss and educate the audience on the intricacies and complexities of selected subject matters on burning issues in a way that Muslim and Christian youth leaders and other religious scholars as well as the general public can appreciate and apply in the Nigeria context for a better peaceful coexistence.
Program outcomes:
- US$61,769.44 was spent on the “Faith-based Advocacy against Religious Extremism” project
- 90,000 copies of Islamic literatures promoting peaceful coexistence were distributed throughout Nigeria.
- Recorded and televised ten 30-minute of religious scholars presenting moderate messages on key topics of concern to both Muslims and Christians.
- 17 radio jingles (10 Muslim & 7 Christian) addressing a key extremist area of focus were recorded and aired
- The 17 radio jingles were aired on 3 radio stations in Nigeria- FRCN Radio Kaduna, Confluence Radio and FRCN Highland FM Jos
- 365 opinion leaders in total attended 5 opinion leader seminars