Maryam Lemu – Countering Violent Extremism through Love and Tolerance

			This is Maryam lemo, I was asked to give a talk recently on countering violent extremism through
love and tolerance. Now this is not my area of strength. In fact, I remember when I was invited, I
told them, you've got the wrong label. My brother nuru is the expert in this topic. And he patiently
painstakingly helped me understand this very, very complex topic. And then my husband and another
good friend, Mr. Former school would also give me more insight in this topic. So I've got to give
credit where it's due. And I also have my notes because I've now got all this stuff in my head. So
first, I'm not an expert in this topic, neither am I a scholar, I'm actually a student. So with all
		

			humility, permit me to share the little I have learned from a layman's perspective. Now I shall be
sharing four things with you. But first, let us recognize the complexity of the topic, love and
tolerance with all the multiple interested voices we have in Nigeria, those interested in keeping us
together, and those interested in dividing us. And yes, we cannot pretend that we do not know we
have people in our midst who are trying to divide us camouflaging in the name of religion or
anything else. And yes, love and tolerance are very, very important ingredients for peace. However,
they are not sufficient, I can forgive you, my enemy for all you have done and learn to love you.
		

			However, if my enemy continues to inflict pain on me, it becomes very hard for me to keep turning
the other cheek forgiving, and loving. It's no longer fair for me not to bring justice in justice is
critical for long term peace, the rule of law is critical for long term peace. If you do not care
about justice, then your love is fake. And then love has to be guided by knowledge, otherwise, it is
blind. Some they are so head over heels in love, they are blind to the flaws of the person they're
in love with. So for some people, their love for a particular thing or particular cause is so strong
that they no longer see the negative in that particular thing they're in love with. And then
		

			tolerance is good. But we should have a zero tolerance to certain things like corruption, bigotry,
xenophobia, and so on. And it's not good enough to just say I'm tolerating you, or I'm managing you
as a Muslim, or a Christian or a non indigent in Nigeria, but I respect your rights that you are a
full Nigerian just as much as I am. Sadly, many who really care don't seem united with those on the
other side, who also really care. And then there are those who do not want peace. And it forces you
to ask who thrived during the crisis, who raised the most funds from this narrative? Otherwise, why
is it that they are not interested in peace for their own people and their own country, but that's a
		

			discussion for a different day. Having said that, let's look at the unique situation we have here in
Nigeria. Currently, we have three major forms of violent extremism, conflict between herdsmen and
arable farmers, between indigenous and settlers. And between Boko Haram, violent extremists, and
others. And then in between, we've seen a rise in kidnappings, gang violence and so on. My brother
broke it down for me with a metaphor that just made sense. He said violent extremism are like
potholes. They look similar everywhere around the world, they seem very simple. From a distance.
However, as you get closer, they start to get complicated. So it's easy to conclude that they have
		

			the same causes and the same solutions. Not true. potholes, yes, do similar damage to vehicles. And
yes, if you leave them, they continue to expand. But you don't conclude that because Yours looks
similar to mine, that they are the same, the causes may be very different, and the solutions will
most likely be quite different. We cannot conclude that because people are being killed here and
there. And people are fleeing for their lives and are being displaced here and there. And places of
worship are being razed to the ground here and there, that the causes are the same. The things that
may have caused your potholes may be quite different from those that caused mine. Yours may have
		

			been caused by the excessive weight of vehicles that are going on it or underlying soil, whereas
mine may have been caused by poor quality asphalt, poor workmanship or corruption related issues.
And there's over there may have been caused by excessive heat and in other countries, excessive cold
or frost. One thing we do know about potholes, though, is that if you leave them they continue to
expand, they get worse. So you cannot say that you're not going to do anything about violent
extremism, otherwise it will engulf a society. And due to the complexity of the problem, what we
find is that there is a strong need for the leadership to be very careful in its diagnosis.
		

			Otherwise, wrong diagnosis will lead to wrong prescription. This creates opportunities for
opportunities to come in and exploit which in turn delays the suffering of the victims. So the first
point is proper diagnosis.
		

			for proper prescription, and that leads me to my second point that we need to recognize that yes, we
have prejudice. We have hate speech people, we have bigots. We have radicals and fundamentalists,
and people who are extremists from all sides of the divides. But let us also recognize that while
religious scholars have a role to play in countering their own heretics, their own bigots and
extremists, and the ideologies behind their beliefs, very often we find that ideology alone does not
produce a movement. ideology alone does not produce violent extremism, ideology needs grievances in
order to mobilize people. This brings me to the second metaphor that my brother shared with me, and
		

			that is one of a ship, that society is like a ship, with the upper deck and the lower deck, and
those in the upper deck of the leadership and the elite in society. And those in the lower deck are
the common folks and the masses. If the people in the upper deck do not listen to the cries, do not
meet the grievances of those in the lower deck and their basic fundamental needs and rights. Often
what they say is, that's not our problem. that's their problem. Sadly, the people in the lower deck
try to find solutions to their own problems. And unfortunately, some of those solutions end up being
detrimental to society. When looking for water, and they can't get those in the upper deck to pass
		

			it to them. What do they do, they simply drill a hole at the bottom of the ship, then it becomes
everybody's problem. And now they can't say it's their problem, it becomes our problem. Like I said,
ideology without grievances, does not mobilize people does not produce a movement. ideology without
grievances does not produce violent extremism. grievances are what ignites the fire. It is when
folks feel violated when they feel oppressed, cheated, betrayed or hurt, that they go the violent
way. Nelson Mandela said during his trial, that it would be wrong and unrealistic for African
leaders to continue preaching peace and non violence. At a time when the government met our peaceful
		

			demands with force. It is only when all else had failed, when all channels of peaceful protests had
been bad to us that the decision was made to embark on violent forms of political struggle. Imagine
a peace loving person like Nelson Mandela saying this. Now this is no justification for violence do
not get me wrong. However, there is a strong need for the government to consider realistic
alternatives to violence in addressing human rights abuses and other real or perceived grievances.
The famous Islamic scholar called Sheikh Abdullah bin Baya said in our approaches to removing in
justices we should not create further in justices. So let us recognize that if we do not respect the
		

			rights of citizens, if basic needs are not met, and essential services, there will come a time where
there will be another grievance, where another charismatic leader will come along, regardless of the
faith they may belong to who will sink the ship for innocent people. And that brings me to my third
point, the need for peace building, Peace Studies, bridge building and interfaith dialogue,
opportunities where people get to share knowledge with key players, and the different pieces of the
puzzle required for peace are discussed. So what is critical is community leaders, Christian and
Muslim leaders at the grassroot level, have bridge building going on. Why? Because if the conflict
		

			is a tribal issue, they are the peace brokers, if it's a religious issue, they can intervene. And if
it's an indigenous settler problem, well, they at the local level and the best position to diagnosis
and if those benefiting from the crisis, those stoking the flames of discord are those in the upper
deck? Well, the people in the lower deck appreciate the value of peaceful coexistence and will not
take the bait. Usually, it's we in the upper deck talking on their behalf, unfortunately,
misrepresenting and Miss diagnosing them that prolong the suffering of the innocent. There are two
Maxim's of inclusivity that I want to share with you. The first is nothing about us without us. So
		

			nothing about women without women, nothing about the youth without the youth, in this case, nothing
about conflict in local communities, without equal representation from all parties of those
communities concerned. Otherwise, we simply go with our pre existing stereotypes, and we end up
wrongly judging and wrongly prescribing. No correct doctor would prescribe drugs to a patient they
have not seen. Why, because symptoms may sound similar, but some other visible signs may be missing
until they see the patient. So the second Maxim of inclusivity is think local, act local. Yes, I
know we've all been taught to think global act local. However, in this case, think local, act local.
		

			Why? Because some of these communities have never spoken to one another.
		

			Because it's a majority minority problem, it's tribal issues and sentiments, and each side is doing
their own thing until something goes wrong. If religious and community leaders are the most
experienced, then we need to look at effective bridge building methods. Let's look closely at what a
solid well built bridge requires. First, it needs a solid foundation from all sides. That means
communities. Both Muslims and Christians in the context of inter religious dialogue have to be on
board. The Christians need to sincerely agree that they want to bridge the Muslims need to sincerely
agree that they want to bridge the bridge must be owned by both parties. Also, you cannot be
		

			building bridges from one site to another, they have to come and meet in the middle. Otherwise, it
will break they have to both meet each other halfway. Otherwise, there'll be no trust and no
cooperation. So the bridge is built at the speed of trust. The other thing needed to build a solid
bridge are competent engineers, some of the anger at the local level is too hot for them to handle
themselves. Without sentiments. Too much damage has already been done by both sides most likely,
there needs to be outside mediators that come in to facilitate peace. This is where some of those in
the upper deck can play a role in better mediation, in teaching better conflict management, in
		

			better conflict transformation in better trauma, victim management, and better conflict resolution
skills. Something important that has to be made clear is that when it comes to promoting peaceful
coexistence, religious leaders have their limits. Traditional rulers have a role. Politicians have
their roles. Some government agencies have their roles. The judiciary has a role to play, there has
to be rule of law, and there has to be justice. Law enforcement agencies have a role to play. So it
can't just be religious leaders alone building the bridge, they need support, or other stakeholders
needed for peace need similar training and orientation. And then you can't have people building
		

			bridges in the daytime, while they're dismantling them at night. people involved in interfaith
dialogue have to be very, very careful with what they say elsewhere. You can't be preaching peace in
one forum, and preaching hate in the pulpit, otherwise, that bridge will never get built. Why?
Because there's no trust. So the need for protection of the bridge is extremely important. Yes, we
have our hate speech people. We have those in our communities who do not want peace. In fact, they
want violence, we need to use respected members of the community, who will help calm them down and
get them to appreciate the need for that bridge. Otherwise, you in your community will be building
		

			bridges, while others in your community will be burning bridges. If you are not careful, they will
look at you the bridge builder as a traitor. Why? Because they never bought into the need for that
bridge in the first place. So you have to be able to convince them that there are realistic
alternatives to dealing with grievances other than going the violent way. And then lastly, on this
point, there is a strong need for bridge building and peace education, especially for our young ones
that need to start teaching peaceful coexistence from a curriculum level in our education system.
Why? Because we realize that when you look at other countries who are more economically stable than
		

			we are, who have more political stability, who have a higher standard of education than we do, that
these factors did not protect their communities from prejudice or violence. It is not true that the
elite and the educated are the most objective, we find amongst the well to do the highly educated
that they are as bigoted as bigotry comes. And we have to ask what went wrong with their education
system, that it seems not to have immunized them against such sentiments. So we need to ensure that
there are Peace Studies incorporated into the curriculum from the primary level all the way up to
the tertiary institutions. And that proper TTC is done for those who are going to teach it. And that
		

			leads me to my fourth and final point. If every Christian would be more Jesus, like May God be
pleased with him, we wouldn't be having these problems. And if every Muslim would be more like
Mohammed, may Allah be pleased with him, we would not be having these problems. And so the need to
look at our religious instructions, how much peace from a religious perspective, are we teaching our
younger ones from home, in our neighborhoods, communities, and in school? As a mother and a wife in
Africa? permit me to use the metaphor of cooking. If from a very young age I teach my son the art of
cooking, I teach him what spices go with what and one day I tell him years later that there's a new
		

			dish I want to teach him so I tell him chop the onions he does fry them. Then I say add the pepper
and the tomato no problem at the ice cream he says what ice cream? And then I was like oh no, no,
no, nevermind. Add the curry he does. Then I say add coffee. At this time he's going to question my
cooking abilities. I wonder if mama really knows how to cook. Now one thing my son knows for sure.
Is that as nice as ice cream may be by itself.
		

			And as delicious as a cup of coffee may be, it does not go with that dish. However, if from a young
age, I teach my son how to cook, and this time around, I tell him at the onions, at the tomatoes at
the coffee, and he questions me the coffee and I say yes, edit and you know, as an African mom,
that's how I would speak. And he adds it. Later on, I tell him at a spoon of Fanta and he does. The
moment my son starts to accept things in an unquestioning way. Later on, when I tell him at the sand
at the pebbles, he will do it without questioning me sadly, because he's become a blind follower. So
let me put it this way. If I keep teaching my son love, justice, forgiveness, love, justice,
		

			forgiveness, the moment somebody tries to say to him, cruelty, vengeance, hatred, killing, he knows
very well that there is something wrong with that. Many of our young people these days are being
taught to hate from a very young age, instead of messages of peace from our faith, we confuse them
with messages of violence, battles, messages of war. Now, I'm not saying remove these from the pages
of history. Please don't get me wrong, but we need to keep them in context and emphasize the
peaceful part of our religions. For example, many from the young generation do not know that all the
battles fought during the time of the Prophet were defensive battles. It is when our kids have been
		

			immunized with values and principles of peaceful coexistence, justice, that when a half big scholar,
preacher, teacher, politician or Group with extremist ideologies come along preaching hate that they
are able to detect that this is not my religion, however, neither is it theirs, and they are
courageous enough to question or challenge them, but most importantly, they will not fall prey. What
we need is intellectual vaccination and spiritual immunisation, so that the innocent can
differentiate between humane and destructive interpretations of the religion. It is in good caring
Christians and good caring Muslims that the skills may be tipped from the direction it's heading
		

			today, where Muslims who do not care, and Christians who do not care who agitate each other, and
drill a hole in our ship, and then we all suffer by just keeping quiet or doing nothing. There's a
beautiful quote by Edmund Burke, where he said, all that is required for the triumph of evil is for
good men to remain silent. The suggestion is, can we in addition to the compulsory subjects our
children have to take in school at peace building from a religious perspective into the curriculum
as well. I'm making this suggestion because I've seen this done successfully. Now we have a faith
based school New Horizons college Amina, and we've run the school for 25 years. But our learners do
		

			not graduate without going through our TTC program in interfaith dialogue, comparative religion,
conflict resolution misconceptions about Islam and immunizing them against atheism and
radicalization. It is a TTC course, because it is our hope that when they go out there, they not
only go immunized, but they will change any narrative that goes contrary to the true teachings of
the faith. So back to my point, can we start deliberately teaching peace building from a religious
perspective in the curriculum as well as at home, where for Muslims the heroes we call prophets are
messengers like Mohammed, Jesus, Joseph, Moses, Noah, may Allah be pleased with them all. And they
		

			are companions. In other words, those who witnessed firsthand how those messengers practice what God
wanted us to do on this earth heroes we respect we highlight their examples and messages of peaceful
coexistence, equity, justice, love and tolerance. In the Quran, Allah says, We have created you male
and female, and have made you into races and tribes so that you may know one another, not so that
you may hate one another or kill one another. It is from the education I was given, and the
teachings of my parents that I grew up knowing that hate speech and violence does not go with my
religion. However, it does not go with Christianity either. We have many stories in Islamic heritage
		

			as we have in Christian heritage of legacies of peacebuilding. Some of those shared with me from a
very young age were those of the Prophet trusting the lives of Muslim refugees of persecution into
the hands of an Abyssinian king in modern day Ethiopia. Now I am not a scholar of Christianity, but
from the little I was taught, there are many stories of peace. And I know Christians refer to Jesus
as the Prince of Peace. We have many common statements in both the Koran and in the Bible, that what
many would want us to believe one that my father told us throughout our lives was written evil with
that which is good. And you will see that he between whom and you there was animosity shall become
		

			as you were devout friends, and this is from Surah, two facilite chapter 41 verse 34, in efficients,
chapter four verse 26, it says, in your anger, do not sin and do not allow the sun to go down while
you are still angry. And in Matthew chapter 18, verse 21, and 22 Peter came to Jesus and I
		

			How many times shall I forgive my brother when he has sinned against me? Is it seven times? Jesus
answered? I tell you, not seven times, but 70 times seven times, for god sakes do the maths. The
Prophet taught us that God shows mercy to those who show mercy to others, and God forgives those who
forgive others. It is similar to what the Christians have in the Lord's Prayer, forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who trespass against us. Now, if I may point out, nowhere does it say in either
scripture, except if it happens to be a Christian, or except if it happens to be a Muslim. The
Prophet said, I swear he's not a believer. I swear he's not a believer, I swear he is not a
		

			believer, and he was asked, Who is not a believer or messenger of Allah and he said, one whose
neighbor does not feel safe from his evil. Imagine when the disciples were asking Jesus what was the
greatest commandment he said, Love Your Lord with all your mind with all your strength with all your
heart, then Love your neighbor as yourself. In both cases, they were no exceptions made. If it
happens to be a Muslim, or a Christian neighbor. We have more areas in common than those divisive,
vile evil individuals and preachers want us to believe my parents raised us preaching peaceful
coexistence. They raised us to stand up for justice, even if it's against ourselves or our loved
		

			ones. I would never stand with any religion that condones oppression, kidnappings, * of women
killing of the innocent hatred, bigotry or divisiveness, I swear in a last name, that whoever is
doing it in the name of Islam is not a Muslim. We live in a society where we need people to develop
an atmosphere conducive for bridge building. And we have to give credit to all those organizations
and groups inside and outside Nigeria, that are trying to support us and help us build this
atmosphere of peace. So to summarize, in my humble opinion, what I believe are possible solutions.
My first point is the emphasis on the metaphor of potholes, different problems require different
		

			solution. And don't miss diagnose. And then the second point is the metaphor of the ship, that there
needs to be fair and equitable distribution of resources and equal access to opportunities for all
citizens. And remember, ideology without grievances, does not create a movement. And the third point
is the metaphor of the bridge. We need holistic bridge building to be going on, and all that's
required to build a solid bridge. Don't forget the maxim nothing about us without us, and think
local, act local. And my fourth and final point is the cooking metaphor. We need intellectual
vaccination and spiritual immunization starting from our homes, our places of worship, and we need
		

			to incorporate it into our curriculum into our school system. We have scriptures on the tip of our
tongues, we carry the religion in our looks like it's a uniform that you wear. Sadly, many do not
translate the message and the teachings from our books and scriptures into actions. They are just
words that sound good, the input does not produce the right output. The litmus test of true
religiosity is compassion. Compassion requires courage, strength, trust in God. We are taught that
to travel fast, go alone, to travel far go with others. So to travel far with others, we need
compassion. We need love. We need tolerance. We need understanding and we need justice. Justice is
		

			critical for long term peace. The rule of law is critical for long term peace. Also, we need to stop
pointing fingers, we need to recognize that we are all victims and recognize our common enemy and
our common destiny. There is no other Nigeria for us to go to Muslims, you cannot flush Christians
and non indigenous out of Nigeria, Christians, you cannot flush Muslims and non indigenous out of
Nigeria. This is our home and we live here we die here. Nobody actually wants us voluntarily. Go to
any foreign country, go to the airports and see who welcomes you. Trump has already said he doesn't
want us. We have to settle our differences. Internally, we have to settle it ourselves. There are so
		

			many angles to fixing the numerous potholes we have here in Nigeria. This is just my humble
submission. With all the problems we have. Everybody has a role to play. Because if you're not a
part of the solution, you're part of the problem. While not everyone is guilty of creating this
negative climate change. Everybody is responsible. We cannot afford to say it's their problem. We
pray that with love and strength and faith, as it says in our national anthem, that Nigerians will
stay together, faiths will get together and the forces of good will triumph over evil. And I pray
that God continues to give us the courage to defend our unity and uphold our honor and glory. So
		

			help us God.