Rage and carnage in the name of God: religious violence in Nigeria

Abiodun Alao’s book is an interesting contribution to the literature on religious violence in Nigeria – a country where religious and ethnic divides come into play at all times. While a lot has been written on religious issues in Nigeria, particularly focused on drawing connections between Islam and violence, Alao goes a step further, and engages Islam, Christianity, and traditional religion in a balanced way that gives equal attention to each. He explains that the fluid nature of religious violence makes the decision on what to include or exclude challenging, particularly given the blurred boundaries between and among religions across time and practices. Alao’s study is based on long-term observation as a student of Nigerian politics and society, historical research, and interviews with actors around the country. He is sensitive to the limits of his study and makes a careful disclaimer at the beginning: ‘none of Nigeria’s three main religious divisions – Christianity, Islam and traditional religions – is inherently violent or violence prone’ (15). This approach is different from other studies of this topic, which makes the book stand out. The five key arguments underpinning this book are set out by the author thus: