IWF

THEME: LAW AND RELIGIOUS CONFLICTS IN NIGERIA

Although violent conflicts abound in Nigeria’s checkered history, they are often caused by factors other than religion. Such conflicts are given religious colouration by their promoters usually as means of mobilising material and emotional support for the contending parties and for winning the propaganda battle. Thus, religion becomes a culprit in Nigeria’s violent conflicts. While it is true that a few violent conflicts in Nigeria were caused by religious differences, conflicts between and within religions are numerous and mostly non-violent. In truth, the major religions perpetually engage in ‘cold war’. Unwittingly, this cold war between religions provides impetus for violent tribal and communal conflicts. Thus, to arrest the spate of violent conflicts in Nigeria, the simmering non-violent conflict between religions needs to be tackled. Ordinarily, it will be expected that putting in place laws to regulate religious practices will minimise conflicts between religions but the contrary is the case. Protagonists in religious conflicts often blame the law for their grouse, claiming that the law is biased in favour of their opponent. It is apposite, therefore, to seek to understand through scholarship how Nigerian laws cause conflict between religions and how law can be used to minimise such conflicts.

Sub-Themes

1. General overview of religious conflicts in Nigeria
2. Nigerian Constitution and inter-faith relations
3. Laws provoking religious conflicts
4. Judicial interventions in religious conflicts
5. Divine laws and religious conflicts
6. Conflict of laws in relation to religious conflicts in Nigeria
7. Politics of law and religion
8. Foreign case studies on law and inter-faith relations
9. Religious freedom and conflict management
10. Religious extremism, law and conflict management 

Date: 14 - 17 Rabiul Thanni 1441 AH (11 - 14 December 2019)

Venue: Abuja, Nigeria

Abstracts of well-researched papers are invited from scholars and other interested persons to be submitted online through abstract.2019coin@iwf.com.ng not later than 31 August 2019. You will be notified if your abstract is accepted. Thereafter, a soft copy of the full paper should be sent to fullpaper.2019coin@iwf.com.ng not later than 30 September 2019. Papers presented at the conference will be peer-reviewed and may be published in the Journal of Islam in Nigeria (JOIN).

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