The Role of Religious Leaders in Countering Religious Extremism and Violence in Africa

ABSTRACT FOR GRADUATE SYMPOSIUM 2019 THE ROLE OF RELIGIOUS LEADERS IN COUNTERING RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM AND VIOLENCE IN AFRICA Abstract Since the 9/11 attacks on America, many parts of the world have experienced acts of terrorism, religious extremism and violence.[1] Within the past 20 years, several countries in Africa in particular, have witnessed the insurgence of religious extremism and violence while those yet to experience this phenomenon are increasingly at risk. What is worrying is that religious extremists and terrorists operating in Africa are increasingly establishing contacts with global terrorist groups and networks from whom they receive funding, training and equipment. Massive unemployment among Africa’s youth also makes it easy to recruit them into extremist groups. In exploring solutions to counter the growing threat of religious extremism and violence in Africa, this paper posits that tasking religious leaders to lead the efforts offers much hope and promise. Africa is considered a religious continent and religious leaders deeply imbedded in their communities, command obedience and respect. In countries like Ghana, Uganda, Central African Republic, etc., where religious leaders have been at the forefront of peace initiatives and conflict resolution, much success has been achieved. This paper argues that the time has come to explore fully the approach of using religious leaders to help counter religious extremism and violence in Africa. Key Words - Africa, world, extremism, violence, terrorism, peacebuilding, reconciliation, governments. Submitted by Emmanuel Abbey-Quaye Department of Theology (Duquesne University, PA.) [1] On September 11, 2001, terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in America, killing nearly 3,000 people. Since then, many more terrorist attacks have taken place across the world in places such as France, Britain, Turkey, India, Kenya, etc. This has led to a global discussion on the causes, effects and solutions to terrorism