A rumour that a Christian man blasphemed against Islam yesterday sparked a riot in the northern Nigeria town of Bichi, a small town about 30km (18 miles) from Kano, police have said.
Residents said four people were killed and shops were looted.
The riot came on the day the incoming head of the Anglican Church, the Rt Rev Justin Welby, launched an initiative to promote religious tolerance in Nigeria.
Religious clashes have claimed thousands of lives in Nigeria since military rule ended in 1999.
The militant Islamist group, Boko Haram, has also been waging an insurgency since 2009 to impose strict Sharia across Nigeria, which is roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and a Christian and animist south.
Kano state police chief Ibrahim Idris said “misinformation” had triggered the riot, AFP news agency reports.
“Rumours went round that someone blasphemed the Prophet [Muhammad] and there was a breakdown of law and order,” he was quoted as saying.
According to a BBC reporter in Kano, a heavy contingent of soldiers and policemen have been deployed to Bichi to restore order.
Mr Idris said the riot broke out when a Christian tailor mispronounced the name of a dress while chatting with his Muslim neighbour in Hausa, changing the meaning to “the Prophet has come to the market”, AFP reports.
Angry Muslim youths then attacked Christian-owned shops, looting and burning them, he said.
Residents said four Christians were killed, but Mr Idris could not confirm this.
Our reporter says some residents gave him a different account of what caused the riot.
They told him that a Muslim crowd first attacked a Christian man for wearing a T-shirt that they alleged blasphemed against the Prophet Muhammad.
In the capital, Abuja, Bishop Welby joined Nigerian Muslim and Christian religious leaders and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair to launch a campaign to promote religious tolerance.
The Tony Blair Faith Foundation – which organised the programme – got students from Christian and Muslim communities in Nigeria to chat via a video link with students from different faiths in the UK city of Derby.
Bishop Welby is a former oil executive who will become the Archbishop of Canterbury in March.
He has visited Nigeria 70 times, and was the special envoy to Africa for the outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, who is stepping down after 10 years in the role. [BBC]
Fuck prophet mohammed sef
I wonder wot christians are still doing in d northern nigeria. Dat region is meant for cannibals. Islam is a curse to humanity
I wonder what Islam is all about. It’s the most dangerous religion across the globe. It’s the Armageddon of this generation. It’s a cursed religion begotten by a cursed prophet who got his so called message from demons. If they’re not against other religions, they fight against themselves. Shites can’t see eye to eye with Sunis. They’re blood thirsty even when the go on Haji. There is no year that hundreds of people don’t die during pilgrimage at Mecca. It’s a religion of deceit.
Lol. Jihad on your ass assholes! My people are so angry they attack without reason. How can you kill 4 people and loots shops for what someone else did? Even the prophet won’t approve of such uncivilized behavior. Something is wrong with Africans. We are getting too aggressive and blaming it on religion.
And meeeeeee, fuck you too.
Bishara, did muslims complain to you? The hajj shows unity of mankind. Something that christianity lacks. Tell us one confrontation of shi’as and sunnis. And then remember that the hajj is only a population of about 5 million people, the hindu festival is upto about 50million people. You think people won’t die of natural causes in such cases? Dimwit. Hahaha. Ignorant fucks!
The likes of Bishsra is the most stupid and frustratijng human being on earth, joing issues with him is not the best, Ignore him and let him die of ignorance.
Islam is the most idiotic religion. Always associated with murder and violence. Prophet mohammed is a fucking bastard for inventing islam and I hope his ghost is burning in hell. Muslims are all imbeciles for following such a curse called islam.
I don’t know y a reasonable person wil kil a fellow humanbeing 4d sake of a religion, dis blood sucking muslim shd tink nd drop their evil thought…