The document discusses sectarian tensions between Christians and Muslims in Kenya. It notes that several Al-Shabaab attacks have targeted churches, while the killing of a Muslim cleric led to attacks on security forces and Christian centers. While security has increased at worship locations, tensions remain high. The country's leadership will face a test in defusing tensions as elections near. Efforts by Muslim scholars to urge non-violence in response to an anti-Islam film helped contain anger and should be commended. History shows Kenya's involvement in Somalia has never before caused sectarian conflict, so leaders must guide citizens away from this narrative.

1. www.uongozi.co.ke
FORTHRIGHT LEADERSHIP IS NEEDED TO EASE SECTARIAN TENSIONS IN THE
COUNTRY
By Hassan Ole Naado
That Kenyans are a resilient people is not in doubt. Even in the face of extreme social strife
enough to hurtle a country to the brink of the precipice, Kenyans have always had the capacity to
reflect on themselves and make conscious decisions that prevent them from going over the cliff.
The 2008 post-election violence is testimony to the unique ability of Kenyans to pull themselves
together, their differences notwithstanding, and chooses to defuse tense situations in order to
preserve their country.
The dispute over results of the 2007 presidential elections had provided sufficient ammunition
for a civil war or military takeover. But Kenyans surprised many when they decided to listen to
the voice of reason provided by former United Nations Secretary General Dr Kofi Annan— they
agreed to form a coalition government for the sake of ending the bloodbath that was threatening
to get out of hand.
However, today the country faces a new challenge— threat of sectarian conflict between
Muslims and Christians.
Since Kenya deployed its troops into Somalia in response to the security threat posed by Al-
Shabaab militants, there have been a number of reprisal attacks on Kenyan soil orchestrated by
both local Al-Shabaab sympathizers and militants deployed from Somalia itself.
Most of these attacks have targeted churches thus creating the impression that Muslims have
waged a war against Christians. The worst case was the attack on two churches in Garissa where
at least 17 worshipers were killed under a hail of machine gun fire as they attended Sunday mass.
And all this stems from the propaganda spread by Al-Shabaab media strategists to the effect that
Kenyan troops in Somalia are a Christian force that has invaded a Muslim country.
Things got worse recently after the unfortunate killing of Muslim cleric Sheikh Aboud Rogo,
leading to angry protests by Muslim youth in Mombasa who responded by attacking security
officers and Christian worship centers.
Although the situation now seems to be under control after a policy was adopted to enhance
security around all worship centres across the country, there is still palpable tension between
Christians and Muslims. Many are asking; for how long shall we continue to deploy armed
officers to guarantee security at worship centres?
| facebook.com/uongozikenya | youtube.com/uongozi | slideshare.com/uongozi | @uongozi254 on Twitter | SMS: 6264

2. www.uongozi.co.ke
This is when the country’s leadership credentials face a litmus test. As Kenya gets closer to the
2013 general election, the country’s leadership should take the issue of sectarian tensions very
seriously.
Since the signing of the National Accord that ended the post-election violence, a lot of
commendable effort has been directed at easing the inter-ethnic tensions that hurtled the country
to the brink of civil war. Similar efforts should also be directed at easing the present inter-
religious tensions.
For example, events of the past couple of weeks have seen violent protests across the Muslim
world against a U.S.-made film that disparages Islam and insults Prophet Muhammad.
In view of the anger over this film, there were fears that Kenyan Muslims would also respond
angrily leading to fresh attacks on Christian targets by militant extremist groups that are now
known to have a presence in Kenya.
However, thanks to efforts by some well-meaning Muslim scholars, the rage of local Muslim
youths was somehow contained through an open dialogue that appealed to reason rather than
emotion.
We must, therefore, appreciate and commend the efforts of the Muslim scholars who came out
openly on various FM Radio stations to call upon Kenyan Muslims not to respond violently to
the latest film that disparages Islam and insults the Holy Prophet.
And this is the kind of leadership that Kenyans must demand from all those aspiring for public
office in the next general election— a leadership that seeks to unite Kenyans by defusing all
kinds of social tensions.
In view of the simmering inter-religious tensions between Muslims and Christians, it is important
for Kenyans to remind themselves that such sectarian differences have never been part of their
culture— hence there is no reason whatsoever for Christians and Muslims to start seeing each
other as enemies merely because Kenyan troops have been deployed in Somalia.
History teaches Kenyans that military engagement in Somalia should never been a reason for
sectarian conflict between Muslims and Christians.
For example, the Shifta war (1963–1967) was a secessionist conflict in which ethnic Somalis in
the then Northern Frontier District (NFD) of Kenya (a region that is and has historically been
almost exclusively inhabited by ethnic Somalis) attempted to join with their fellow Somalis in a
Greater Somalia.
The Kenyan government named the conflict “shifta”, after the Somali word for "bandit", as part
of a propaganda effort. In response to the secessionist agenda that the people of NFD had
| facebook.com/uongozikenya | youtube.com/uongozi | slideshare.com/uongozi | @uongozi254 on Twitter | SMS: 6264

3. www.uongozi.co.ke
exhibited, the government imposed martial law in the region and deployed the counter-
insurgency General Service Units which forced civilians into “protected villages” (essentially
concentration camps) as well as killing a large number of livestock kept by the pastoralist
Somalis.
The war ended in late 1967 when Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal, the Prime Minister of the
Somali Republic, signed a ceasefire with Kenya. However, the violence in Kenya deteriorated
into disorganized banditry, with occasional episodes of secessionist agitation, for the next several
decades.
The violent clampdowns by the Kenyan government caused large-scale disruption to the way of
life in the district, but at no time did it degenerate into a sectarian conflict between Muslims and
Christians.
In this regard, there should be no reason why the latest incursion by Kenyan soldiers into
Somalia could result in sectarian conflict. The country’s religious leadership, civil society
movement, and political leaders therefore, step up and guide Kenyans away from the current
sectarian narrative building up as Kenya approaches 2013 General Elections.
Such threats, whether real or perceived, should trouble all of us. We must each strive to uphold
the principles of tolerance, pluralism, mutual respect, and peaceful coexistence. Communities
under assault must not be left alone to defend themselves. Everyone must speak out.
The writer is the CEO of the Kenya Muslim Youth Alliance and Deputy Secretary General of
the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM).
| facebook.com/uongozikenya | youtube.com/uongozi | slideshare.com/uongozi | @uongozi254 on Twitter | SMS: 6264