Article by Colin Wolfgang
The growing divide between Christians and Muslims in the Central African Republic is nothing new, despite not having received the coverage it deserves over the past several months. However, the violence has swelled in recent weeks, and the world is starting to take notice as a full-blow religious war is on the verge of erupting. The Central African Republic has arguably never had it easy – it was a French colony up until the end of the Cold War and remains one of the poorest nations in the world with a GDP per capita of just $900 – but a large conflict between the nation’s Christian population and its Muslim counterpart could have long-term, devastating effects.
The growing divide between Christians and Muslims in the Central African Republic is nothing new, despite not having received the coverage it deserves over the past several months. However, the violence has swelled in recent weeks, and the world is starting to take notice as a full-blow religious war is on the verge of erupting. The Central African Republic has arguably never had it easy – it was a French colony up until the end of the Cold War and remains one of the poorest nations in the world with a GDP per capita of just $900 – but a large conflict between the nation’s Christian population and its Muslim counterpart could have long-term, devastating effects.
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| Christians destroy a building in CAR. Courtesy AP. |
The rapidly evolving conflict began sometime last year, when
a Muslim rebel group seized power of much of the country and began calculated
killings of Christians. The Seleka rebel group was in some cases accused of
destroying entire villages – something not dissimilar to the acts of the M23
rebel group in neighboring Congo. The leaders of the Seleka group have since
stepped down, creating a vacuum for the group which has given rise to Christian
militia bands that have begun a mass “ethnic cleansing” of Muslims in
retribution.
