Christian and Aisha
Maiduguri is often known these days as the birthplace of terror group Boko Haram. But one interfaith couple’s determination to carry on with normal life highlights a tradition the city was known for long before, and which still persists: its tolerance.
Vincent was new to Maiduguri: a Nigerian city whose faded welcome sign proclaimed it the “home of peace.” After arriving in 2005, he joined a local soccer team – and, at a teammate’s house, locked eyes with his friend’s sister. “Pretty soon my friend got the feeling I wasn’t really coming to visit with him anymore,” Vincent says. “He was right.” The fact that he was Christian, and Aisha Muslim, wasn’t a problem for most Maidugurians, they say, though her mother protested at first. For decades, the city had been a melting pot: a brusquely cosmopolitan trade hub and occasionally raucous college town. But it is also the birthplace of the radical Islamic group Boko Haram and a frequent victim of its attacks, including Vincent’s shop. Maiduguri’s tolerance and vibrancy have been tested. But the couple, and their city, are trying to carry on. “People were surprised that our marriage worked,” Aisha says. “But I told them that when you come from different places, you have to be open to understand each other. You can’t have any secrets. It makes you stronger.”
Source; Christian Science Monitor
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