Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, met in Nigeria with Sa’adu Abubakar, the sultan of Sokoto and president of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs.
“We had a very frank and illuminating conversation,” Archbishop Gallagher told journalists after the July 6 meeting. “It was good to hear that many of our positions regarding the role of religious leaders, both on the Catholic side and the Muslim side, coincide. For me, this is a reason for optimism regarding the religious cohesion of the country and our shared commitment to working for the good of all Nigerians.”
Salisu Shehu, the council’s deputy-secretary general, said that “there was a strong call for all religious and faith communities to work together to combat hate speech, especially the growing and unfortunate phenomenon whereby some individuals openly insult religious leaders who are highly respected within their various faith communities.”
Nigeria, a nation of 243 million (map)–the most populous in Africa and sixth most populous in the world—is 47% Muslim, 46% Christian (11% Catholic), and 7% ethnic religionist.