In a message for the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha, Niger’s leading prelate said that the day “reminds us that as believers, we are called, like Abraham, to submit ourselves daily to the will of God and to offer ourselves in holy sacrifice.”
“We are therefore invited to weave and consolidate between us relations of love, of respect, of solidarity, of truth, of justice, and to work together in unity so that peace reigns in all of Niger,” said Archbishop Djalwana Laurent Lompo of Niamey, who spoke on behalf of the nation’s bishops.
Located in West Africa, the nation of 27.3 million (map) is over 95% Muslim and 4% ethnic religionist. An Islamist insurgency began there in 2015.