Thousands of Christians have been forced to flee their homes in Western Ethiopia after Muslim extremists set fire to roughly 50 churches and dozens of Christian homes.Ethiopia has a long tradition of Christianity, and Christians outnumber Muslims. But in this area, an extreme form of Islam is being used as an excuse for religious intolerance.
At least one Christian has been killed, many more have been injured and anywhere from 3,000 to 10,000 have been displaced in the attacks that began March 2 after a Christian in the community of Asendabo was accused of desecrating the Koran.
Religious extremism is, in my view, very bad regardless of the religion. I'd like to think these are just a very misguided fringe. Yet Muslim extremism seems to abound in many parts of the world. I think it's important for Muslim leaders to use their authority to promote peace between religions, rather than the reverse. Hopefully some sort of sense will prevail in Ethiopia, which has a long history of Christians and Muslims living side by side in peace.
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