Fundamental Concerns

Bodies are now being laid to rest as the dust settles in Nigeria,
where more than 200 people were killed during religious riots spurred by
this year's Miss World Contest. The contest has since been moved to
London, but tensions between Christian and Muslim Nigerians remain high
amidst concerns that the violence will flare up again.

Aggressive behavior is not taught by either religion, says Mark W.
Baker, Ph.D., executive director of La Vie Counseling Center in
California. "The conflict that results in death and terrorism is usually
carried on by subsections of [religious] groups called fundamentalists,"
he says. "Fundamentalists have a political agenda. They use their
religion to justify violence."

"The fundamentalist group usually makes up to 10 percent of the
religious group, but they are the most vocal and the most violent,"
continues Baker. A psychologist, he finds that fundamentalism is a
defensive response to life threats and can be treated with therapy if a
person is open to self-reflection. However, Baker does not expect
fundamentalism will disappear in the future.

Looking upon the violence in Nigeria, Baker warns that the conflict
should not be oversimplified. "I don't think that the problem is only
religion; it would be easy to say that," he says.