The Bishop of Dutse (Jigawa State, Nigeria), the Rt Revd Yesufu Lumu, has told the Anglican Communion News Service in a telephone interview that a local conflict between a Christian and Muslim woman escalated into a full blown riot on the streets of the city.

The end result was St Peter's Anglican Cathedral was burned to the ground and the Bishop's office and car port destroyed.

"It was calm during the night," the bishop said, but was very concerned as the "police would not respond to the calls for protection from the Christians."

According to one report the anger was said to have been "sparked off by an alleged blasphemous comment on Prophet Muhammad by a Christian woman, who reportedly spoke in reaction to a similarly irreverent statement about Jesus Christ by a male Muslim."

The Nigerian Provincial Anglican Communications Officer, the Rev Canon AkinTunde Popoola, told ACNS: "All vehicles belonging to the Diocese were also burnt as well as business premises of some church members" during the rioting on 19 September 2006.

The bishop said, "No one was hurt, we are simply praying that the conflict does not spread."

The Anglican Primate of Nigeria, the Rt Rev Peter Akinola, caused controversy some months ago when he suggested that Muslims should not be surprised if some Christians responded to violence with violence.

However, he then distanced himself from these remarks - and other Christian leaders emphasised that violence contradicts the peacemaking way of Jesus.
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