Abstract

Background: Religious extremism has become an endemic security and social threat in Nigeria, especially in the areas where interreligious conflicts are combined with youth vulnerability and the socio-political instability. Although the security-based responses have prevailed in the policy choices, more emphasis has been given to preventive measures which ensure that dialogue, tolerance, and mutual understanding are developed among the youths. Youth engagements initiatives across religions have hence become topical as forums of fostering peaceful coexistence, refutation of extremist discourses, and interreligious credibility among disparate communities.

Method: The research design assumed a qualitative-dominant mixed method research that was carried out in a sample of states in Northern and North central Nigeria where interfaith conflicts exist alongside organised youth-peace programmes. The sample population included youths and coordinators who participated in the existing interfaith dialogue forums. The identification of respondents with a lot of information was through purposive and snowball sampling methods. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions were the methods of collecting data that were analysed by means of the thematic analysis with the pattern matching guided by the theoretical framework of the study.

Results: The results indicated that organized interfaith engagement activities in terms of dialogue forums, mentorship programmes and joint community projects had a great impact on the perceptions of religious diversity amongst participants. These programs led to tolerance, better cross-religious ties and made the youth less vulnerable to the extremist discourse. Transactions in interfaith platforms were also an opportunity to build trust, resolve conflicts, and come up with common values in the society. The paper concludes that interfaith youth engagement as an institutionalised approach is a good prevention model in the fight against religious extremism. It consequently suggests long-term policy patronage, capacity-building efforts and incorporation of interfaith education among youth development programmes to improve the peacebuilding outcomes in the long term.