Islam in Liberia - Destruction of Mosques

Destruction of Mosques

A consequence of the civil war in Liberia was destruction of religious buildings, schools and places of worship across the country. In both the city and towns in urban and rural areas, government and opposition rebel forces destroyed numerous mosques belonging to Liberian Muslims from what government considered enemy ethnic groups. Several massacres were also committed near mosques and schools. One of the most well known barbaric and gruesome was the Bakerdu Massacre in the mainly Mandingo/Muslim Quardu Gboni District Lofa County on July 12th, 1990. Over 400 civilians were killed and later burned alive by Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL). Destroyed buildings still stand on uneven foundations, raddled with bullet holes, demolished walls or simply blasted to skeletal buildings. Such destruction not only led to many faithful followers fleeing their hometowns, cities and villages for refugee camps in Sierra Leone, Ghana and other neighboring countries but also remorselessly destroyed an Islamic architecture that represented the blend between traditional Liberian, West African and Arab architectural design and influences. In recent years Diaspora Liberians abroad who practice Islam and Liberians in Liberia have participated in joint projects to rebuild and finance the reconstruction of mosques in many towns in the countryside.