xxx Isioma Daniel in front of her computer in Stavanger Aftenblad. In 2002 religious groups in Nigeria subjected her to a fatwa because of an article about Prophet Mohammed in the newspaper ThisDay. Photo: Lars Idar Waage/Stavanger Aftenblad

When journalist Isioma Daniel wrote a commentary article on the Miss World contest in 2002, it resulted in violent riots and a death threat from the Muslim community. At the GIJ-confernce, the journalist who now lives in Norway will share her experience of having a fatwa issued on her life. - It’s important for me to convey that when you are writing about religion, you have to be aware of the cultural and religious tensions present. I was a young, inexperienced writer who did not know enough about the situation of the Christians and Muslims in my country. Even if I don’t regret what I wrote, I made an error in not seeing things from a historical point of view, she says. The article was printed in the Nigerian newspaper This Day on 16th of November 2002. “The Muslims thought it was immoral to bring 92 women to Nigeria and ask them to revel in vanity. What would Mohammed think? In all honesty, he would probably have chosen a wife from one of them”, Daniel wrote. The following week, this remark led to clashes between Muslims and Christians in the north of Nigeria. The fundamentalist Muslim groups felt that she had insulted Prophet Muhammed. According to the BBC , one of the offices of the newspaper was set on fire, and 200 people died in the riots. Daniel took refuge in Benin, where she found out about the fatwa that called for her death.