In the interview, Mbaygdeyo was asked if the Christians are concerned in the war. He answered that they are concerned, and added, maybe he also will die due to the war.

“Chad is a country full of differences. There are more than two hundred ethnics and languages. There is also hostility between the Muslims of the North, and the Christians of the South.”

However, he admitted that his home country is in a better situation than many of its neighbours. He highlighted the important role of their president, Idriss Deby Itno, who has been governing the country for thirty years and has set up a powerful army, which is efficient against terrorist groups, like Boko Haram.

To the question, if he was afraid that Islam in Chad might become as aggressive as in the neighbouring countries, he answered that forced Islamisation is already present in the country. Some years ago, the Lybian president, Mouammar Kadhafi, tried to force the Christians of Chad to convert to Islam. Before his death in 2011, he made mosques be built all-around in Chad, even in villages of the Christian majority. He has also forced Muslim men to marry Christian women and convert them. With his death, this tentative has failed, but Mbaygdeyo told that;

“In places, where Christians and Muslims cohabit, Christians are pressed to convert to Islam.”

Mbaygdeyo added that even if the Christian Church is young and prospering in Chad, the authorities do their best to deprive it of its importance, and make people believe that Chad is a Muslim country.

Read the full, French interview here.

Photo: ACN