Most Rwandans, 85%, are of Hutu heritage, as was President Habiyarimana, while 14% are Tutsi, and a small number are Twa. There were periods of revival, but Christianity did not calm the rivalry that had existed for at least a century between the two major ethnic groups. Eventually, missionaries of most Protestant denominations arrived. Rwanda’s leader was converted, and by 1920 the majority of the population was Christian. One-third of the murders took place on church property, often with the complicity of clergy from nearly every denomination represented.Ĭhristianity had come to Rwanda in the late 19th century with Catholic priests known as White Fathers who followed the colonial powers. By July, close to one million Rwandans, mostly Tutsi Christians, had been killed by their fellow Rwandans, mostly Hutu Christians. Plans were already in place, and the massacre began immediately. Twenty-eight years ago this month, in the skies above the small African country of Rwanda, a plane was shot down, killing President Habiyarimana and all on board. I had to find out how this could have happened. And it seemed those who surely knew what was likely to happen were unprepared or unwilling to do anything about it. The country was 90% Christian, which meant 90% of both the victims and the killers were Christian. What I learned was horrifying and, for a Christian who knew practically nothing about the events, humiliating. That is, until, following graduate school, my favorite professor let me audit one more class. #GOSPEL NEWS IN RWANDA MOVIE#Everything I knew about the Rwandan genocide I learned from the 2004 movie “Hotel Rwanda.”
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