Source: The Salt Lake Tribune
Wire Service: AP
http://www.sltrib.com/nationworld/ci_2631668
On March 31, 2005 the Associated Press reported, "Unlike other places in Indonesia, islanders on mostly Roman Catholic Nias have always lived in peace, an example of religious tolerance in a nation better known for interfaith clashes than harmony. Elsewhere on this sprawling archipelago - the world’s most populous Muslim nation - religious violence, mainly between a fringe of Islamic extremists and pockets of Christians, has left thousands dead in recent years. But Monday’s devastating earthquake has deepened the ties on Nias and forced members of different religions to help each other in ways they could never have imagined. 'On this island, we are humans first,' said Mushaf, sitting outside a green-domed mosque that was flattened by the quake. 'There are no differences.'"