Islamic Extremism in Nigeria and their Unprotected Christian Targets

Image Credit: TRAC

The atrocities and monstrous acts of the Islamic sect of Boko Haram are widely documented, we all know them and we all (Muslims and Christians) lambast them, yet we witness such acts committed by other Muslims under no canopy but their religion alone. From local report sources Nigerian Christians have witnessed in this year alone (2016) hundreds of their members killed, and over the past years thousands have been killed.

On the 27TH of January 2016, in Chibok-North East Nigeria, Suicide bombers sent shrapnel through sixteen innocent individuals at a vegetable market in a Christian town. On the 9th of July 2016, in Abuja, Capital of Nigeria, a female pastor was hacked to death by Muslim radicals who left her severed head on a Bible. These acts are an overt expression of hate for Christians and this is happening all over Nigeria and in the world as a whole, and the incidence increasingly daily.

Nigeria has a peculiar case, the charity organization OpenDoors shares that North Korea is overall the worst place to be a Christian but Nigeria is the most dangerous place. The 60 victims injured (and 48 killed) in Nimbo Uzo-Uwani, Enugu- (eastern Nigeria), on an incident reported on the 25th of April 2016 who were surprised when Muslims (Fulani herdsmen) raided their peaceful village, shot and killed them, looted and burnt their churches and homes, know how dangerous it is to be a Christian in Nigeria. The man and daughter burned alive in a church in Dadawa (Nigeria) know how dangerous it is. Or is it the Christian woman (also a Pastor) in Kano (Northern part of Nigeria) beaten to death by a mob of angry Muslims for “insulting” the Prophet Mohammed after having a religious argument. What was the “insult”? The Pastor simply asked a Muslim not to use her rented shop space to perform his prayer rituals, specifically face and hand washing. All these victims have tasted the extreme of religious intolerance and know how dangerous it is being Christian in Nigeria.

From all these incidents it can be fairly concluded that there is always violence associated with extremism of any kind especially Islamic religion. The state which has to be an unbiased umpire in these instances is unable to. The 1999 CONSTITUTION of Nigeria As Amended states clearly in chapter II that there shall be freedom of association and the state shall bear no religion. The problem here is the state is controlled by people who have Islam as their religion and who believe Islam should be Nigeria’s only religion, and this makes it impossible to squash any bias. This bias is seen in how the incidents are investigated and never prosecuted when the perpetrators are Muslims; how they are reported on the media, how people of different religions communicate and sometimes in the silence of our hearts. The Nigerian President, former renowned dictator, Retired General Muhammadu Buhari has been virtually silent about most killings of Christians by Islamic extremists in Nigeria.

The headlines focus more in the Middle East when it comes to Christian persecutions, but there were more recorded killings of Christians due to their faith in the northern part of Nigeria in 2015 than in the rest of the world put together, 4028 out of a worldwide total of 7100 reported deaths (OpenDoors).

Faith is a powerful tool and Christians as well as Muslims rely on it for their success and well being. Nigeria’s religious leaders especially the Imams need to preach about religious tolerance more and emphasize on the value of a human life. From a generic point of view religion was made for man and not the other way around, so a life should be sacrosanct to religion because without life, religion wouldn’t’ be of any value.

References

https://www.thereligionofpeace.com/attacks/christian-attacks.aspx

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jan/14/nigeria-christian-boko-haram-terror

https://www.opendoorsuk.org

http://dailypost.ng/2016/07/17/%E2%80%8Eno-need-avenge-death-husband-murdered-abuja-preacher/

http://www.nigeria-law.org/ConstitutionOfTheFederalRepublicOfNigeria.htm

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/27/africa/nigeria-chibok-violence/

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Ernie J. Burgher is a bi-lingual freelance journalist and author, and speaks English and French. Ernie writes for SitiTalkBlog.

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