Usa Today: The world has been gripped by the deplorable story evolving in Nigeria about the mass abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls between the ages of 16 and 18. Their “crime” was simply that they were girls and had the audacity to seek an education.
Meet Boko Haram, the name most commonly used to refer to a sadistic terrorist organization in Nigeria who has shown no reluctance to commit malicious acts of violence and terror against Nigerians for the past several years. Their mission is to instill terror into people through kidnappings, bombings, murders, suicide attacks and prison breaks. Their clear message: you are either with us or against us. They desire to overthrow the government and install a brutal form of government that they brand Shariah — but which has absolutely no relation to the concept of Islamic law found in Islam’s scripture or in the example of its prophet, Muhammad.
Last year, Boko Haram’s leader Abubakar Shekau cited reasons for its series of kidnappings: “We are holding them for no other reason than that Cameroonian and Nigerian authorities arrested our brethren, they are holding them, they are humiliating them, including women and children.” Their kidnapping of children — namely girls — is a retaliation but also a means to bar young girls from going to school as they consider “Western education” to be inauthentic and thus unlawful according to their ideology.
But to call them abductions does not convey the severity of the situation. The girls were not just abducted; they were enslaved. Monday’s video featured Shekau boasting that these girls are his slaves, and he will sell them. Clearly, the state of emergency Nigeria declared one year ago has failed to bring Boko Haram’s terrorism to an end.
The U.S. government recently offered material support for locating the girls. Of course, the world wants to see these girls rescued, but even if successful, it will only represent a victory of a battle, and not the war. If Boko Haram is unwilling — and the Nigerian government is unable — to end the ongoing streak of injustices, terror and chaos, then more international pressure will be needed.
Categories: Africa
US special forces have ‘aided the Government of Uganda’ to locate the war lord Kuni for how long? How many years? The time it takes them to look for that guy seems to show that they are more interested to be present in Africa rather than help solve any problems. Just a thought …
Have anyone heard some comment from King Abdullah or Scholars from Saudi Arabia, Gulf States and Iran regarding to Boko Haram?
We all know that Islam was born from Saudi Arabia, does they show some sympathy to those 200 girls were abducted by Extremist Muslim?
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