We as Christians should be active in helping our persecuted brethren in Christ.
12/19/2012 Nigeria (FRC) - The term “Boko Haram” has a distinctly non-English sound to it. Rightly so, as it is the name of an Islamic terrorist group in Northern Nigeria. Literally meaning “Western/book learning is evil,” this radical Muslim sect is committed to creating an Islamic, Sharia law-based society in Nigeria. To that end, the Boko Haram have bombed and burned hundreds of churches over the past decade; they are truly ecumenical, as their targets are both Catholic and Protestant.
Since its inception in 2001, the British Broadcasting Company reports that Boko Haram has murdered as many as 10,000 people, men, women, and children. Anyone professing Christianity is ripe for death in the twisted minds of Boko Haram’s members. As with their unconcern with denominations, they are equal-opportunity killers of all ages.
Despite their unvarnished record fanatical brutality, the U.S. State Department has not been willing to declare Boko Haram a “foreign terrorist organization.” Although State has designated several Boko Haram leaders as terrorists, its view of the movement itself seems more benign. Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson, testifying before FRC’s great friend U.S. Rep. Chris Smith’s House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights, sought to draw distinctions within Boko Haram – even though, after doing so, he called the group a “terrorist organization.”
Why is this important? In the words of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) attorney Benjamin Bull, “Such a designation triggers a variety of legal sanctions against the terrorist organization including freezing bank accounts, outlawing transfer of funds to support the group, expelling or arresting its members or associates in the U.S, and imposing sanctions on countries that provide support for the group(Source).”
12/19/2012 Nigeria (FRC) - The term “Boko Haram” has a distinctly non-English sound to it. Rightly so, as it is the name of an Islamic terrorist group in Northern Nigeria. Literally meaning “Western/book learning is evil,” this radical Muslim sect is committed to creating an Islamic, Sharia law-based society in Nigeria. To that end, the Boko Haram have bombed and burned hundreds of churches over the past decade; they are truly ecumenical, as their targets are both Catholic and Protestant.
Since its inception in 2001, the British Broadcasting Company reports that Boko Haram has murdered as many as 10,000 people, men, women, and children. Anyone professing Christianity is ripe for death in the twisted minds of Boko Haram’s members. As with their unconcern with denominations, they are equal-opportunity killers of all ages.
Despite their unvarnished record fanatical brutality, the U.S. State Department has not been willing to declare Boko Haram a “foreign terrorist organization.” Although State has designated several Boko Haram leaders as terrorists, its view of the movement itself seems more benign. Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson, testifying before FRC’s great friend U.S. Rep. Chris Smith’s House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights, sought to draw distinctions within Boko Haram – even though, after doing so, he called the group a “terrorist organization.”
Why is this important? In the words of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) attorney Benjamin Bull, “Such a designation triggers a variety of legal sanctions against the terrorist organization including freezing bank accounts, outlawing transfer of funds to support the group, expelling or arresting its members or associates in the U.S, and imposing sanctions on countries that provide support for the group(Source).”
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