The “Unknown” Christian Genocide in Nigeria
Most of us in the West have heard of the kidnapping of 276 female students were from the Government Secondary School in the town of Chibok in Borno State, (northeast) Nigeria in 2014 by Boko Haram. One of the goals of Boko Haram — which has kidnapped thousands of girls, boys and women, forcing some of them to blow themselves up, killed thousands of others and displaced millions — is to stop children receiving what it perceives as western-style education. What has been generally missing by such reports is their overall end, as with other Islamists, to eradicate Christians in order to impose a sharia-based society.
Christian persecution in Nigeria, which can be traced back to the Sokoto caliphate (1804-1903), has surged since 2015 when Muhammadu Buhari was elected president. The late-Catholic bishop Joseph Bagobiri of the Diocese of Kafanchan (northwest Nigeria which has had sharia law since 1999) had stated: “The persecution of Christians in Nigeria is not given anything like the same level of international attention as persecuted Christians in the Middle East.” A most recent example of this — unreported by the Western mainstream media — was the killing of Father Paul Offu (southern Nigeria) at the hands of the Islamic Fulani herdsmen the 1st of the month. This let the former Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, to write an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, warning him of the risk of a “Rwandan-style genocide” of Christians in Nigeria if the government does not take immediate measures to stop the violence — Buhari has yet to have condemned the Fulani militants as terrorists since he stems from the same tribe. What can be surmised is that this is all part of a well-organized operation to exterminate Christians altogether.
Last month I had the opportunity to visit the persecuted Christians from Muslim fundamentalists, specifically Boko Haram, in the Catholic Diocese of Maiduguri (northeast Nigeria). As I traveled through the mostly 51,000 square mile terrain — in the outskirts of the city of Maiduguri — I spent some time with a woman whose husband, Yohanna, had been kidnapped by Boko Haram just two days prior. She was very much comforted by the parishioners of her parish of St. Augustine, who were praying and hoping against hope that he would be released. Regrettably, just hours after spending some time with her, Yohanna’s dead body was found. Like Offu’s murder, this is just one of many tragic stories that go unreported. While the US-led west and NGOs hold they can drive out Islamic terrorism with arms — just as with ISIS — they fail to get at the root of the problem, and that is the sharia ideology that continues to be indoctrinated in the youth, as with the Almajiri boys.
An Almajiri boy in Borno State (Photo: Author’s personal collection)
Derived from the word “hajarah” (to flee one’s country, to migrate, to emigrate), these boys are supposed to be “knowledge” seekers as commanded by Allah in the Quran: “And whoever emigrates for the cause of Allah will find on the earth many [alternative] locations and abundance. And whoever leaves his home as an emigrant to Allah and His Messenger and then death overtakes him — his reward has already become incumbent upon Allah.” — Sura 4, 100
For many families, the Almajiri system is an alternative to sending them to a state school which costs money. Most of the religious schools provide free tuition. But the Almajiri pupils have to take care of their own daily needs which is why many of them go begging when they do not have to be in the classroom. According to the National Council for the Welfare of Destitute report in 2017, approximately 7 million Almajiri roam the streets of northern Nigeria every day. Many of them concede to the strongest wind that blows: street violence, child trafficking, diseases, or hunger. Those who manage to resist their vulnerability and grievances within the society remain unskilled, and ultimately undertake menial jobs with very limited future perspectives. Critics, both from Nigeria and abroad, say the young Almajiri pupils — and I encountered numerous of them — who wander through the streets and seek religious orientation are ideal recruits for extremists.
Of course, within the past few years, some of the victims to Boko Haram and the Fulani nomads have been Muslims. However, when the destruction of lives and property is done and it comes to rehabilitation/reconstruction and rebuilding of lives, government funds are used to rehabilitate Muslim communities and compensate Muslims, meanwhile Christians are left out and discriminated upon. Some of the visible and practical forms of persecution and challenges that Christians have learnt how to live with for decades include:
– denial of land to build places of worship (churches). The last time that a Certificate of Occupancy was issued for a church building within the Diocese of Maiduguri was in 1979;
– denial of Christian religious curricula in the primary and secondary levels; instead they are forced to study Islam.
– denial of jobs and promotion in government parastatals;
– political exclusion and denial of political office;
– forceful abduction and marriage of Christian girls;
– reserved courses for Muslims in higher institutions of learning.
As the Father John Bakeni, a priest from Maiduguri, told me, the persecution of Christians is prevalent. “About four years ago, they came to us. There was no place for them to stay. Nobody wanted to take them in, not even the housing communities. The diocese has been solely responsible for their welfare and their upkeep. Like other displacement centers, they have received little or no attention from the government. Not even NGOs of Christian roots and origin. People don’t want us to say this in public, but that is the fact.”
The Bishop of Maiduguri, the Most. Rev. Oliver Dashe Doeme, in addition to taking in the victims of Islamism, has also purchased land to set up clinics, not just for his own faithful, but for anyone who is in dire need of medical attention, in addition to rebuilding churches and parish schools to educate the youth. The needs are costly, yet the spirit the Nigerian Christians is strong, not just to persevere in their faith but to help restore peace and stability in Nigeria.
N.B. This article was originally published on August 11, 2019, on my blog
https://thegreatarchitect.blog.
Mario Alexis Portella is author of Islam: Religion of Peace? – The Violation of Natural Rights and Western Cover-Up
Book is available on Amazon:
Barnes & Noble:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/islam-mario-alexis-portella/1129630361?ean=9781973635550
WestBow Press:
https://www.westbowpress.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-001168034
ऑटो सेक्टर में आई मंदी ने सभी कंपनियों की हालात खराब कर दी है. कंपनियों की बिक्री दिन पर दिन घटती जा रही है. क्योंकि बाजार में गाड़ियों की मांग ही नहीं है. ऐसे में कंपनियां इसे देखकर परेशान है. यही कारण है कि कंपनियों ने मांग को बढ़ाने और अपने घाटे को कम करने के लिए छूट देना शुरू कर दिया है.मारुति के बाद होंडा अपनी बिक्री को बढ़ाने के लिए अपनी गाड़ियों पर एक्सटेंडेट वॉरंटी, इंश्योरेंस और एक्सेसरीज से लेकर चार लाख रुपए तक का कैश डिस्काउंट दे रही है. होंड़ा ये ऑफर्स एक कार पर नहीं बल्कि अपनी कई सारी कार पर दे रहे हैं. https://hs.news/honda-brought-heavy-discounts-on-vehicles/
Hey Face_the_thruth, you’re a comedian. Thanks for the laughs, especially for your comments on my articles. God bless!
Mario Alexis Portella is a Christian charlatan!
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THERE IS NO ROLE FOR ANIMAL SACRIFICE IN CHRISTIANITY
By Jill Hamilton
Thu 15 Dec 2011 07.09 EST
Christians believe Jesus’s death made sacrifice obsolete. Yet in some places in the Holy Land, the gruesome practice continues…
There is a Christmas card that I will probably never send. I would not dare to. It is a cross of Jesus drawn in fresh blood from an animal sacrifice. Although slaughter for sacrifice contradicts a basic belief of Christianity, it is practiced by local Catholics, Greek Orthodox and other Christians at the ruined Byzantine church of Saint George in the village of Taybeh, 20 miles from Jerusalem. “Around 70 to 80 lambs are sacrificed here each year,” said the Roman Catholic priest, Father Raed.
Similar sacrifices are also made in the towns of Lodd, Jaffa, al-Khadar and elsewhere in the Holy Land.
Yet bloodless altars are a distinguishing feature of Christian churches. One of the tenets of the faith is that Jesus was the ultimate and final sacrifice. Christians atone for their sins without the shedding of blood. They look to Jesus as the lamb of God who made the ancient belief in sacrifice obsolete.
It is surely hypocritical of the churches to encourage millions of tourists and pilgrims to visit Jerusalem to see where Jesus Christ was crucified, but not halt this ritualised sacrifice.
The Catholic priest in Taybeh assured me that he himself did not take part in the sacrificial rituals, but neither did he condemn them.
“The meat is distributed to the poor and to our old people’s home. It is a tradition,” he added.
Having been educated in a Church of England school, I was frankly horrified after climbing up a wide flight of steps to enter the portico, nave, side chapels and a cruciform baptistery with a font. I was confronted by bloodied handprints and crosses smudged on the walls. This ruined church built by the Byzantines and rebuilt by the Crusaders is fitted out for ritual sacrifice. Indeed, I nearly hit my head on dangling iron chains with hooks suspended from an arch under a large unlit neon Cross.
Lambs are hung on these chains so their blood drains over the floor of the church. In the front of this arch is a large raised wooden chopping board where the necks of live sheep are cut. Nearby are three small statues of the Virgin Mary resting in a corner, and a candle and incense votive stand.
“The bloody handprints are made by the Christians who have taken part in the sacrifice,” explained Dr. Ali Qleibo, a Palestinian anthropologist, who has studied Canaanite sanctuaries and modern Christian sacrifice.
“People dip their hands right into the carcass of al-thabihah [the sacrificial lamb]. When I came to Taybeh in early October, the entire threshold of the church was flooded with fresh blood.”
Perplexed by what I see as a non-Christian practice, I asked David Khoury, the local mayor, who runs the famous Taybeh Brewery, what is done to reduce the stress and pain of these animals.
Tradition, it seems, takes priority over humane slaughtering practices. As in Halal butchery, a deep incision is made through the throat, so the carotid artery is slashed and blood pours out rapidly!
“The sheep are always facing east when a sharp knife goes through their necks,” David Khoury explained.
“Sometimes sacrifices are offered as gratitude for the birth of a healthy child, help with a relation surviving a deadly illness or a major operation, or thanks for survival from a car accident.”
During the killing, Christian prayers are offered in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost and accompanied by entreaties to al-Khader (Saint George) to act as an intermediary!
Dr. Ali Qleibo, although a Muslim himself, insists that Christian blood-sacrifice cannot be explained away as a Muslim influence:
“Blood sacrifice was an important part of the ancient Canaanite religion and numerous Pagan cults. Semitic blood sacrifices have persisted.”
As I left modern-day Taybeh, I recalled that it was the Biblical town of Ephraim.
According to the Gospel of John (11:54), Jesus went there after raising Lazarus from the dead.
Would Jesus approve of the Christian churches turning a blind eye to animal sacrifice here today?
Or, do they quietly acknowledge how difficult it is to eradicate Paganism?
LINK
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2011/dec/15/no-role-animal-sacrifice-christianity
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NO, Christians didn’t sacrifice animals. If you show me anywhere in the New Testament where they did, then I’ll concur. I tell it LIKE IT IS, just as you requested.
JUDAISM ALSO PRACTICES ANIMAL SACRIFICE..NOT JUST ISLAM…AND DID CHRISTIANS TOO BEFORE? OR WAS IT THAT THEY STOPPED OR SUPPOSEDLY STOPPED SACRIFICES WHEN THEY CONVERTED FROM JEW TO CHRISTIAN? ANYWAYS, YEA TELL IT LIKE IT IS – JEWS AND MUSLIMS BOTH PRACTICE SACRIFICES
We should all focus on exposing Islam. All other religions are good. Islam is the the only barbaric religion which needs to be eradicated to save Muslims themselves from the real hell in which they are already present. Following Islam is pure hell.
Hey Face_The-Truth,
I’ve met some idiots, but you’re by far amongst the top ten. You may wonder why I’m lowering my standards down to yours by responding? Well, perhaps it’s the only language you may understand by holding that Islam is peaceful and by saying I don’t know what I’m talking about. Don’t worry, I’m not angry…I’m actually laughing at your ignorance. Get a life, thanks for the laughs, and God bless you!
Islam and Christianism are competitors.
So, it is natural that, Muslims kill and will kill Christians.
Mario Alexis Portella is a fraud; a Christian fraud rather.
So, he does not tell the true history of Christianism in European continent.
So-called apostles or disciples of Jesus the Nazarene Jew brought refurbished and sanitized version of Judaism to the European continent less than 2000 years ago.
European Pagan history was obliterated piece by piece by early Christians in order to make room for newly invented “Christianism”.
Pagan women and girls were raped and forced to wear Christian (i.e., Jewish) burkas.
Pagan libraries along with all Pagan literatures were incinerated by Christians.
Pagan statues were defiled, destroyed and dismantled.
Pagan temples were either destroyed or converted into “Super Holy” Christian churches — all for the purpose of worshipping a dead pathetic Jew from Middle East.
So, Pagans in Europe had to move away to make a dead pathetic Jew from Middle East being worshipped in every Christian church to this day!
In essence Christianism is nothing but Jew-worship when, in fact, the Catholic Pope wears Jewish Yarmulke to this day (i.e., as skull-cap).
Christian “God the Father” is (was) a fiction.
But, within 300 years of the firm establishment of Christianism in Europe, the Middle East sprouted another diabolical figure named Muhammad the Arabian who wanted the original version of Judaism — not the refurbished and sanitized version of Judaism that European Christians started.
From that point onward, Christians tried to convert Muslims and Muslims tried to convert Christians for the same basic inherent reason of worshipping fictitious one and only Jewish jealous God named “Jehovah” as Christian “God the Father” and almighty Islamic “Allah”.
LINK
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2019/08/v-s-naipaul-on-islam-a-florilegium
Islam is a religion of killing. For example, Eid is an Islamic festival, and they celebrate this by cutting the throats of millions of animals. They think this pleases God. Pure evil mentality.
Those violent and vicious jihad –minded Muslims in their murderous persecution of Christians, as in this case in Nigeria, aren’t really going to get away with their destruction of Christians. As the apostle Paul had written each individual Christian is actually, in the View of God, a temple of God. For to Christians, it is written in the Bible “Don’t you know that that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s Temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.” First Corinthians 3:16,17. [N.I.V.] As in “A man reaps what he sows.” Galatians 6:7.