Christian Persecution in Nigeria

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Christian persecution has been an ongoing problem throughout the northern region of Nigeria. The conflict has been fueled by Muslim-based terrorist groups such as the Boko Haram and Fulani herdsman. According to christianpost.com, more christians have lost their lives in northern Nigeria than the rest of the world combined. Reports pour in every week of new attacks on christians, whether it be bombing of churches or killing sprees and the Nigerian government has failed to make any decisive action towards the whole ideal (Stark). Foreign organizations however such as USCIRF and USAID are making efforts to bring the situation to recognition world-wide.
The Boko Haram, primary perpetrator of the Christians, have been in existence since 2002 but as of around 2009 they took a more aggressive approach towards persecuting Christians. Their focus is to create a separate Islamic state in which they can implement Sharia law. They originated in the North where most Muslims in Nigeria reside, while Christians predominantly live in the South. After President Goodluck Jonathan won the presidential election in 2010, Muslims feared they’d fall off in terms of political power and attacks increased. Schools and children have been attacked for their association with western customs like education, freedom, and anything that benefits Christian . As a matter of fact, Boko Haram means “Western education is a sin”(Koopman). Late in 2010 they bombed churches on Christmas killing at least 32 people. Bombings and killing sprees continued through 2011-2013. In August of 2013, Abubakar Shekau was reported killed by the Nigerian military. Very soon after this, Nigeria’s defense minister also reported that the Boko Haram’s second-in-command, Momudu Bama, kil...

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...oko Haram conquers Nigeria. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and letting it get overrun may be putting the whole continent at risk. We must put in an effort to help them to their feet so in the future they can make positive contributions to life and the world in general (Koopman).

Works Cited
Gryboski, Michael. “Expert: More Christians Killed Last Year in Northern Nigeria Than Rest of World Combined” christianpost.com 15 Nov. 2013. Web. 28 Jan. 2014.
Koopman, Joop. “If Nigeria Falls to Islamic Extremists, All of Africa Will Be at Risk.” Huffingtonpost.com 2 Jan. 2014. Web. 10 Feb.2014
Ross, Will. “Did Nigerian military splits help Boko Haram?” BBCNews.com 31 Jan. 2014. Web. 3 Feb. 2014
Stark, William. “Boko Haram’s Anti-Christian Violence Continues in Northern Nigeria” Salem Web Network. religiontoday.com 13 Sep. 2013. Web. 10 Feb. 2014

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