Posted on 02/25/2006 5:31:55 AM PST by xzins
Up to a hundred people may have died in the violence that rocked parts of northern Nigeria on 18 February following the publication in Europe of cartoons satirising the prophet Mohammed.
Sources in northern Nigeria report that at least 30 churches and 250 shops and houses were destroyed in Borno State, when a peaceful protest in the capital city Maiduguri turned violent and a crowd armed with sticks, machetes and iron bars rampaged through the town destroying Christian properties and targeting members of the clergy.
Father Gajere, priest of St. Rita’s Catholic Church was burned to death in his home along with his domestic staff, and the residence of the Catholic Bishop of Maiduguri diocese was torched. In one incident a husband and wife in Gamboro lost their six children and all of their belongings when their house was torched, and in another a mob placed a tyre around one man, doused him with petrol and set him on fire. Eyewitnesses report that corpses were piling up in hospitals in Maiduguri due to a lack of sufficient burial sites for casualties of the violence.
The Borno police force reported that it had arrested 115 people. However, the violence only abated when the Nigerian army was sent to the area to assist the police in peace keeping, following desperate appeals by local Christians for an evacuation and a curfew.
On the same day sources in Katsina State reported attacks on the Christian and Igbo properties in the capital city. Although a curfew was quickly put in place, reports indicate a death toll of at least seven, although the local police force insisted that one rioter had died, two police officers were injured and 25 people arrested during the violence. Religious tension was also reported to be growing in Kano and Niger States.
Tension also escalated in Jos, the capital of Plateau State, in the lead up to the violence in Maiduguri with an increase in armed robbery and a particularly violent attack on a prominent Christian family. In Wase, southern Plateau state. Muslim students stabbed the driver of a car and critically injured a pregnant woman and seven others after a road incident
At least 50,000 people have died in religious violence in northern and central Nigerian since 2000, when a number of northern states began to adopt the Shari’ah penal code, creating a de-facto state religion in violation of Nigeria’s secular constitution.
Borno state has recently seen an increase in Muslim militancy as the Al Sunna Wal Jamma or ‘Taliban’ group has begun to target Christian settlements and government installations, retreating into neighboring countries when challenged by the Nigerian security forces.
The Most Reverend Peter J Akinola, Primate of all Nigeria and the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, has said, “That an incident in far away Denmark which does not claim to be representing Christianity could elicit such an unfortunate reaction here in Nigeria, leading to the destruction of Christian Churches, is not only embarrassing, but also disturbing and unfortunate.”
CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas added, “A strong and consistent response is needed by the Government of Nigeria to restore order and bring an end to this alarming escalation of violence. We urge the federal government to ensure that victims receive adequate compensation and damaged or destroyed properties are rebuilt as a matter of urgency.”
Cartoons be damned..........these a**holes don't need a reason to butcher innocent people. They are lower than pond scum; bloodthirsty animals that deserve extermination.
ML/NJ
It wasn't the cartoons that killed those Christians, it was radical fundamentalist Muslims, who have nothing but hate in their heart.
Why posted to religion?
Because it involves Christians and Muslims.
(Are you suggesting it is inappropriate here or more appropriate in one of the news forums or not appropriate anywhere?)
130 Christians murdered over cartoons
Muslim rioters rampage through Nigerian villages
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=48973
At least 51 Christians are confirmed dead in the Maiduguri attacks that took place Saturday. In the rampage, more than 150 homes and 32 churches were burned, and 85 shops were destroyed. Authorities were finally able to control the volatile scene after arresting 114 and having militia enforce a curfew.
DING DING DING We have a winner.
The islamderthals don't need a reason.
Perhaps, God I pray, somehow, some way we helped to save someone else from such despicable barbarians and their anti-christ alleged "religion."
I wonder how long it will be before we send troops in to help the Mohammadens? After all, they have oil there and we certainly have no problem protecting Mohammaden Albanians while they rape women, pillage Christian villages and burn monasteries and churches in Kosovo and they haven't got any oil at all!
In Bosnia & Kosovo our gov't clearly sided with Muslims against Serbs. We were told there would be MASS GRAVES of 100s of thousands found.
No such mass graves have been found.
Why don't we hear about that? (We hear a lot about no WMDs found.)
Religion of Peace update.
Ahh. The religion of peace.
More Christian martyrs who died just simply because they followed the Prince of Peace.
More Democracy Mr. Bush?
Multiculturalism is a FARSE.
As far as these Christians being martyrs for following the Prince of Peace: in southern Nigeria, where Muslims are the minority, Christians have attacked and killed Muslims in response to the Muslim attacks on Christians in the north. Nigeria is not a good place to be a minority.
I wonder if the religious divisions fall along tribal lines and add that enmity to the mess.
Mrs VS
My guess/read: This was posted in "Religion" because it was yet another opportunity for the Islam-haters to highlight their hatred of Islam as a faith and Muslims as followers of Islam. Wide paint brush.
It was also another opportunity for them to high-five the Christians murderers of Muslims. For some reason THAT murdering ramage gets their official OK because of their moral relativist approach to life.
I would guess that along with innocent Christians murdered some innocent Muslims might have been murdered. But, again, that is also just tough teddybears for the haters.
I guess they don't "get it" than the religion forum has a vastly different purpose and tone than the hate-threads on the other forums.
Mrs VS: I had the chance to visit Kenya for about a month. We visited nine game parks. They were all wonderful and centered and run by separate tribes.
Their entire country is split according to tribes.
Example: The Samburu tribe is still "animist" and fairly poor. Their status says it by the meaning of the word "samburu"--coward. They are still herders, for the most part. My German hairdryer blew out all their electricity. :o)
The Kikuyus are Christians and they are the farmers. They are one of the governing tribes and fairly educated and well off.
The Masai are the really tall people who are in transition from purely herding to settling down. Some are guides.
I don't remember the names but the tribes in the north looked Somali and they were Muslims and poorer.
Kenya is having problems these days, about the same ole stuff they have ALWAYS fought over: power, land, water--via their tribal ties.
I have friends who are teaching in Cameroon and they say the same thing about the tribal definitions.
Remember the genocidal holocaust of 800,000 people in central Africa? Tsusis and Watsusis? That was also tribal, from what I've read.
It's my guess that Nigeria does the same thing. The religious differences give them yet another reason to fight. They've always done so but some folks jump on religion as the main souce of conflict.
I don't think religion is the main source. I think the tribal conflicts have gone on since there WERE tribes.
*It's all about power, money, status. For them that usually involves land, water and population.
Prayers for these Christians -- true martyrs.
Mat 24:9 "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me."
As Islam expands the territory it controls, who are the first to be persecuted?
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