A Nigerian archbishop says faith-based organisations in Africa’s Sahel region have become soft targets for extremists. Source: Crux.
“The number of churches, mosques, Christians, Muslims, priests, pastors, and imams being kidnapped and maimed by these radical extremists is alarming,” Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of the Abuja Archdiocese said.
He spoke following a regional meeting of West African bishops that took place in Dakar in Senegal designed to tackle extremism.
Organisations including Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen, Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, Islamic State in the West African Province, and others have been wreaking havoc across Africa’s Sahel region, constituted of portions of at least 11 countries – Burkina Faso, Chad, Eritrea, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sudan.
A report by International Christian Concern indicates that “terrorist groups in the Sahel are increasingly taking the place of failed governments,” and thus are creating a semblance of legitimacy.
Archbishop Kaigama said terrorism in the region is driven by a broad range of factors, including extreme poverty and a system of exclusion.
“Violent extremism is the product of historical, political, economic and social circumstances, including the impact of regional and global power politics,” the archbishop said.
Archbishop Kaigama said religious extremism has had devastating consequences for faith communities. It has disrupted traditional leadership, endangered national security, and inflicted severe economic losses.
The Nigerian prelate said that the attacks on Christianity will not taint the resolve of Christians to stay true to their faith.
“All we can do is to continue to pray that the extremists come to see the light, repent, and turn a new leaf,” he said.
“We will never abandon our faith as a consequence of this mayhem,’ he added, saying the attacks could actually be “the supreme price” Christians must pay for “embracing the faith and at this point we believe that only God can save us from the vitriolic attacks by these radical terrorists.”
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Nigerian Archbishop says faith groups have become ‘soft targets’ for terrorists (Ngala Killian Chimtom, Crux)
