By Jonathan Racho
07/06/2012 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern)-Muslim radical groups are quietly waging jihad war against Christians in Africa. Multiple attacks have taken place in 2012 alone as radical Islamic groups fight to implement a strict form of Sharia law over several countries.
In Nigeria, a radical Islamic group, Boko Haram, has staged multiple attacks based on its belief of Islamic supremacy. In January, twenty nine Christians were killed in a two day span in Gombe, Nigeria. A suicide bomber killed three Christians a month later while they were worshipping in their church. In June, Boko Haram bombed several churches during their worship services, killing Christians and triggering religious strife between Christians and Muslims. These attacks were accompanied with the message that “Christians must all convert to Islam in order to have peace.”
Tanzania has also experienced religious-based violence, specifically through a militant Islamic group called Uamsho. In May, members of Uamsho destroyed three churches on the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar. A Christian leader from this region believes that Muslim attackers are getting bolder because, “It is the first time that Muslims demolished churches in the city of Zanzibar. In the past, they only attacked churches in the villages.”
Islamic extremism exists in Kenya as well, primarily through the hands of the radical Islamic group Al-Shabaab. In March, a grenade was thrown into the center of an outdoor worship service killing two and injuring over 30 Christians. Two more churches were attacked during their worship services in July. These attacks, carried out by Al-Shabaa, resulted in the death of 17 Christians.
In many of these cases government officials failed to protect Christians from violence, or take steps to punish the extremists for their actions. Muslim extremism is based upon the belief that everyone must practice Islam, as well as the desire to implement Sharia law over every nation. With an increase in the number of attacks, and failure by governments to protect victims, a Christian’s freedom to worship may be a thing of the past in certain African countries.
