Islam

LAGOS, Nigeria – With 12 Christians, including three pastors, confirmed killed in rioting ignited by an Islamic sect opposed to Western education, the Christian community in northern Nigeria’s Borno state is still counting its losses.

The rioting instigated by an Islamic extremist sect known as Boko Haram, which initially attacked police and government bases, left hundreds of people dead and large property losses. Sharia (Islamic law) is already in force for Muslims in 12 northern states, but the sect is fighting to have it enforced more broadly in those states and to impose it throughout Nigeria.
“We are still taking inventory of how the crisis affected our members, but so far we have confirmed some of the Christians killed and churches burnt,” Samuel Salifu, national secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), told Compass.

Rampaging members of the sect burned 20 churches before police captured and killed Boko Haram’s leader, Mohammed Yusuf. Police say Yusuf was killed “while trying to escape,” but a federal government panel is investigating allegations that security agents executed him after arresting him alive in his hideout. more >>

The head of the World Council of Churches pressed the Nigerian president in a letter this week to ensure the security of all its citizens after expressing concern about the recent attacks by Muslim militants on security forces that left hundreds dead.

Noting the long history of sectarian violence in Nigeria, WCC general secretary the Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia requested President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to “pay serious attention” to states in northern Nigeria, ensure the safety of all its people in the affected area, and bring to justice all those responsible for acts of violence.

The Kenyan-born clergyman also said he believes that the violence is not completely rooted in religious differences, but rather in politics. more >>

Pakistan government officials on Tuesday said they suspect Al Qaeda and Taliban allies are behind the latest series of deadly attacks on Christians.

Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), a banned pro-Taliban Sunni Muslim extremist group, and the Al Qaeda-linked group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), are believed to have incited Saturday’s attack on Gojra town in central Pakistan, said Rana Sanaullah, Punjab Province’s law minister.

"Absolutely, these banned groups are involved in the rioting," Sanaullah, who is also responsible for security in Punjab, told Reuters by telephone from Gojra. more >>

Six Christians, including a child, were killed Saturday in eastern Pakistan by members of a banned radical Muslim group, officials said.

Hundreds of Muslim extremists continued to burn Christian homes after some members of the Sipah-e-Sahaba group accused Christians of desecrating the Quran on Thursday. Among the six Christians killed were four women.

Pakistan Christian Post reported that the Muslim mob pulled the Christian woman out of their homes and killed them execution style. more >>

Thousands of Muslims raided a Christian village in the Punjab province of Pakistan Thursday, destroying around 60 houses and two churches, according to local sources.

The village of Korian was attacked Thursday night after pages containing Islamic inscriptions were found in front of a Christian home on July 26 following a wedding, confirmed the Union of Catholic Asian News in a report that was also posted on the Indian Catholic, a website owned and maintained by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference in India.

Though the family accused of desecrating the Qur’an said they had no idea who was responsible and nevertheless apologized for the offense, local Muslims filed charges against the family according to the country’s blasphemy laws and went on to attack the village, forcing the some 100 Christian families who live there to flee. more >>