{"id":1925,"date":"2018-09-15T22:03:43","date_gmt":"2018-09-16T02:03:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/?p=1925"},"modified":"2018-09-15T22:03:43","modified_gmt":"2018-09-16T02:03:43","slug":"islam-christian-murder-nigeria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/2018\/09\/islam-christian-murder-nigeria.html","title":{"rendered":"Islam-on-Christian Murder in Nigeria"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recently, via social media, I\u2019ve become friends with a Catholic priest in Nigeria.\u00a0 Because of the brutal persecution to which Christians in his country are routinely subjected by Muslims, I will not disclose his name.\u00a0 Just a couple of days ago, he posted on his Facebook page a link to a story regarding a fellow Nigerian priest, a man of God who was doing some shopping at the local market for the poor when Muslim gunmen shot him dead.<\/p>\n

Knowing that I\u2019ve made it a mission of sorts to draw what attention I can to the plight of persecuted Christians throughout the world, particularly throughout the Middle East and Africa, my new friend private messaged me, thanking me for my \u201clove.\u201d He also underscored the unadulterated evil of Islamic-on-Christian oppression in his country, adding: \u201cThe Muslims want our lives!\u201d<\/p>\n

On August 18, Father Michael Akawu, \u201cthe first indigenous priest of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, Nigeria\u2019s capital, was gunned down<\/a> in cold blood while shopping at a \u201csupermarket\u201d in Gwagwalada, a suburb of Akawu.<\/p>\n

Father Michael was ordained as recently as February of last year.<\/p>\n

But just hours later<\/a>, according to Samson Ayokunle, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), \u201choodlums suspected to be Fulani terrorists\u201d besieged a Baptist church.\u00a0 They murdered Reverend Hosea Akuchi and abducted his wife.\u00a0 Ayokunle verifies that the latter\u2019s \u201cwhereabouts remain unknown\u201d and her captors are demanding a ransom for her safe return.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the winter<\/a>, two Catholic priests, Joseph Gor and Felix Tyolaha, along with 15 of their parishioners were murdered by Islamic herdsmen who besieged their community and raided their church.<\/p>\n

In March, Nigerian Christians protested<\/a> against the persecution that they suffer, persecution that is not only systemic, but which they insist has at least the implicit backing of the Islamic government. Bishop Olukayode Odetoyinbo called for the resignation of President Muhammadu Buhari on the grounds that the latter has taken no action to stop the slaughter of Christians.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe asked the president to resign because he\u2019s the father of the nation [and] when the father cannot protect home, what\u2019s the responsibility of a father then?\u201d The bishop asserted that the president has a \u201cduty\u2026to protect Nigerians\u201d who \u201centrust\u201d their \u201clives\u201d to him. \u201cBut if a father cannot do that,\u201d cannot honor that trust and protect those under his jurisdiction, he must resign.<\/p>\n

Bishop Odetoyinbo assures us that he and his fellow Catholics will \u201ccontinue praying\u201d with the knowledge that \u201cwith the help of God and ourselves, there will be peace in Nigeria.\u201d Catholics and other Nigerian Christians will continue calling on \u201cthe president and everyone to protect lives, respect lives and ward away from any factor or any reasons that can take another person\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another Catholic bishop, Oyeleke Abegunrin, remarked that \u201cno word of sympathy or condolence has been addressed to the Catholic community in Nigeria\u201d has been extended by the Nigerian president for the losses that Catholics have suffered.\u00a0 \u201cIf the president cannot keep our country safe by taking very drastic and urgent steps to reverse this ugly tragedy that threatens the foundation of our collective existence and unity as a nation, it is time for him to choose the path of honour and consider stepping aside to save the nation from total collapse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bulus Lakar, a representative of another Catholic diocese, addressed one of the nation-wide protests with powerful words.\u00a0 He referenced \u201cthe wave of political assassinations, killings for ritual purposes, [and the] frequent gruesome and mass murders of harmless, innocent and defenceless citizens [.]\u201d\u00a0 \u201cVery often,\u201d Lakar noted, [it is] \u201cour young people, the very symbols of life and vigour, [who] are the victims and agents of this wastage of human life.\u201d<\/p>\n

He concluded: \u201cIn recognition of our divine mandate, we must all be reminded of the sacredness and inviolability of human life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lakar called on Muslims to join Christians in \u201csay[ing] no to these senseless killings.\u201d<\/p>\n

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) <\/em>reported that Christian demonstrators carried placards with such poignant phrases as: \u201cNo weapon fashioned against Christians shall prosper,\u201d \u201cSay no to terrorism in places of worship,\u201d \u201cChristians\u2019 lives matter,\u201d \u201cLive and let Live,\u201d \u201chuman lives are sacred,\u201d \u201cChange is not about killing of innocent Nigerians,\u201d and \u201cPeaceful and prayerful march for life: Stop the Killings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bishop John Ayah assured the media that Catholics had no plans on assuming arms against their persecutors. \u201cWe do not have arms,\u201d he said.\u00a0 Rather, \u201cour arms are our prayers and our rosaries.\u201d It is for this reason that he and his fellow Catholics will continue imploring \u201cgovernments to wake up to their responsibilities of providing adequate security to the citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nigerian Christians living in the middle and northern regions\u2014i.e. the Islamic-dominated regions\u2014of their country are systematically targeted by Muslim predators because of their faith. Meanwhile, the Islamic government turns a blind eye to the abuses.<\/p>\n

But don\u2019t expect to hear much about this in the Western media.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recently, via social media, I\u2019ve become friends with a Catholic priest in Nigeria.\u00a0 Because of the brutal persecution to which Christians in his country are routinely subjected by Muslims, I will not disclose his name.\u00a0 Just a couple of days ago, he posted on his Facebook page a link to a story regarding a fellow…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":399,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nIslam-on-Christian Murder in Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/2018\/09\/islam-christian-murder-nigeria.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Islam-on-Christian Murder in Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Recently, via social media, I\u2019ve become friends with a Catholic priest in Nigeria.\u00a0 Because of the brutal persecution to which Christians in his country are routinely subjected by Muslims, I will not disclose his name.\u00a0 Just a couple of days ago, he posted on his Facebook page a link to a story regarding a fellow…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/2018\/09\/islam-christian-murder-nigeria.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"At the Intersection of Faith and Culture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-09-16T02:03:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jack Kerwick\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Islam-on-Christian Murder in Nigeria","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/2018\/09\/islam-christian-murder-nigeria.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Islam-on-Christian Murder in Nigeria","og_description":"Recently, via social media, I\u2019ve become friends with a Catholic priest in Nigeria.\u00a0 Because of the brutal persecution to which Christians in his country are routinely subjected by Muslims, I will not disclose his name.\u00a0 Just a couple of days ago, he posted on his Facebook page a link to a story regarding a fellow…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/2018\/09\/islam-christian-murder-nigeria.html","og_site_name":"At the Intersection of Faith and Culture","article_published_time":"2018-09-16T02:03:43+00:00","author":"Jack Kerwick","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/2018\/09\/islam-christian-murder-nigeria.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/2018\/09\/islam-christian-murder-nigeria.html","name":"Islam-on-Christian Murder in Nigeria","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-09-16T02:03:43+00:00","dateModified":"2018-09-16T02:03:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/#\/schema\/person\/6832222998cc14717ded1849531201c5"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/2018\/09\/islam-christian-murder-nigeria.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/2018\/09\/islam-christian-murder-nigeria.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/2018\/09\/islam-christian-murder-nigeria.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Islam-on-Christian Murder in Nigeria"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/attheintersectionoffaithandculture\/","name":"At the Intersection of Faith and Culture","description":"Beliefnet Voices - 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