Boko Haram

In May this year the 12 year old Mary was among the hundreds of girls aged 10-18 who were abducted from vilages and Christian boarding schools by a militant Islamic group in Northern Nigeria, often referred to as BOKO HARAM. The spokesman for this group referred to Islamic law and said that it allows making slaves of non-muslims. Their leader Abubakar Shekau claimed that Allah instructed him to make them slaves and sell the girls. Mary witnessed how other girls were kept under control by threats and beatings and those who rebelled were raped and killed as a deterrent. Mary herself was raped for not accepting Islam but eventually managed to escape, many of the others were not so lucky. In the words of Abubakar Shekau: “The girls that have not accepted Islam, they are now gathered in numbers...and we treat them the way the Prophet Muhammad treated the infidels he seized.” In other words these innocent victims are treated inhumanly as the spoils of war. Equally disturbing is the deafening silence of Muslims around the world. If a group of extremists had committed such horrible evils to Muslim girls, Christians worldwide would be appalled by it and condemn it.  We need to pray for all those suffering under the harsh yoke of Islam. As Africa Outreach we do not have the capacity to do much to help these girls but we do call all Christians to pray for these innocent victims and to help make the world aware of what has been happening there for many years now.