For the Catholic Church today, it’s the Muslim-Christian dialogue above all things. Unwelcome truths are not be enunciated. Here is the reality of the situation in Nigeria: the article “A genocide against Christians is silently unfolding in Nigeria,” by Kester Kenn Klomegah in Modern Diplomacy, August 28, 2020, states this:
The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, – a Nigerian-based non-governmental organization that monitors human rights violations and advocates for peace and integrated society, – has asked the United Nations (UN), the Commonwealth Secretary General, the African Union (AU) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and other international organizations to step up efforts to address rising armed attacks mostly on civilians in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The latest letter, a copy made available to Modern Diplomacy, titled “Calling For Urgent International Intervention To Stop State Protected Fulani & Other Jihadists From Wiping Out Christians In Nigeria” and was addressed to H.E. (Mr.) Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, Rt. Hon (Madam) Patricia Scotland, QC Secretary General of Commonwealth, H.E. (Ms) Fatou Bensouda, Chief Prosecutor of the Int’l Criminal Court Office of the Prosecutor, ICC Headquarters, among others.
It said in part: We, the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, are a federally registered human rights group in Nigeria, formed in 2008 with thematic mandate of campaigning for promotion and advancement of democracy and accountable governance, civil liberties and rule of law and public security and safety.
As a core part of our thematic mandate, Intersociety has, since 2010, followed, monitored (including patterns and trends of anti-Christian butcheries), researched, investigated, documented and published or exposed inter faith and intra faith intolerance and violence including massacre of Christians by Jihadists in Nigeria or any part thereof and persecution of Shiite Muslims by Sunni Muslim political and security actors.
Intersociety strongly opposes use of violence for religious propagation and adoption whether in principle or in practice, of any particular religion as a state religion by any sitting Government or its security and law enforcement agencies.
As a result of the above, Your Excellencies; and with greatest respect and humility, we wish to bring the attention of Your Excellencies to the following facts:
1. That Christians are at high risk of being wiped out by state protected Islamic Jihadists, especially the Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen, parented by three major Fulani associations (Miyatti Allah, FUNAM and Fulani Houta lHore), all recognized and registered till date by the present central Government of Nigeria. Other jihadist groups massacring Christians in Nigeria are: Boko Haram, ISWAP, Ansaru and Jihadist “Bandits”. Of the named Jihadist groups, Jihadist Fulani Herdsmen enjoy full state cover and protection and are also independently found dominating other jihadist groups.
2. That from January to July 2020, Jihadist Herdsmen have been responsible for no fewer than 1,027 Christian deaths and destruction or burning of thousands of houses and hundreds of worship and learning centers belonging to Christians. All their victims since 2015 and before then are Christians. The Jihadist group is further responsible for over 15,000 Christian deaths and destruction or burning of at least 1,500 churches and Christian learning centers in Nigeria since 2009.
3. That combined with anti-Christian killings by other Jihadists including Boko Haram, ISWAP, Ansaru and Jihadist “Bandits”, over 32,000 Christian lives and more than 17,000 churches and Christian schools have been lost since July 2009. Owing to the inaction and strongly suspected conspiratorial role of the present central Government of Nigeria since mid-2015, the number of Jihadist groups in Nigeria has also increased dangerously and uncontrollably from three (BH, Ansaru and Herdsmen) in mid-2015 to not less than 20 including splinter and autonomous jihadist groups….
Yet Antonio Filipazzi would have us believe this is not a religious conflict. However, these jihad groups target only Christians.
“Pope’s Envoy Fails to Name Boko Haram,” by Jules Gomes, ChurchMilitant.com, August 31, 2020:
VATICAN CITY (ChurchMilitant.com) – The Vatican’s ambassador to Nigeria is downplaying the role of Islam in the persecution of Christians as this could “rekindle division” between Muslims and Christians.
“When we say a conflict is religious, we give it a moral justification. This makes the solution even more difficult, because everyone thinks he is in the right because he does it in the name of God, in the name of religion,” Abp. Antonio Filipazzi told Vatican News Friday.
Stressing it was important “not to present conflicts as if they are exclusively caused by religion,” the papal nuncio to Nigeria was silent on the jihadi Muslim militia Boko Haram and the Fulani herdsmen.
But experts on religious persecution said both Islamic groups were specifically targeting Christians — including significant numbers of Catholics — expressly stating jihadi motivation for the massacre of Christians.
Filipazzi did not name the two groups even once, even though a preface to the Vatican News‘ interview acknowledged the role of “Boko Haram jihadists” in the “attacks and kidnappings” of 40,000 people in northeastern Nigeria alone.
Instead, arguing that “violence in Nigeria is a multiple issue,” the nuncio cited ethnic clashes, kidnappings for extortion, terrorism and armed gangs as causes of conflict.
In comments to Church Militant, Dr. Martin Parsons, independent consultant on global persecution of Christians, said that Filipazzi’s remarks failed to account for the jihadi-based slaughter and the Islamic slave trade kidnappings perpetrated by Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen.
“Of course, we want peaceful coexistence between Christians and Muslims, but peace without justice is oppression under another name,” Dr. Parsons said, responding to Filipazzi’s claim that “the discussion on division, precisely in the name of religion, must be very prudent, because in the past, as well as today, Muslims and Christians coexisted and coexist peacefully.”
“For too long the religious motivation of the violence suffered by Nigerian Christians has been ignored,” Dr. Parsons, who is also an Islamic scholar, asserted.
“For years, the U.S. State Department insisted the specific targeting of churches and Christians in northern Nigeria was simply a ‘socio-economic conflict’ — despite Boko Haram specifically claiming their actions were an Islamic jihad,” noted Parsons, a former aid worker to Afghanistan.
“It wasn’t until November 2013 that the U.S. finally recognized Boko Haram as a terrorist organization. That was less than a year before the Global Terrorism Index listed it as the world’s deadliest terrorist organization — slaughtering even more people than Islamic State (ISIS) were killing in Syria and Iraq,” he added….