NIGERIA - In the eye of the storm
19/09/05 - A journey to the persecuted Christians in Nigeria
For accompanying pictures, go to: http://www.opendoorsuk.org/media_photos/nigeria/html/index.htm
Hundreds of people welcome us enthusiastically as we approach a modest building with a corrugated iron roof. This is the “Church of Christ”, and our driver has to negotiate carefully through the crowd. The pastors of the church district greet us joyfully in the dusty courtyard in front of the church and thanked us for coming to visit.
This scene is repeated again and again as we make our way through the countryside. These are the areas scarred by one of the most brutal religious conflicts of modern times. For the believers in this region, it is essential to know that somebody cares for them and that Christians all over the world are joined with them in the Body of Christ and suffering with them as stated in 1 Cor.12.26. Our route follows the bloodstained division between Christians and Muslims in the centre of Nigeria.
The assaults and massacres of militant Islamists on Christians in Nigeria increased dramatically in 2004. Between 1,500 and 2,000 Christians were murdered in the Central Plateau State, and amongst them were 16 pastors. This has left 1,300–1,500 widows behind and about 8,000 children who have lost one or both parents. Also, 269 church buildings were burned down in these attacks
A team from Open Doors Germany, the world's oldest and largest ministry to persecuted Christians, visited the widows and orphans of this religious war, to encourage them to hold on to their faith in Jesus Christ. Manuel Liesenfeld, one of the team members, reports:
Prayer – the only defence
Most of the churches we visit do not have enough space for all the widows whose husbands were killed during the recent attacks. They just have to sit, crowded together, on the floor. Among them are many young faces under 30. One of these women is Rahab, the widow of a pastor. She fled with her 10 children and found a hiding place with Christians in a safer area. She tells us that, during the Sunday morning service in her village, there was suddenly gunfire and cries of “Allahu akbar” as an Islamist attack began. The huts roundabout began burning fast, and Rahab’s husband and some others went outside. They confronted the attackers, not with weapons, but with singing and praying. This was their only ‘defence’. The women and children were able to flee during this time. Rahab lost her husband and one son, whose arms and legs were hacked off. The church building and the huts in the village were burnt to the ground within two hours.
Sorrowful faces
Reports from other widows speak of similar brutality. They are proof of a cold-blooded and organised fanaticism amongst the Islamist groups in Nigeria and their financial backers abroad. In their determination to push the Christians out of the country, they try to remove every brick of church buildings wherever possible, leaving only the bare foundations.
Well-equipped mercenaries encircle a Christian village, target all the men and male children for killing, and then burn everything. Women like Rahab see with their own eyes how their husbands, sons and fathers are cruelly massacred.
Widows and orphans sit in front of us with sorrowful faces whilst we interview them about their experiences. No one cries. The shock is too deep for their emotions to be released.
Religious Time-Bomb
Nigeria is a religious time-bomb which can explode at any time. This is especially true of Plateau State, in the centre portion of the west of Africa. This small state functions as a buffer between the Muslim north and Christian south in Nigeria and is continually the scene of religious warfare, ignored by the rest of the world.
Both religious communities make up 45 per cent of the population in Nigeria. The north is dominated by Islam, and the south by Christianity. The Islamist religious leaders are not satisfied with this situation. They are seeking to bring the whole country under the shariah law, Islamic jurisprudence and a Quranic economic system. Already 13 out of Nigeria's 36 federal states have introduced the shariah. All key positions in the armed forces, at universities and in the media are held by Muslims. They ensure a general anti-Christian atmosphere and do not shrink from presenting false news about the conflicts. Whilst media coverage in the West focuses mainly on sporadic acts of retaliation by Christians, the truth about the Islamist agenda and their attempts to take over Nigeria is ignored.
A planned procedure
The example of Plateau State shows that Islamic extremist groups are following a planned procedure. Though over 90 per cent of the population in Plateau are Christians, Islamist activity everywhere is trying to gain full influence:
"First we thought they wanted to live together with us peacefully”, explained a representative of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), an assembly uniting all Christian confessions. “But then they showed us their true face and started to fight against us.”
Mercenaries, from the neighbouring countries of Chad and Niger, are paid a good price for their bloody trade. The money behind them – we were reliably informed – comes from Saudi Arabia and Iran.
“We are still here!”
How can we comfort these suffering Christians? What can we say to encourage people who have witnessed inconceivable cruelty? Our Western ways of thinking about suffering and struggles won’t cut much ice with war-ravaged Nigerian believers. African Christians have a different religious mentality and it is this that impresses us so strongly.
One woman, for example, has been crying silently to herself; and a few moments later she is rejoicing in powerful church worship! The minister greets the congregation with an energetic “Praise the Lord!” and the cry “Hallelujah” resounds in reply. To us, this sounds like a declaration to the world: “Look, we are still here – by the grace of God!”
There is no giving up here. These Christians are determined to keep going.
Looking to the future
In Yelwa, where the main mass killings took place, 1.500 Christians were killed during the attacks in February 2004. Simple crosses on a five-square-metre piece of land remind us of this horror. It is a mass grave for 46 young people, dug in a hurry.
But the Christians here are bravely looking forward to the future, certain about their victory in Christ. The destroyed church has already been rebuilt, with rows of chairs filling only half the room. "We want to grow“, explains the church leader.
“We have seen hell here”, adds Rebecca, who has survived three attacks. “Here anything can happen. But we won’t run away. We must preach Christ! Our lives are in God's hands.”
Loving all Muslims
The churches of Nigeria are growing closer together in these hard days of violent persecution. “In former times there was an atmosphere of hatred and division amongst various churches“, reports Justin La-Nibetle from the Church of Christ. The Protestant, Catholic and Pentecostal Christians today know they need each other and can count on each other. “We have the same enemy”, continues La-Nibetle. “It’s the Devil himself, not the Islamic extremists. They are only his instrument to destroy the Church.”
But how can the religious hatred, which burns here as hot as the sun in the sky, be overcome?
“We must love the Muslim people among us. And when we really live as Christians, they will see it and know that God loves them and wants them to become His children in Christ.”
Discrimination of Christians under sharia law:
• The testimony of a Muslim in court carries twice the weight of that given by a Christian and statements of a man are regarded as being more valid than those of a woman.
• During the Islamic prayer times, Christians must close their shops.
• Christians are not permitted to go outside their houses after 9:00pm.
• Christians have to conform to the Islamic dress code.
• Christians have to pay school fees; Muslims do not.
• 'Illegally' built churches are threatened with demolition.
The ministry of Open Doors in Africa:
• Counselling and caring for those suffering from trauma.
• Supplying Bibles and children's Bibles.
• Helping to rebuild damaged/destroyed churches.
• Providing financial assistance to Muslims who have become Christians.
• Conducting seminars for church leaders on persecution and biblical studies,
• Ensuring that Christian children in states under shariah law receive an education.
• Providing food and clothing for 8,000 orphans and 1,500 widows.
• Underwriting small livelihood projects for families.
To find out more, call Open Doors on 01993 885400, email info@opendoorsuk.org or go to the UK website at www.opendoorsuk.org.
Ends. 1,444 words
Open Doors strengthens persecuted Christians in over 45 countries across the world by
1. Training Church leaders and Christian workers
2. Supplying Bibles, hymnals, Sunday School materials and other Christian literature
3. Providing livelihood training and self-help opportunities
4. Visiting, comforting and encouraging those who are suffering
5. Raising awareness of the difficulties persecuted Christians face and mobilising prayer for them throughout the Western world.
For other articles/press releases on the Persecuted Church, please go to:
http://www.opendoorsuk.org.uk/press/articles/
http://www.opendoorsuk.org.uk/press/releases/
http://www.opendoorsuk.org/media_photos/world_watch_list_pics/html/index.htm