It's not just Boko Haram who are guilty of the religiously inspired killing of Christians in Nigeria. Fulani Muslims, descendants of the Fulani Muslim theocracy that ruled in Northern Nigeria before the British came, have been killing Christians in the country's so-called Middle Belt with what seems like impunity for a while now - helped by an unwillingness to call these killings what they really are: acts of Islamist supremacy.
In Tablet, an excerpt from ‘The Next Jihad: Stop the Christian Genocide in Africa’ by Rev. Johnnie Moore and Rabbi Abraham Cooper - The Mass Murder of Nigerian Christians:
This Middle Belt is populated by both Christians and Muslims and serves as a de facto dividing line between the predominantly Islamic north and predominantly Christian south. Those who survived one of the hundreds of surprise attacks on Christian communities here (including everyone we personally interviewed) recounted that the Fulani militants were yelling “Allahu Akbar” as they attacked—before they stole land, cattle, and other resources.
These attacks are clearly enabled by a kind of Islamic supremacy, which makes the attackers feel entitled to Christian property, akin to what previous generations of Fulani Muslim raiders believed when initially establishing their foothold in Northern Nigeria 200 years ago. In fact, the Sokoto Caliphate itself was established through an Islamic jihad in the early 19th century, and its leaders were “most, but not all ... Ethnic, Fulani.” Expansionist efforts by Fulani jihadists have continued for generations.
While these Fulani attacks are distinct from Boko Haram, their tactics are eerily similar. Virtually every Christian, and many Muslims, concede that these Muslim militants have been emboldened by Boko Haram, even if they aren’t aligned with the latter’s political insurgency. In the first three months of 2020, more than 400 civilian Christians were killed in Fulani raids and hundreds of homes burned. [...]
Hundreds of similar incidents have occurred. We reviewed one confidential list that precisely documents attacks by Fulani militants on 79 Christian villages over the last five years in one state alone. Yet we haven’t identified a single case where the perpetrators were brought to justice or where security forces prevented an attack.
Survivors recount that all these attacks were punctuated by jihadi calls. Nevertheless, countless policymakers, scholars, and diplomats refuse to acknowledge that the Fulani attackers are at least partially inspired by Islamic extremism. In 2018 when Fulani raiders massacred 86 Christians and burned 50 homes around Jos, the Associated Press headline read, “86 Killed in Nigeria as Farmers, Herders Clash.” A similar report in Time magazine included a photo of a large Christian funeral but didn’t mention the words “Christian” or “Muslim” and instead simply described the conflict this way: “Bloody clashes between farmers and nomadic herders in Nigeria’s central Plateau State in late June claimed at least 86 lives, as each group vied for the region’s increasingly scarce farmland.” The reporter attributed the cause of the attacks to “climate change.”
Denying the religious element in Nigeria’s conflict defies credulity. We are writing to nullify this immoral status quo; the time has come to demand that those who promote this accepted narrative prove that religion plays no role in the ongoing slaughter.
Even efforts to acknowledge the complexity and “nuance” of the conflict convey more than a whiff of denialism. Take what John Campbell, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote in 2019:
When Christians or Muslims are killed in the Middle Belt, it is not clear exactly why. Is it because they are a farmer or a herder? Or because they are ethnically Fulani, many of whom are herders, or of a small ethnic group, who are often farmers? Or is it because they are Muslims, which most Fulani are, or Christian, which those of many small ethnic groups are? These questions are not easily answered.
Perspectives such as Dr. Campbell’s unintentionally befog the facts on the ground and allow the world to avert its eyes from the perpetrators of ethnic cleansing. After all, there are virtually no Christian raids on Fulani to report. We were able to identify only one incident when the Christians under attack were even able to defend themselves. This is a one-sided, violent campaign, with the Fulani attacking the innocent in the dead of night. [...]
Whether the Fulani are violent criminals or jihadi terrorists—or both—there is one indisputable fact here: The Nigerian government is failing to stop the bloodshed, and the determined apathy of the international community is aiding and abetting their indifference.
Another grim story - thanks for highlighting. Incidentally, the penultimate paragraph is a repeat of the preceding one.
Posted by: brian Knight | December 03, 2020 at 08:39 AM
Whoops. Thanks for pointing that out.
Posted by: Mick H | December 03, 2020 at 09:27 AM