DEALING WITH BOKO HARAM – THE ABDUCTERS OF 300 GIRLS IN NIGERIA
URL – http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2014/05/dealing-with-boko-haram-abducters-of.html
Education (western) is not acceptable to these men in Nigeria, and have abducted nearly 300 girls from schools and threatening to sell or do horrible things to them, it is painful to the parents. Education may just be a front, as it turns out they are willing to release the girls if Nigerian government releases certain prisoners that belong to the group. Here is another case of Taliban in development, are they beyond dialogue?
The more we push them or Bush them, we would be essentially telling them to dig in their heels and stick to their position – Dialogue opens up opportunities with least damage and least cost. I have been thinking of going there and listening to them, perhaps take a Muslim delegation to have a dialogue
Abubakar Shekau, chieftan of Boko Haram shamelessly says that he’s been instructed by God to do what he’s doing and that is, ““God instructed me to sell them, they are his properties and I will carry out his instructions”. How can anyone even believe that when in the Quran, Allah swt says:-
“O you who believe! You are forbidden to inherit women against their will. Nor should you treat them with harshness, that you may take away part of the dowry you have given them – except when they have become guilty of open lewdness. On the contrary live with them on a footing of kindness and equity. If you take a dislike to them, it may be that you dislike something and Allah will bring about through it a great deal of good.” [Quran 4:19]|
Your thoughts?
Mike Ghouse
www.MikeGhouse.net
Abducted Nigerian Girls Offered In Exchange For Prisoners, Boko Haram Leader Says In Video http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/12/abducted-nigerian-girls_n_5308179.html
Boko Haram offers to swap kidnapped Nigerian girls for prisonershttp://news.yahoo.com/nigerias-boko-haram-offers-swap-kidnapped-girls-prisoners-104833917.html
Nigeria ‘rejects Boko Haram prisoner exchange offer’ after video message appears to show kidnapped schoolgirls for first time http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/nigeria-rejects-boko-haram-prisoner-exchange-offer-after-video-message-appears-to-show-kidnapped-schoolgirls-for-first-time-9354671.html
Below piece – Source unknown
Who are Nigeria’s Boko Haram Islamists?
The mass abduction of almost 300 schoolgirls in Nigeria by the Islamic militant group Boko Haram has captured the attention of the nation, taken social media by storm and thrown the terror group directly into the forefront of the public’s consciousness. But what is Boko Haram, and why is the group only making headlines now?
Q What is Boko Haram?
Boko Haram is a militant Islamist group based in the northeast of Nigeria, north Cameroon and Niger.
The group’s official name is Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad, which in Arabic translates as: “People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad”.
Founded in 2001 by Mohammed Yusuf, Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is forbidden” in the local Hausa language, began their insurgency in 2009 in Nigeria’s Borno state.
Now led by Abubakar Shekau after Yusuf was killed in 2009, the group is fighting to overthrow to government in order to create an Islamic state and promotes a version of Islam which makes it “haram” for Muslims to partake in political or social activity associated with Western society.
Since its insurgency began, Boko Haram has carried out increasingly deadly attacks on schools, pupils and teachers in the mainly Muslim north of Nigeria.
Q What is the current situation?
On 14 April, 276 girls aged between 16 and 18 were kidnapped from the Government Girls Secondary School in rural Chibok, in the north-eastern Borno state. Boko Haram later claimed responsibility for the abductions in a video, where Shekau threatened to sell the girls as slaves and marry them off because “God instructed me to sell them, they are his properties and I will carry on his work.”
A further eight school girls were abducted from a Nigerian village by the group this week. Many fear some of the girls have already been trafficked into neighbouring neighbouring Chad and Cameroon.
Q Is this the first time such an attack has taken place?
No. Boko Haram has stepped up its campaign against Western education in recent years and most recently attacked a boarding school in Yobe, where gunman killed 59 pupils in February. In September 2013, the group killed 44 male students and teachers during a night-time raid at an agricultural college in the state.
Q Why is Boko Haram’s insurgency suddenly attracting so much attention?
Social media appears to be a driving force behind the world-wide attention focused on this particular attack, with many media-friendly celebrities using the hashtag #bring back our girls on Twitter to raise awareness. Oscar-winning actress Anne Hathaway recently used the hashtag to lead a demonstration in America calling for their safe return, while Angelina Jolie used the premiere of her latest film to condemn the abduction as “an unthinkable cruelty”.
Q What is the #bring back our girls hashtag and how did it start?
The ‘bring back our girls’ hashtag was first used by Nigerian lawyer in Abuja, Ibrahim M Abdullahi, who tweeted the call during a speech by the vice-president of the World Bank for Africa. The hashtag was quickly adopted by desperate mothers of the missing girls who would write it on placards during protests, before high profile celebrities, including Michelle Obama posted images holding cards reading #bringbackourgirls.
Q How has it made an impact?
The hashtag has been tweeted more than one million times since it began trending two weeks ago. It appears to be keeping the abduction in the public eye, but its effectiveness has become a point of debate. Many have argued simply tweeting a hashtag will not assist the search efforts for the missing girls, while others have accused famous figures of exploiting the campaign and using it to generate self-publicity.
Q Why are world leaders becoming involved?
World leaders have appeared reluctant to intervene in Boko Haram’s activities despite the many atrocities the group have claimed responsibility for in the past.
But this well-publicised attack has seen the international community step forward and very publicly offer their assistance in the search.
The US has agreed to send a team of up to 10 military personnel comprising experts in logistics, communications and intelligence planning, to join State Department and Justice Department officers and British SAS liaison officers are understood to be already in Abuja, where they are looking at ways to assist rescue efforts.
But some have argued rescuing the children should be the responsibility of Nigerian leader Goodluck Jonathan, who has been widely-criticised for failing to take the girls’ predicament seriously until domestic and international pressure forced him to do so some two weeks after the 14 April incident.
Others have criticised countries for not sending more support. Parents of the missing school girls have pleaded with world leaders to send more help in order to locate their missing children. One mother, Shettima Haruma, said parents need “the government to get American people to come and help us”.
“We beg Nigerians, those in another country like America or (Britain) … it’s three weeks, nearly one month … (and we haven’t) seen any letters from our daughters,” Ms Haruma told Sky News.