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Boko Haram Reign of Terror Impacts Churches in Nigeria

  • Religion Today Religious persecution, missions, Christianity around the world
  • Updated Sep 21, 2012

The terror campaign on Christian churches in northern Nigeria by the Islamic militant group Boko Haram continues to impact Sunday worship services, according to Open Doors USA. After the group's latest threat to launch coordinated bloody attacks on churches, aiming to prevent worship services from taking place this past weekend, many believers in Jos, Kaduna, Kano and other major cities in the north stayed home from church. Even Muslims stayed off the streets, according to one report. "The increasingly intentional activity of Boko Haram has taken on the characteristics of a real war," said Open Doors USA president Dr. Carl Moeller. "These are not random attacks, as they're often characterized in the media. They are intentional, and they're designed with one purpose in mind: the elimination of Christianity. I call it 'religicide' or the intentional and systematic effort to eliminate a religious belief and its followers from a country or region." An Open Doors co-worker added, "The believers can now only rely on prayer as Christians in the northern states are living in fear and uncertainty."