Commentators from across the political spectrum have chimed in on the horror of Boko Haram’s abduction of more than 300 school girls. And, certainly, the fact that the victims were young school girls has made a difference in the Western world’s interest in the story. But, while #BringBackOurGirls has become a trending hashtag, it may be missing the point.
Reading the speech of Boko Haram leader Abubakr Shekau, it is clear that for him, the target may have been the girls, but the motivation was not simply to prevent girls from receiving education or a desire to attack Western education more broadly, but rather to launch a much broader attack on Christianity.
He begins:
My brethren in Islam, I am greeting you
in the name of Allah like he instructed we should among Muslims. Allah
is great and has given us privilege and temerity above all people. If we
meet infidels, if we meet those that become infidels according to
Allah, there is no any talk except hitting of the neck; I hope you
chosen people of Allah are hearing. This is an instruction from Allah.
It is not a distorted interpretation it is from Allah himself. This is
from Allah on the need for us to break down infidels, practitioners of
democracy, and constitutionalism, voodoo and those that are doing
western education, in which they are practicing paganism.
Suddenly you will hear somebody coming
and be saying that there are no religious differences, where did you
have that talk that there are no differences? Where did you get this
talk because of Allah? Who told you there are no differences when Allah
said there are differences in religion…?
I am selling the girls like Allah said
until we soak the ground of Nigeria with infidels blood and so called
Muslims contradicting Islam. After we have killed, killed, killed and
get fatigue and wondering on what to do with smelling of their corpses,
smelling of Obama, Bush, Putin and Jonathan worried us then we will open
prison and be imprisoned the rest. Infidels have no value. It is
[Nigerian President Goodluck] Jonathan’s daughter that I will imprison;
nothing will stop this until you convert. If you turn to Islam then you
will be saved. For me anyone that embraces Islam is my brother.
We are anti-Christians, and those that
deviated from Islam, they are forming basis with prayers but infidels.
All those with turbans looking for opportunities to smear us, they are
all infidels. Betrayers and cheats like them. Like Israeli people, Rome,
England– they are all Christians and homosexuals. People of Germany
like Margret Thatcher. Ndume are all infidels.
To the people of the world, everybody
should know his status: it is either you are with us Mujahedeen or you
are with the Christians… We know what is happening in this world, it is a
Jihad war against Christians and Christianity. It is a war against
western education, democracy and constitution. We have not started, next
time we are going inside Abuja; we are going to refinery and town of
Christians. Do you know me? I have no problem with Jonathan. This is
what I know in Quran. This is a war against Christians and democracy and
their constitution, Allah says we should finish them when we get them.
FOLLOW MICHAEL RUBIN @mrubin1971
Logical line of reasoning. Wish people could really see through the facade
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