BOKO HARAM - The Use and Abuse of Kidnapped Girls

Not only did they abuse girls that they kidnapped, but also threatened to sell them if the Nigerian government did not release their fellow terrorists from prison. The kidnapping of girls from a residential school in Nigeria took place over a month ago.The terrorist organization that planned and executed the kidnapping is Boko Haram; a notoriously brain-washed tribal group that claims to be a follower of Islam and yet they only managed to distort the picture of Islam as a religion. For years now, terrorists of Boko Haram have been causing fear among the citizens they visited. Like a Satanic violent cult, they torched homes, schools, market places, and government buildings.They murdered scores of people who disagree with their beliefs or resist their attacks trying to protect themselves. It seems that they are funded by the same sources that continue to fund Islamic terrorism in  the so-called "Arab Spring" in the Arab world, as well as Taliban in Afghanistan, and other militia terrorists in Pakistan, Russia, Iran and Al-Qaeda to name a few. Their goal is to turn the African countries, that they operate in, into Islamic countries based on a strict interpretation of Sharia.

In the belief of Boko Haram, girls must be married at a young age, and forced to stay home to serve their masters. If they are kidnapped, those girls are to be used for the entertainment and sexual pleasure of men of the same organization or a similar one. If those girls are lucky, Boko Haram will trade them for money which will be used for more terror or for the release of their fellow terrorists from prison.

Strangely, not only do they conduct terror operations but also we note that the Nigerian government is slow in pursuing and saving the kidnapped ones. The U.S. government and other Western governments offered their technical assistance in surveillance and military tracking facilities. Yet the plight of the kidnapped girls seems to have been given a lower attention among the world's powerful nations who are able to assist in their release.

The word "Haram" can have several meanings. In Semitic languages it can be derived from "Harm" which means exclusion from the community. In the ancient Christian Churches, it is equivalent to excommunication of a person from participation in sacraments or his exclusion from the community of worship. In Islam, "Haram" is often interpreted as the sinful act forbidden by God in the Qur'an.  In the developed Catholic thought, inspired texts of the Bible are not literally dictated from God. The mind of the Church is not determined by individual impressions or free personal interpretations but by the authority of bishops in union with the Successor of Peter and the assent of the faithful according to the living tradition of the Church. In the Bible too, every person, including women, is created in the image of God. A patriarchal social system does not justify treatment of women as if they were subordinate to men. On the contrary it was a woman, the Virgin Mary, whose "Yes" to God made her venerated above all other creatures including men. She is highly venerated in both Islamic texts and  Christian traditions of Apostolic character.

Of course, no one is forced to believe what was written here. However, moral norms in the world forbid the killing of any innocent person and dictate that a just trial be set up for anyone accused of crimes for prosecution to demand punishment. It is the moral conscience that stands in trial today!

Africa remains a fertile continent for the presence of moderate Christians and moderate Muslims along with Animist religions. Catholic missionaries may be able to open schools and hospitals that care for the population they serve and thus move them to receive the grace of faith. Good businesses may bring hi technology as opportunities to invest in trades and education of local populations. The more there is security and stability the more African nations would become prosperous over time. To serve man, always discerning the call of the Spirit of God, is to serve God!