Nigerian Imam Who Preached Non-Violence Gunned Down

The fundamental problem with radical Islam is the fact that it holds the world in fear. Even moderate Muslims, for the most part, fear being critical of Islamists, and those that do have the courage to criticize the violence, that is the mainstay of Muslim extremists, are threatened or wind up dead. Of course it doesn't help that those of us who see an upsurge in radicalization and dare to speak our minds are immediately labeled as Islamophobic, or racist or xenophobic. Not talking about the ever increasing problem of homegrown terrorism isn't going to make it go away. And stifling dialogue as a result of political correctness will only make the problem worse. It needs to be brought to light and that will only happen when we can freely talk about the cancer that is radical Islam.

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At least in the West we don't have to deal with what some countries have to put up with- constant violence perpetrated by religious zealots. The Somali people and the Nigerians are constantly dealing with extremism from Al Qaeda affiliated groups. Nigerian Imam Ibrahim Ahmed Abdullahi knew that well. He was one of the good ones. In spite of the dangers, he had the courage to preach against the violence that the northeast region of Nigeria has been battling for years. Because of his activities in the quest for peace, he was gunned down in front of his mosque in Maidguri by members of the Boko Haram extremist group. The assassins were not caught. 5 bullets killed this man of peace.

Boko Haram or "Western or non-Islamic education is a sin" was prolific up until 2009, when the group's mosque was demolished by military forces and Mohammed Yusuf, one of the leaders was killed during custody. But it wasn't long before the group re-emerged and started wreaking havoc again. In 2010, they managed to free over 700 inmates in a prison in Bauchi State, and have carried out attacks and assassinations against people who have dared to criticize their actions.

Abdullahi once told the AP "We used to call the government and security agents to say that these people must be stopped from what they are doing because it must bring a lot of trouble." He also believed that poverty was a major factor in the ability to so easily recruit people. In 2010, he told the AP "People are living in absolute poverty. Whenever people are living in this type of poverty, if you start saying to them, `Look, come let us bring about change,' ... people must listen to you."

How do you counter that?

Abdullahi lost his life fighting with words, not swords, to bring peace to the region. It seems like a lost cause.

Source: Washington Post