Acts of religion: Nigerian Christians take revenge on Muslims 5

We have several times posted reports of the killing of Christians by Muslims in Nigeria. Some of them have aroused much interest. A probably mistaken illustration of one such massacre (see Acts of religion, November 6, 2010) brought more than 23,000 visitors to our site, and a few complaints (some very abusive) about our inaccurate attribution.The fact remains that Muslims have been, and still are, murdering Christians in Nigeria, as all our other pictures of the atrocities undoubtedly demonstrate. (See our posts: Christians murdered by Muslims, March 9, 2010; Muhammad’s command, March 30, 2010; Suffering children, May 11, 2011; Victims of religion, October 16, 2011;  Acts of religion in Nigeria revisited, October  16, 2011; Christians slaughtered by Muslims in Nigeria, October 17, 2011; Boko Haram, the Muslim terrorists of Nigeria, November 10, 2011; More acts of religion, January 19, 2012.)

Here we post a recent report of the  killing of Muslims by Christians in revenge. It comes from Reuters Africa.

First, Muslims attacked churches and killed Christians.

[Muslim] suicide car bombers attacked three churches in northern Nigeria on Sunday, killing at least 19 people, wounding dozens and triggering retaliatory attacks by Christian youths who dragged Muslims from cars and killed them

The Christian Association of Kano, northern Nigeria’s main city, called the bombings “a clear invitation to religious war”. …

[The Muslim terrrorist group] Boko Haram …  attacked two churches in Nigeria, spraying the congregation of one with bullets, killing at least one person, and blowing up a car in a suicide bombing at the other, wounding 41. …  In Kaduna state, close to the Middle Belt, two blasts rocked churches in the town of Zaria within minutes of each other. … [Another] suicide car bombing was at Kings Catholic Church, killing 10 people. … Suicide bombers in a Toyota saloon then hit Shalom Church in the state’s main city of Kaduna, killing six people. The military said the dead included an army sergeant. … [A] police spokesman … put the death toll from the three bombs at 16.

Why were the Christians killed?

Boko Haram says it is fighting to reinstate an ancient Islamic caliphate that would adhere to strict sharia law.

Then Christians killed Muslims.

After the bombings, Christian youths blocked the highway leading south out of Kaduna to the capital Abuja, pulling Muslims out of cars and killing them

Unlike Christians, we do not preach that revenge is wrong. Revenge can be justice. But your revenge should be taken against whomever perpetrated the crime against you.

In Nigeria, Muslims – in obedience to the Koran – have been killing Christians, any Christians, because they are Christians; and now Christians – against their own doctrinal teaching – are revenge-killing Muslims, any Muslims, because they are Muslims.

What is wrong here, the deep cause of the savage cruelty, is religion. The acts are impersonal. They are motivated by difference of superstition between two sets of nonsensical beliefs.

The acts themselves are deplorable. The cause of them, religion, is a perpetual source of great suffering, a relic of ages past, and wholly indefensible.