Boko haram - Is education sin?

Posted by Nnamdi on August 09, 2009 at 04:37:21:

You must have been hearing about boko haram in the news and how these group of people mobilized themselves and caused violence in the north, mainly in Borno state. Boko haram has been known to be in existence for sometime now and they've been monitored by the police. They are a group of mostly uneducated youths or at least those who believe that education is sin, that is, western education. They really believed that what they were doing was right and good in the eyes of God, being muslims that are fanatical or maybe misinterpreted what is in the holy book. They went on their self styled holy war and killed all who they believed were supporters of western education like the police, churches and even some of their fellow kinsmen. But the Nigerian policemen and army, being who they were, did not show them any mercy but killed them in their hundreds. For those who do not know what it means, Boko means education while haram means sin, so Boko haram means education is sin. One thing that really strikes me is the fact that these people really believed that what they did was right and in the name of religion because on sane person would go on such suicide mission without a strong conviction. It also shows how Nigerians can go the extra mile for the sake of religion. It also shows what poverty and lack of education can cause and how poor Nigeria is in educating people most especially in the north. It also shows how porous our border is between us and Niger republic. This may also be one of the reasons why there has been recurrent religious crises in the north but the problem then becomes escalated because the police does not respond as soon as they ought to like they did in Borno. If the policemen respond as quickly as they did in Borno to every case of religious violence, they would be less casualties.