நைஜீரியாவில் கிறிஸ்துவ தீவிரவாதமும், நைஜீரிய கலாச்சார அழிப்பும்

நைஜீரியாவில் கிறிஸ்துவ தீவிரவாதமும், நைஜீரிய கலாச்சார அழிப்பும்

Christianity vs. the old gods of Nigeria By DULUE MBACHU, Associated Press Writer
Tue Sep 4, 1:19 PM ET


ACHINA, Nigeria - Born to a family of traditional priests, Ibe Nwigwe converted to Christianity as a boy. Under the sway of born-again fervor as a man, he gathered the paraphernalia of ancestral worship — a centuries-old stool, a metal staff with a wooden handle and the carved figure of a god — and burned them as his pastor watched.

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"I had experienced a series of misfortunes and my pastor told me it was because I had not completely broken the covenant with my ancestral idols," the 52-year-old Nwigwe said of the bonfire three years ago. "Now that I have done that, I hope I will be truly liberated."

Generations ago, European colonists and Christian missionaries looted Africa's ancient treasures. Now, Pentecostal Christian evangelists — most of them Africans — are helping wipe out remaining traces of how Africans once worked, played and prayed.

As poverty deepened in Nigeria from the mid-1980s, Pentecostal Christian church membership surged. The new faithful found comfort in preachers like evangelist Uma Ukpai who promised material success was next to godliness. He has boasted of overseeing the destruction of more than 100 shrines in one district in December 2005 alone.

Achina is typical of towns and villages in the ethnic Igbo-dominated Christian belt of southeastern Nigeria where this new Christian fundamentalism is evident. The old gods are being linked to the devil, and preachers are urging not only their rejection, but their destruction.

The Ezeokolo, the main shrine of Achina — a community of mainly farmers and traders in Nigeria's rain forest belt — has been repeatedly looted of its carved god figures. While no one has been caught, suspects range from people acting on Christian impulses to treasure thieves.

Recently, a village civic association volunteered to build a house to keep burglars away from a giant wooden gong decorated with carved male, female and snake figures. The gong in the market square is reputed to be more than 400 years old, and in decades past was sounded in times of emergency.

"We feared it may be stolen or destroyed like so many of our traditional cultural symbols," said Chuma Ezenwa, a Lagos-based lawyer.

But the move to protect a communal symbol has not changed the minds of others.

Ikechukwu Nzekwe, a 48-year-old farmer who belongs to a traditional masquerade cult, rues the action of his younger brother, a born-again Christian who destroyed the family's masquerade costume, including pieces dating back seven generations.

The masquerade cult was once part theater, appearing at festivals to perform songs and dances, and part traditional police — its members helped enforce mores and customs. Now its role is largely restricted to theater, including performances and races by men in costumes depicting ancestral spirits.

Ukpai, the evangelist, tells followers the artifacts bear "curses and covenants" linked to the gods they represent.

"Since the curses and covenants do not automatically disappear when we repent, Rev. Dr. Uma Ukpai is a man called by God for the total liberation of mankind," he says on his Web site, claiming to have the spiritual backing of Jesus to break the curses.

Efforts to speak to Ukpai were unsuccessful, and e-mails to his office asking for an interview received no reply.

Early missionaries to Nigeria condemned most traditional practices as pagan. Roman Catholics and Anglicans later came to terms with most practices, even incorporating some traditional dances into church liturgy. But there was no room for local gods once their erstwhile worshippers became Christians.

Similarly, Muslim preachers in Nigeria's predominantly Islamic north forbade interaction with figures dedicated to local idols, although many cultural dances featuring traditional masks are still tolerated.

Most converts are in constant tension over how much of the old beliefs can be incorporated into their new faith, said Isidore Uzoatu, a specialist in the history of Christianity in Africa affiliated with Nnamdi Azikiwe University in southeastern Nigeria.

"Where the older Catholic and Anglican denominations are more tolerant, the Pentecostals reflect more strictly the idea of a jealous God that would brook no rival," said Uzoatu.

The changing attitudes have not escaped the attention of art dealers.

"This work you see here is from a shrine. It was brought to me by one woman who said her pastor had asked her to get rid of it," said Wahid Mumuni, a dealer at Ikoyi Hotel in Lagos, gesturing toward a carving.

Mumuni said the price was the equivalent of $1,500 and he expected a European visitor to take it away soon.

The National Commission for Museums and Monuments, which is responsible for protecting the country's cultural antiquities, has responded with a sensitization campaign.

"We are ... telling the Christians that they can't detach themselves from their past, that there is a beginning to their history," said Omotosho Eluyemi, a senior commission official.

The commission urges those who do not want to keep sacred objects to take them to local chiefs. It also seeks stricter enforcement of the law prohibiting export of artifacts.

Okwy Achor, an archaeologist, fears the government's response has been weak compared to the fervor of the evangelists.

Achina is part of the region where famed Igbo-Ukwu bronzes were discovered in a private compound in 1958. Older and more sophisticated than the better-known Benin and Ife bronzes, the Igbo-Ukwu bronzes date to between the 8th and 10th centuries and provide proof that a unique form of metallurgy evolved in Nigeria.

While Achina had few Christians 60 years ago, they now constitute more than 95 percent, says Emmanuel Eze, a retired teacher.

"There is hardly anyone around these days to speak up for tradition," said Eze.

பத்திரிக்கையாளர்களை தாக்கிய கம்யூனிஸ்டுகளையும் கிறிஸ்துவ தீவிரவாதிகளையும் பாஜக கண்டிப்பு

சென்ற பதிவுகளில் குறிப்பிட்டிருந்த செய்திகளில் கிறிஸ்துவ தீவிரவாதிகள் கோட்டயம் பிரஸ் கிளப்பை தாக்கியதையும், மலயாள மனோரம பத்திரிக்கையாளர்களை கம்யூனிஸ்டு குண்டர்கள் தாக்கியதையும் குறிப்பிட்டிருந்தேன்.

அந்த தாக்குதல்களை கேரள பாஜக கண்டித்துள்ளது.

BJP protests against attack on media
Special Correspondent
Urges Chief Minister to take steps to protect the media
Condemns attack on Press Club
Raman Pillai dares Krishnadas to a debate

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Bharatiya Janata Party State president P.K. Krishnadas, on Monday, protested against the attack on the reporter and the crew of the Manorama News television channel at Kannur and implication of Vijayan, reporter of the Indiavision channel, in a police case.

Mr. Vijayan was accused of affixing bills on the walls of the Azhikodan Memorial at Kannur. The party urged Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan to take steps to protect the media.

The BJP State president said the attack on the Kottayam Press Club during a rally organised by the Inter-Church Council too could not be seen lightly.

Charge reiterated

Staff Reporter writes from Thrissur: Kerala Janapaksham leader K. Raman Pillai said here on Monday that he was ready to furnish evidence to prove that a team led by BJP State president P. K. Krishnadas had conspired to defeat the party candidate C. K. Padmanabhan in the Thiruvananthapuram byelection.

Mr. Krishnadas had reportedly denied the allegation.

Addressing a press meet here on Monday, Mr. Raman Pillai challenged Mr. Krishnadas to participate in a debate on the issue.

“I am ready to take him on at any forum.

“Let Thekkinkad Maidan be the venue for a debate,” Mr. Raman Pillai said.

கோட்டயம்: கிறிஸ்துவ தீவிரவாதிகள் பத்திரிக்கையாளர்கள் மீது தாக்குதல்: 4 பேர் படுகாயம்

சிறுபான்மையினர் உரிமை பாதுகாப்பு அமைப்பு Minority Rights Protection Conclave என்ற பெயரில் கிறிஸ்துவர்கள் கோட்டயம் பிரஸ் கிளப்பை தாக்கினர். இதில் நான்கு பத்திரிக்கையாளர்கள் படுகாயமடைந்தனர்.

Kottayam Press Club building attacked; 4 hurt
Monday August 13 2007 12:34 IST

KOTTAYAM: In an unexpected attack, a small section of the faithfuls who had come to attend the Minority Rights Protection Conclave here on Sunday become violent under the influence of liquor and targeted Kottayam Press Club, inflicting heavy losses.

The outer and even inner glass panes of the four storied building were smashed in the stone-pelting. Four mediapersons sustained injuries in the attack and many others were assaulted in front of the club. More than two dozen persons have been rounded up by the police in connection with the incident.

Trouble started as some who were wielding the camera for the electronic media tried to shoot the protest slogans of a few laity members against Mar Mathew Arackal, bishop of Kanjirappally.

Volunteers resisted the attempt and the cameramen moved out of the venue and reached the nearby Press Club.

When some of them began to leave by around 4.30 pm, a few Church followers had gathered in front of the building in a threatening posture.

Within no time, the mob began to pelt stones. Four mediapersons, Shalu Mathew (reporter, Mangalam), Arun John (photographer, Malayala Manorama), Anil Aluva (ACV) and Anil Pakkil ANI) sustained injuries in the stone-pelting.

கிறிஸ்துவ தீவிரவாதிகள் இந்துக்கோவிலை உடைத்தனர்

எங்களிடம் இயேசு தெய்வத்தின் ரத்தம் இருக்கிறது. உங்களிடம் விக்கிரகம் இருக்கிறது என்று கத்திகொண்டு கிறிஸ்துவ தீவிரவாதிகள் டிரினிடாட் டுபாகோவில் பழைய இந்துக்கோவிலை உடைத்தனர்.

கண்ணன், பிள்ளையார், அனுமான் சிலைகளை உடைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன.

Old Hindu temple vandalised in Trinidad

PORT-OF-SPAIN: An old Hindu temple in central Trinidad was ransacked and four life-size idols damaged by miscreants.

Police said they were on the lookout for six suspects.

The incident took place at the Temple-By-The-Sea, Waterloo, some 40 km from here Friday and idols of lord Krishna, Ganesh, Hanuman and goddess Durga were damaged.

"We have the blood of Jesus. You are idols," the men apparently shouted before desecrating the idols, according to the police.

Satnarayan Maharaj, secretary general of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha, in a statement urged Prime Minister Patrick Manning and National Security Minister Martin Joseph "to take positive initiatives to halt any signs of racial or religious eruptions in the nation, especially with general elections in the air.

"What has happened at the temple is an assault on the religious freedom of the people of Trinidad & Tobago," he said.

Political leader of the Congress of the People Winston Dookeran called on the government to reconstruct the idols and repair other damages to the temple.

"This is an abhorrent act. It is callousness of the present regime to ignore the cluster of Hindu historical and religious sites," he said.

"These acts demonstrated the depth to which our nation has fallen," an emotional Dookeran said.

Of Trinidad and Tobago's total population of 1.3 million, some 25 per cent are Hindus, and there are over 300 temples scattered across the country. The Temple-By-The Sea is also called Sewdass Sadhu temple.

Sewdass Sadhu, who migrated from Kolkata in 1903 and worked on sugar plantations as a casual labourer, constructed the temple on land owned by former Tate and Lye company but was ordered to dismantle it. It was destroyed and rebuilt several times until the firm took him to court and Sewdass was fined $70.

He couldn't pay the fine and spent many months in jail. After his release, Sewdass committed himself to build the temple by the sea as that was no man's land. Today, it stands as a monument to the courage, dedication and commitment of the 213,000 Indian indentured workers who came here between 1838 and 1945, mainly from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

The temple was later refurbished by the government and has become a religious and cultural landmark now.

Former Indian president Shankar Dayal Sharma and recently the Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi visited the temple and offered special prayers.

Sewdass died in 1970. He is survived by his second wife Samdaye Siewdass, who was shocked after the attack on the temple.

Randolp Rampersad, coordinator of the temple's committee, said that it would cost about $18,000 to repair the idols, windows and walls.

However, "the temple's collection box remained intact", he said.

Pundit Ramesh Tiwari, spiritual leader at the Edinburgh Hindu Temple, said he was "ashamed of what is happening to our once peaceful and loving Trinidad and Tobago society.

"The evil forces are on the rise. And we as sober men and women have to work non-stop to bring back orderliness and the love for god and religious unity and respect for each other's religion ... we have to pray for those who acted against Hinduism and against god," Tiwari said.

The temple has over 50 visitors every day, with the figures reaching hundreds on weekends. Scores of Hindus hold marriages at the temple.

Police said they were working round the clock to bring the culprits to book.

நாகாலாந்து கிறிஸ்துவ தீவிரவாத குழுக்களிடையே போர்

நாகாலாந்தை கிறிஸ்துவ தனிநாடாக ஆக்க வெகுகாலமாக போர்புரிந்துவரும் கிரிஸ்துவ தீவிரவாத குழுக்கள் தங்களுக்குள்ளேயே வெகுகாலமாக அடித்துகொண்டு வருகின்றன. காரணம் இந்த இரண்டு குழுக்களும் இரண்டு ஜாதிகளை அடிப்படையாக கொண்டவை. ஒரு குழு மற்ற ஜாதியை நாகா என்று ஒப்புக்கொள்வதில்லை.
தற்போது இந்த இரண்டு குழுக்களும் அடித்துகொள்வது நாகாலாந்து மக்களுக்கு மிகுந்த பிரச்னையை உண்டுபண்ணியிருக்கிறது.

Nagaland in turmoil as NSCN factions clash
23 Jun, 2007 l 1414 hrs ISTlIANS


KOHIMA: Nagaland's two separatist groups may be observing a ceasefire with the Indian government but they are locked in fratricidal clashes, increasingly turning the state into a lawless region.

Attacks between armed rebels of the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) and the rival group led by S S Khaplang (NSCN-K) have increased in recent months.

The authorities are clearly unable to cool the tempers.

From rocket launchers to mortars, grenades and AK-47 assault rifles, the factions openly use these weapons against each other under the very nose of the security forces.

Both the NSCN factions are operating a ceasefire with New Delhi. The NSCN-IM is holding peace talks after entering into a truce in 1997. The NSCN-K is yet to begin formal talks with New Delhi though it signed a ceasefire with the central government in 2001.

The two factions are fighting it out for territorial supremacy. At least 200 cadres have been killed in the past five years.

"We all are very concerned and the voice of the people is that killing is not the solution and violence cannot be a means to settle any differences. The need of the hour is to stop all forms of violence and work towards peace," N. Krome, president of the Naga Hoho, the apex Naga tribal council, said.

The latest in the series of clashes took place in Tizit area of Mon district when the two groups fought in broad daylight - firing gunshots, lobbing grenades and firing mortars and rockets. At least two people were killed and many more injured in the Thursday incident.

Such was the intensity of the attack that civilians were forced to flee their homes. The security forces failed to take any action.

District authorities in Mon and police officials in capital Kohima refused to comment on record.

"The Assam Rifles has been collaborating with the Khaplang group by providing it arms, ammunition, transport and other logistical support to target us," said R H Raising, an NSCN-IM leader, referring to the Tizit incident.

The NSCN-K denies the allegations.

"The NSCN-IM is a gang of terrorists and has been openly violating the ceasefire ground rules," an NSCN-K leader said.

But in reality the ceasefire ground rules hardly seem to exist.

"There are lots of pulls and pressures. Despite knowing that the two NSCN factions are not allowed to move freely with arms under the ceasefire agreement, they flaunt weapons and carry out attacks," a Nagaland police officer said.

The peace talks between the NSCN-IM and New Delhi have been deadlocked with no signs of any solution. "We are committed to the peace process," Raising said.

நாகா கிறிஸ்துவ தீவிரவாதிகள் 3 அஸாம் கிராமங்களை எரித்தனர்

என்.எஸ்.சி.என் (நேஷனல் சோசலிஸ்டு கவுன்ஸில் ஆப் நாகாலாந்து) என்ற நாகா கிறிஸ்துவ் அமைப்பு நாகாலாந்து மாநிலத்தை கிறிஸ்துவ தனிநாடாக ஆக்கவேண்டும் என்று போராடிவருகிறது. இது அஸாம் மாநிலத்தின் உள்ளே புகுந்து அங்குள்ள கிராமங்களை எரித்துள்ளது.

என்.எஸ்.சி.என் என்ற அமைப்பு, தனது அகண்ட கிறிஸ்துவ நாகாலாந்து என்று அருகிலுள்ள பல மாநிலங்களின் இடத்தையும் கோருகிறது. அதனால், அஸாமில் இது கேட்கும் இடங்களில் வாழும் மக்கள் மீது அடிக்கடி இவ்வாறு தாக்குதல்களை தொடுக்கிறது.

இவர்கள் வன்முறை வழியை விட்டு அமைதிவழி திரும்பி வாழ விரும்புவோம்.

Four Indian villages burnt down

More than 20 villagers were injured in the attack Pic: Bhaskarjyoti Bora

Armed residents of India's north-eastern state of Nagaland have burnt down villages in the neighbouring state of Assam, police say.
Two villagers were killed when hundreds of Nagaland residents crossed the border and torched four settlements in Geleki, in Sibsagar district.

More than 20 villagers have been injured in the attack, police said.

Nagaland claims part of Assam as its own territory, while Assam says some of its land has been occupied by Nagaland.

Assam police official DK Pathak told the BBC that nearly 100 houses were set on fire by armed villagers from Nagaland in Geleki early on Thursday.

Many villagers have fled the area of the attacks in panic.

'Forcible occupation


Nagaland was created as a separate state by carving the former Naga Hills district out of Assam in 1963 after a rebellion broke out there in 1956.



The separatist National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) has been demanding integration of all Naga inhabited territories of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh with the state of Nagaland to create a greater Naga state.

Nagaland claims thousands of square kilometres of territory in Assam as its own.

Assam alleges that Nagaland has forcibly occupied a huge area of its territory, declaring it an administrative sub-division of its own called Niuland.

Angry Nagas burnt down 10 government schools in Manipur state on Wednesday

மூன்று சிபிஎம் தலைவர்கள் கிறிஸ்துவ தீவிரவாதிகளால் கடத்தல்

திரிபுராவில் என்.எல்.எப்.டி என்ற தீவிரவாத அமைப்பு பாப்டிஸ்டு கிறிஸ்துவ சர்ச்சிடமிருந்து பணம் பெற்று,திரிபுராவை கிறிஸ்துவ நாடாக ஆக்க தீவிரவாதங்களில் ஈடுபட்டு வருகிறது. திரிபுராவில் கிரிஸ்துவர்கள் சிறுபான்மையினரே.

இந்த் கிரிஸ்துவ தீவிரவாதிகள் மூன்று சிபிஎம் தலைவர்களை கடத்தினர்.

நன்றி இந்தியன்முஸ்லீம்ஸ்.இன்போ இணையப்பக்கம்
Militants kidnap three CPI-M leaders
Posted July 3rd, 2007 by TariqueCrime/Terrorism By IANS

Agartala : Three tribal leaders of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) have been kidnapped by militants from Tripura, police said Tuesday.

A police spokesperson said armed members of the outlawed National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) attacked late Monday a group of people working in village Tulashikhar, 65 km west of here.

The three CPI-M leaders were supervising the work and were seized by the rebels at gunpoint, a police spokesman said.

The abducted men are Falendra Debbarma, Amulya Debbarma and Ranjan Debbarma. All three are village committee chiefs of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), a tribal welfare body.