The following in an excerpt from the final report of the UN International Commission of Inquiry on the Central African Republic that was made public a couple of weeks ago. These two paragraphs make reference to the crimes alleged to have been committed by the anti-balaka militias, made up of Christians and animists (I apologize in advance for the oversimplification of the conflict in the CAR): In concluding that widespread attacks were directed against the civilian population, the Commission observed that these attacks were driven, at least in part, by a desire to kill as many Muslims as possible. It also noted that this common purpose was pursued in almost any context in which Muslims could be found, and efforts were made to kill even those who were seeking to flee the country. Muslim holy places were systematically attacked, and the houses of a very large number of Muslim families were either destroyed or confiscated. Muslim-owned shops and other businesses were looted and frequently destroyed thereafter. Hate speech was directed towards the Muslim population in general, and murders that specifically targeted Muslims were committed on a massive scale. The Commission considered that the crime of persecution underpinned most of these actions. It also concluded that the anti-balaka had undertaken a very large scale process of deportation or forcible population transfer against the Muslim population, and that these activities showed every indication of having been orchestrated as part of a plan to target the Muslim population as a whole. Figures show that these crimes succeeded in reducing the number of Muslims living in Bangui by 99 per cent in the space of a couple of months. Thus, by 7 March 2014, the Muslim population of Bangui had been reduced from over 100,000 to less than 1,000. For the country as a whole, it was estimated that more than 80 per cent of the Muslim population had been driven out of the country. So, yes, the most infamous examples of extremist atrocities are not a matter of religious affiliation but of many other factors, despite what many people say (or think) today; and that’s why Muslims shouldn’t apologize for the attacks in Paris. Christians please abstain as well.
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 15:53:35 +0000
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