People died in a religion-fired massacre in a Nigerian town named Yelwa in 2004. Bishop Akinola may have sanctioned it, approved it, condoned it, or lent some measure of support – or may have known nothing at all about it until after the fact. Which is it? He has no comment. Which is a strangely defensive response, if you ask me. And this is the gentleman who would save world Anglicanism from the evils of American inclusivity:
Father Jake Stops the World: Abp. Akinola; What Was Your Involvement in the Massacre of Yelwa?
……Two months after the church was razed, Christian men and boys surrounded Yelwa. Many were bare-chested; others wore shirts on which they’d reportedly pinned white name tags identifying them as members of the Christian Association of Nigeria…According to Human Rights Watch, 660 Muslims were massacred over the course of the next two days…
…At the time of the massacre, Archbishop Peter Akinola was the president of the Christian Association of Nigeria…When asked if those wearing name tags that read “Christian Association of Nigeria†had been sent to the Muslim part of Yelwa, the archbishop grinned. “No comment,†he said
There’s something so disturbing about this. I really must write this letter, it’s not unlike what I used to do as an Amnesty International volunteer when I lived in Seattle.
UPDATE: First draft of first letter written. It’s a sort of reverse bread-and-butter letter, with an addendum about my concern about the comments above. Another disturbing quote:
“No Christian would pray for violence, but it would be utterly naive to sweep this issue of Islam under the carpet.†He went on, “I’m not out to combat anybody. I’m only doing what the Holy Spirit tells me to do. I’m living my faith, practicing and preaching that Jesus Christ is the one and only way to God, and they respect me for it. They know where we stand. I’ve said before: let no Muslim think they have the monopoly on violence.â€
It seems to me that this is just more “strong man” posturing for power…
