Contact: Jeff Walton,
Institute on Religion and Democracy, 202-682-4131, 202-413-5639 cell,
jwalton@TheIRD.org WASHINGTON, Nov. 13, 2013 /
Christian Newswire/ -- The Islamist group responsible for over two thousand deaths and an epidemic of church bombings in Nigeria has been formally designated a "foreign terrorist organization" by the U.S. State Department.
White House officials announced Wednesday that Boko Haram, which roughly translates to "Western education is sacrilege," will receive the designation alongside other splinter Islamist groups.
The designation makes it a crime under U.S. law to provide "material support" to Boko Haram. U.S. law enforcement and regulatory agencies will block business and financial transactions with the group, which is fighting to impose Islamic law in northern Nigeria and has ties to al Qaeda. Boko Haram has declared that it will cleanse the region of Christians and establish an Islamic State.
In 2012, IRD commended U.S. Representatives Peter King (R-NY) and Patrick Meehan (R-PA) of the House Committee on Homeland Security for urging then-U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to designate the violent Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram as a terrorist organization.
IRD Religious Liberty Program Director Faith J.H. McDonnell commented:
"The intentions of Boko Haram to forcibly Islamize Nigeria through horrific violence are a very serious threat both to U.S. security and to the citizens of Nigeria.
"This terrorist designation is a welcome change from the State Department, which has downplayed Boko Haram's Islamist nature, preferring to see the terrorist murderers as victims of poverty and marginalization. Moral equivalency is not the way to handle Boko Haram.
"Boko Haram has been relentless in its attacks against Christians and their places of worship. One Anglican diocese in northern Nigeria has lost almost 100 percent of its members to the killings and migration of survivors to the south. Now the U.S. must work to support the victims of Boko Haram who have been displaced from their homes and communities."
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