A Life Dedicated to Hatred
After bombing a church, Abdulmasi liked to return to relish his work; to learn the body count; to bask in the glory of killing Christians – this was, after all, a major focus of the fanatical group ‘Jama’atu Nasril Islam’ in which he participated. Decades ago, his comrades began calling him “Mr. Insecticide.” He earned this nickname because he was, as he explained, “the only one who could organise the killing of insects Christians. When you are looking for someone to get rid of insects, call me. This was my life.”
Whenever Muslims in northern Nigeria felt Christians were encroaching, they would call him. He specialised in car bombs, riots’ planning, and infiltrating Christian organisations, the last of which proved to be his undoing – or, from a biblical perspective, his redemption. Abdulmasi had known no other life than absolute adherence to Islam. At age five, his family forced him into almajiri, an antiquated Islamic practice popular in West Africa. Muslim families send their young sons away to a local imam. A boy doing almajiri might join forty or fifty other young boys in the imam’s instruction. Their days are as rigid as those of prisoners.
Indoctrination and Deception
In the morning, the boys recite the Quran in Arabic, a language they do not understand. They recite it for hours, and literally for years, until they memorise the Quran. The task is not unlike an English-speaking child memorising the Bible in Chinese. At midday, the boys walk the streets and beg for food, which they share first with the imam. Afterward, they may study the Hadith, a collection of sayings ascribed to the Prophet Muhammad, written by Islamic scholars beginning in the ninth century. In fundamentalist Islamic sectors around the world, the Hadith is the source from which young boys learn the concepts of jihad, paradise, and killing enemies of Allah.
Having lived on a steady diet of this for a decade, Abdulmasi said, “Islam is a teaching of hatred, hatred and nothing more than hatred; and, if there is any evil in society, they will accuse the Christians.” His only solace in this life? A promise of “paradise” if he would kill enemies of Allah.
To Be Continued…
Date: 22nd March 2025
Martyr: Abdulmasi
Location: Nigeria
Source: Tortured for Christ (The Voice of the Martyr)
Author: Richard Wurmbrand
Suffering Saturday 135
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