Killing in the Name of Another’s God

by Khalif ‘Ras’ Williams

Historically everywhere Colonizers have set up shop as conquerors and enslavers of African people they always first brought religion. As the Letter written by King Leopold to his Xtian Missionaries he dispatched to the Congo in 1883 which I dub the true and original Willie Lynch Letter (You can see it in its entirety in my piece entitled A Culture of Insanity) one can see the cold calculating intent of colonization. King Leopold made it abundantly clear in his letter that he already knew that Africans worshiped one God long before the arrival of white folks but  that he needed to have them under the control of the Xtian tradition to facilitate easier theft of their land and resources by using the argument that God ordained invading Europeans to control our land and resources while under the violent forced coercion of enslavement and terrorism. Some enslaved Africans also believed they were conquered because Africans were cursed with slavery by God for  living their indigenous way of life. Sadly another falsity  many of the unaware people of African descent believe is that their ancestors worshiped many gods which couldn’t be farther from the truth. (See my article entitled Restoring the Reputation of Akhenaton for more in the articles section.] As if there is anything wrong that if it is their people’s way of life) and were devil worshipers solely because they don’t have access to the truth or they actively choose to ignore the truth in order to be in lock step with their conquerors as far as fitting in the society as their conquerors fashioned it.

For all those who have shot down the historical veracity of the Willie lynch letter (with good reason see Manu Ampim’s works for details).  King Leopold’s historically documented letter to his missionaries’ kills the whole idea that Europeans didn’t know or fully understand the psychological, mental, political and most importantly and fiscal results of the religious conversion and religious sanctioned genocide and abuse of African people. This has been a problem, a serious problem since the incursion of Xtians who came with enslavement and colonialism and the Arabs who came with the Koran or death. This is sad drama we are watching play out in Nigeria is the display of the non peaceful Koran sanctioned violence against non Muslims (As interpreted by the African extremists who do the killing). Sad it is indoctrinated practitioners of Western Religion which now commit atrocities their white and Arab colonizers and subjugators once used to convert them. These Africans specifically the Yoruba people of Nigeria created one of the world’s oldest religions, the religion of Ifa and other indigenous traditions which dwarf Xtianity and Islam in many times over age yet because of the length of time of their colonization they no longer know any other way except that of the self hatred imposed upon them by their colonial masters.

Wherever the European and Arab went he first brought his religion because they realized if you can control a peoples conception of deity and change that image from that of the indigenous people to that of the conqueror you can lead them like a Pied Piper controlling their very existence in the name of your God whom you force them to embrace. They also realized that if Africans are praying to their deity who made it possible in a spiritual sense for them (Europeans/Arabs) to enslave you in the first place then every prayer you (Africans) place for liberation is going to the same deity that sanctioned your enslavement thus placing one in a spiritual quandary as well, something to ponder. Again this does not negate the fact that these religions ultimately sustained our ancestors through a myriad of despicable circumstances simply because they had no choice. This also does not negate the fact that these religions are the gateway to the spiritual relationship some of our people have forged with deity.

This situation of violence in the name of religion makes it even more immediately apparent the importance of us  revering our own culture, ancestors and deities rather than those of our colonizers. No Indigenous religion of Merita (Africa) ever colonized or enslaved anyone let alone facilitate wholesale murder and genocide like their western counterparts are known to have done and in some cases is still being used as an excuse to continue to do. Those of us who chose to continue worshiping God through the prism of one of the three Western Religions should at least make that deity in our own image and likeness. That is the first step towards liberation. I guess the question is like De La Soul once asked: Who do you worship?

Let us pray for an end to the incessant violence of two religious groups of oppressed African countrymen who hate and kill one another in the name of the very gods they claim as the god to worship. They now have turned against each other in the name of two deities (Allah and Jesus) whose followers historically  have killed and enslaved more people in their names than any other deities in human history.  Hopefully the violence can be quelled  and  healing and reconciliation can start soon.

http://www.anglicandioceseofjos.org/“>www.anglicandioceseofjos.org

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/nigeria-1.htm“>http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/nigeria-1.htm