DUSHANBE, May 14, 2014, Asia-Plus – The Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan (IRP) has strongly condemned actions of Islamist militants Boko Haram in Nigeria.
A statement released by IRP, in particular, notes that abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls “is an inhuman act being far from ideals of Islam.”
“Actions of such so-called “Islamic” movements discredit Islam itself and they are used by certain circles for blackening our religion,” the statement said.
Meanwhile, some international media sources reported yesterday that Islamist militants Boko Haram have released a video apparently showing about 130 girls kidnapped from a school in northern Nigeria on April 14.
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau reportedly said the children would be held until all imprisoned militants had been freed.
According to BBC, Boko Haram abducted more than 200 girls and threatened to sell them.
Three of the girls – wearing full-length cloaks – are shown speaking in the 27-minute video, obtained by French news agency AFP. Two girls say they were Christian and have converted to Islam, while the other says she is Muslim.
Some 136 girls are shown in the video, just under half of the 276 pupils abducted from their school in the northern state of Borno.
Reuters reports that Boko Haram militants, who are fighting for an Islamist state, stormed a secondary school in the northeastern village of Chibok on April 14 and seized 276 girls who were taking exams. Some have since managed to escape, but about 200 remain missing.
The Congregation of the People of Tradition for Proselytism and Jihad, known by its Hausa name Boko Haram, is a group and militant organization based in the northeast of Nigeria, north Cameroon and Niger. Founded by Mohammed Yusuf in 2002, the organization seeks to establish a “pure” Islamic state ruled by sharia, putting a stop to what it deems Westernization. The group is known for attacking Christians, Muslims and government targets, bombing churches, mosques, schools and police stations, and kidnapping western tourists, but has also assassinated members of the Islamic establishment who have condemned their operations over the years. Violence linked to the Boko Haram insurgency has resulted in an estimated 10,000 deaths between 2002 and 2013.
