UNDERSTANDING CHRISTIAN FAITH AND FREEDOM IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Christianity arrived in Africa very early in the Common Era (C.E.) becoming established first in Egypt, and then along North Africa’s Mediterranean Coast which was at the time part of the Roman Empire. Christianity also appeared very early in Ethiopia, which traces its links to Judaism and the Holy Land right back to the 10thC B.C. to when the Queen of Sheba visited and paid her respects to King Solomon of Israel (I Kings 10:1-13).
The first Ethiopian convert to Christianity is undoubtedly the Ethiopian, “a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians”, baptised by the Apostle Philip (Acts 8:26-40). The Ethiopian was in his chariot, returning home after worshipping in Jerusalem, and reading the prophecy of Isaiah when Philip met him on road from Jerusalem to Gaza. Travelling with Ethiopian, Philip explained how the text (Isaiah 53) pointed to Jesus. The Ethiopian believed and requested baptism.
Later, in the early 4thC, two Christian merchants from Syria, who had become influential figures in Ethiopia’s royal court, shared the Christian message with the child-king Ezana. It was a turning point in Ethiopian history. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church – which is not Coptic (Egyptian), but has its own unique traditions and heritage – is one of the oldest Christian denominations in the world.
Imperialist Arab armies from the Arabian Peninsula conquered, Islamised and Arabised North Africa in the 7thC. Eventually, Islam began to spread south of the Sahara – throughout the Sahel and along East Africa’s Swahili Coast – mostly by way of Muslim nomads and traders.
During the colonial era, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Dutch and Italian missionaries arrived in sub-Saharan Africa. In the latter part of 18thC, an Evangelical Awakening in Britain generated an explosion of Protestant missionary activity.
Generally, it was the case, that Muslims rejected Christianity outright as a blasphemous, superseded religion, conversion to which involved apostasy, the penalty for which is death. Furthermore, Muslims had their owns law (Sharia) and schools (madrassas) and administration.
For non-Muslims however – most of whom followed demanding, fear-driven animist and occultic African Traditional Religions – Christianity brought life, liberty, and opportunity! Following Jesus, Christian missionaries came teaching (building schools, providing literacy, education and skills training), and healing (building hospitals, providing medical care, health education and clean water), and giving (tending to the needs of the poor and downtrodden).
What’s more, the Christian message of grace (unmerited love), as well as its promotion of a new view of humanity (created by God, in the image of God), and a new way of living (involving acceptance of guilt, confession of sin, forgiveness and reconciliation) enabled Africans to achieve not merely peace with God, but peace with their neighbours. For Africans the Gospel was Good News indeed, as it liberated the tribes from internecine tribal war, endless blood-feuds, fear, and harmful superstitions (e.g. the traditional African belief that twins are demonised and must be killed).
Consequently, during the 19thC, Christianity spread rapidly through sub-Saharan Africa.
Today in sub-Saharan Africa:
where Islam dominates, religious freedom is either severely limited or non-existent, for religious freedom is anathema to Islam which mandates death for blasphemy and for apostasy. Consequently, wherever Islam dominates, Christians suffer (especially converts from Islam) due to crippling discrimination and escalating violent persecution. The degree of marginalisation and suffering varies widely – from mild to extreme – depending on the extent to which the Muslim masses have been radicalised by the intolerant, Wahhabist ideology emanating from Saudi Arabia.
where Christianity dominates, there is liberty; for religious liberty is a Biblical principle, integral to the Judeo-Christian worldview. Despite this liberty, Africans continue to suffer primarily on account of high-level corruption and poor governance.
where Islam and Christianity meet, there is conflict. Running roughly along the 8 degree north parallel, sub-Saharan Africa’s great ethno-religious “fault-line” demarcates the mostly Muslim north from the mostly Christian south. It is atop this perpetually volatile ethno-religious “fault-line” that sectarian conflict can be most devastating.
Sub-Saharan Africa’s great ethno-religious “fault-line” runs (from west to east) through northern Liberia, through the centres of Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria; through northern Cameroon, southern Chad, northern Central African Republic and Sudan’s “new south” (specifically Abyei and the Nuba Mountains), and into Ethiopia. From Addis Ababa the “fault-line” veers south and proceeds through eastern Kenya before curving slightly west to run parallel to the Swahili Coast through southern Kenya, eastern Tanzania, and into northern Mozambique.
Most of the sectarian conflict prevalent in West and central Africa occurs atop this ethno-religious “fault-line”. It is caused primarily the southward migration and urbanisation of traditionally nomadic Fulani and Hausa Muslims into regions long populated by settled, agrarian, urbanised and largely Christian black African tribes. The resulting competition for land, water, jobs and political power inevitably plays out along religious lines. This is seized upon by Islamists seeking to legitimise their demand for Muslim rule, and jihadists seeking to legitimise their desire for jihad (Islamic holy war / war to advance Islam).
The escalation of persecution of Christians; the intensification of sectarian conflict; and the proliferation of jihadist and terrorist activity we are witnessing in sub-Saharan Africa today is new. This disturbing negative trend is a direct consequence of Muslim radicalisation, as Muslim embrace the intolerant, imperialist and supremacist, pro-jihad, pro-Sharia and profoundly anti-Christian, fundamentalist Islam being pumped out of Wahhabist Saudi Arabia since the 1980s.
Recommended news sources reporting Christian persecution in Sub-Saharan Africa (general):
Morning Star News, https://morningstarnews.org
Christian Solidarity Worldwide https://www.csw.org.uk
Middle East Concern (for Mauritania, Somalia and Sudan) https://www.meconcern.org/
Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin http://rlprayerbulletin.blogspot.com/