Over the last few years I have come to be amazed at the size of the expatriate Nigerian community here in Milwaukee. Just as the Jews found each other in the huge city of Rome in St. Paul’s day, these Africans are networked. Perhaps they go unnoticed during the work week, dressed in business clothes and looking like any other African Americans. But when there is a wedding, African food, music, and African dress come out. I am glad that these African Christians have come to our country and hope that they can add flavors from their culture to the American melting pot. They have always made me feel welcome at their gatherings.

I am not so cheerful about African Christians who live in Nigeria. The country, Africa’s most populous, is split in half religiously, with the southern half Christian and the northern half Muslim. As you can guess, the central part of the country has become a battle zone. A group has arisen in northern Nigeria that takes its inspiration from al-Qaeda and is committed to abolish the government of Nigeria and establish Islamic sharia law throughout the entire country. Its official name is “People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad.” That is way too big a mouthful for most people, however, and it is known more by its nickname, “Boko Haram.” “Boko” is the Hausa word for Western education, and “Haram” is an Arabic word that means “condemned” or “forbidden.”

The group has claimed credit for a long string of terrorist attacks in various cities in the north—Madalla, Jos, Damaturu, and Gadaka, as well as the new capital of Abuja. On Christmas Day, for instance, terrorists detonated a massive bomb outside St. Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla, packed for holiday worship with 1,000 people. The church building was badly damaged, 57 people were wounded, and 37 were killed. Estimates are that over 450 people were killed by Boko Haram attacks in 2011.

Al-ummah, the Muslim world, is seething with unrest right now all over the world. Western Christians should mute their celebrations of the so-called “Arab spring.” In our celebrity-mad culture, we seem to think that the problems in the Middle East and Africa are caused by a few tyrants and dictators. President Bush famously remarked in 2004 that a desire for freedom resides in every human heart. I’m not so sure. Who will replace Qaddafi, Mubarak, Tunisia’s Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, or even Bashar Assad? Intensely Islamic parties seem like the only political organizations far enough along in their development to move into the power vacuum. It may not have been the desire for freedom that toppled the dictators, but resentment at the way these mostly secular rulers suppressed Islamic fanaticism.

The Christians in Nigeria are in for a very rough time. Do any Nigerians live near you? Will you join me today in praying for their faith and security?