Saudi aid funding conversion, recruitment of militants in war on Christianity.
Middle East and Africa analysts say there is a growing wave of militant Islamic activity in sub-Saharan Africa that is being funded by U.S. ally Saudi Arabia.
Hussein Solomon, University of the Free State professor and analyst for the Israel-based think tank Research on Islam and Muslims in Africa, said the expansion of jihad into sub-Saharan Africa is bad news for Christians and other groups who don’t embrace the radicalism.
“We’re going to see more pastors and priests get killed and more churches being burned,” he said. “Because of this, there will be more attacks on churches. There will be more attacks on interfaith groups as well. The radicals are creating hard dichotomies between black and white, between ‘us’ and ‘them.’”
Central African countries are particularly vulnerable, he said, because religious identities reinforce ethnic identities.
Solomon said it’s not just Nigeria, pointing to increased activity in countries such as Tanzania. Mozambique will likely be the next target, he said.
IntelligenceCommunity.com and Consultancy Africa Intelligence analyst Maha Hamdan said the Saudis are deeply involved in the growing jihad. They are using their vast oil wealth to pay for non-governmental groups to go head-to-head with Christian non-governmental groups.
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