Islam and the Boko Haram Schoolgirl Kidnappings

Isha Sesay of CNN is in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, this week to report on the ongoing story of the 287 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram. Isha Sesay is African and her ability to talk with and pull out the key facts in this horrific affair is evident. She did a live interview of the information minister in the Goodluck Jonathan government, who said the government "officially" knew about the kidnapping the morning after it occurred. But, the minister refused to say what the government did immediately, what it did in the first days or what it is doing now, except for waiting for international help to arrive. At one point, Sesay told the minister that what he was saying was not the truth, as she quoted Amnesty International, which says its sources report that the Nigerian military had FOUR HOURS advance warning that the attack would occur. The minister denied this categorically. Then, Isha Sesay interviewed the editor of a large daily newspaper in Abuja. He said the government waited three weeks before even sending a committee out to the area near where the girls were kidnapped to try to work out the precise facts, despite the fact that the girls' location was well-known. The editor's disgust with the government was evident, not only concerning the mass kidnapping but also with other matters left without investigation or action. The third person Isha Sesay interviewed was the father of two of the girls kidnapped. He also is the uncle of four other girls kidnapped. His description of what happened is detailed : He and his wife received a call at 11 p.m., to tell them that the Boko Haram militants were already inside the school. He was later told that Boko Haram pretended to be the Nigerian military, to make it easy to round up the girls. He and his group went to the school the next morning and were taken into the forest and told exactly where the girls were being held - near Chibok. But they were told to stay away because it was dangerous. The group then told the local government about the location, but nothing was done to free the girls. The father said the family is simply crying because they have nothing else to do. ~~~~~ Dear readers, the inaction of the Nigerian government has gone on for so long that the likelihood is that the girls have been broken up into smaller groups and are on their way to Cameroon and Chad. Bus convoys have been seen crossing from Nigeria to Cameroon. And while the Boko Haram leader talks about selling them into marriage, the African consensus is that they will be sold into the sex trade. Whatever has already happened, the idea that these schoolgirls were kidnapped by Islamist terrorists has rallied the world to support them. But, what has not been reported is the voice of Islam condemning Boko Haram. These jihadist outlaws have said that the Prophet told them to sell the girls. This is sacrilege - against Islam and against Moslem women. Where is Islam's condemnation? Where are the imams? Where are the protests? The protestd are in Kansas, one of the most actively Christian states in America. The protests are in Europe, where Christians and non-Christians are outraged by the callous Boko Haram act. Are there protests in Baghdad or Kabul or Bahrain or Tripoli or Islamabad or Jeddah? I haven't heard of any. Where is the voice of Islam, so badly needed to condemn Boko Haram and offer the world a testimonial to its core values?