Towards a Christian Response to Al-Shabaab’s Terror Attacks on Kenyans

Abstract

The recent escalation of terrorist attacks in Kenya is the direct result of Al-Qaeda affiliate, Al-Shabaab insurgency in the neigbouring Somalia. Al-Shabaab, an Islamic Religious Sect has been a thorn in the flesh of Kenya since 1998 to the present. The Al-Shabaab militants are suicidal. Their use of unconventional warfare tactics, calculated violence to kill, threaten, intimidate and maim the innocent citizens of Kenya has left devastating effects on all spheres of life of Kenyans. Al-Shabaab attacks portend a danger to the future of education, tourism, business, health, religion and psychological damage of Kenyans. As Al-Shabaab continues to weaken in Somalia, the government of Kenya must focus on finding suitable approaches to de-radicalize the small number of Muslims who have been lured into extremism in Kenya. The current counter-terrorism activities tend to ignore the lessons learned from other protracted insurgencies and that over-reliance on military responses is counter-productive and will only complicate and prolong an already difficult problem. Even the perceived civil society’s duty to carryout civic education to counter the radical ideologies that reduce productive Kenyans into murderous gangs may not bear much fruit. The Church remains a credible voice of mediation because peace and reconciliation remains the central themes in the Bible. This paper offers practical suggestions on how Christians can respond to this national problem by addressing the misinterpretation and distortion of the Quran, underlying political and theological issues and bearing witness to Jesus by overcoming evil with good by responding to the historical injustices and seeking to change the world.

Keywords: Terrorism, Al-Shabaab’s terror, Muslim, Quran, Injustice, Peace and Love