Uganda (MNN) — In late July, Muslim extremists came to the home of a Christian in Uganda and killed him. His wife and four children hid in another room during the attack. He had recently held an open-air evangelism event, prompting threats from a local Muslim leader. Earlier in July, extremists killed another Christian as he traveled home from a different evangelism meeting. At the event, police maintained tight security. But extremists ambushed a group of Christians as they crossed through a swamp.
Todd Nettleton with The Voice of the Martyrs USA says, “I hope the Ugandan government responds. I hope that the perpetrators are held accountable. I know in the case of one of these murders, there has been someone arrested. We will see what happens as far as the justice system, the court system, and how the case moves forward.”
Islamic extremism
The majority of Ugandans practice Christianity. But in recent years, the Islamic State has fought to gain a foothold in the country. In November 2021, two suicide bombings in the capital Kampala shut down Uganda’s parliament. Nettleton says, “It’s certainly something that the Ugandan government is going to have to address: the rise of violent Islam even within their own borders.”
“Particularly in the last few months, there have been several attacks against former Muslims who are evangelizing Muslims.”
And the Islamic State isn’t the only extremist group working in Uganda. Nettleton says, “Certainly al-Shabaab is active in Kenya. The Islamic State is spreading in West Africa, even in northern Mozambique. So there are a lot of different influences that are happening within Uganda, kind of driving this rise of radical Islam.”
Pray the attacks would not discourage Ugandan Christians from sharing their faith.
(Header photo courtesy of Fredrick Kimbugwe from Pixabay)