Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Africa
AfricaNewsWorld

Should Nigeria Refrain from Joining the Islamic Military Alliance?

Posted byBy Shamone Nelson | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

boko-haram-image-AFP-650In the joint statement released by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the formation of the Islamic Military Alliance to fight terrorism, the Kingdom announced that 34 countries “have decided to form a military alliance to fight against terrorism led by Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and a joint operations centre shall be established in the city of Riyadh to coordinate and support military operations to fight terrorism and to develop the necessary programmes and mechanisms for supporting these efforts.” The statement further stated that “more than ten other Islamic countries have expressed their support for the alliance and will take the necessary measures in this regard, including Indonesia.” Nigeria is not only listed as a member of the alliance but also as a country that has confirmed to support and play military roles in the alliance.

Before now, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had been greatly criticised for not being vocal in the war against terrorism in the Gulf Arab states, despite its supremacy in the Arab world. Therefore, to testify to its supreme sense of responsibility towards fighting terrorism, the Kingdom deemed it necessary and satisfactory to establish the alliance, with an undertone of the charter of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Although, to some member countries, the alliance echoes the sound of a new dawn for concerted efforts against terrorism, but evidence based on the composition of this coalition – in which all the members are countries with a majority of Sunni Muslims – has cast a shadow over the genuineness of the alliance to fight terrorism, particularly in the context where countries like Syria, Iran and Iraq – in which the majority of Muslims are Shiites – are not listed in the alliance. This brings home the question, which many analysts have echoed, of whether the alliance was set up as a force against Shiite Muslims, or as a coalition against terrorism? This question remains relevant in the discussions on sectarian conflicts within Islam across the world. Thus, it behoves common sense to question why Saudi Arabia excluded from the alliance two large majority Muslim countries – Iran and Iraq – whose indispensability in the war against Islamic extremism cannot be whisked off.

Read the full story at allafrica.com

Still independent.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top