Bamako, 03 December, 2021 / 9:00 pm (ACI Africa).
A section of Imams who have been said to share the ideology of Jihadists in Mali are preventing Christians from worshipping freely through their threatening verbal attacks, Catholic charity and Pontifical foundation, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International, has said.
Locals in Mali who spoke to the charity foundation narrated that although the ongoing terrorism in Mali is affecting the entire population of the West African country, the situation of the Christians who live scattered throughout the various towns and villages of the region is especially worrying.
“There are villages where it is impossible to go and celebrate Holy Mass. The Christian faithful have to be very careful about how they practice their faith. Even where they are not the direct target of physical attacks, the verbal attacks launched against them during the preaching of some of the imams, who share the jihadist ideology, are incessant,” a source in direct contact with the Christian faithful told ACN.
In the ACN report shared with ACI Africa Friday, December 3, the source is quoted as adding, “There are also frequent direct personal threats, for example anonymous threatening telephone calls. All this is creating a psychosis within the Christian communities.”
According to the source who sought anonymity, the pastoral work of the Church is also being affected by the situation of violence and the jihadist attacks.