There is a war of ideologies happening all over the continent of Africa. The conflict between faiths mimics the conflicts of old. It is the final parting “gift” of colonialism, with the added tragedy of local superstition to add to the misery. Countries like Mali, Nigeria, Kenya and Somalia are all regularly home to sectarian conflicts, and now, Burkina Faso is anxious to top that list. Over the years, both Islamic and Christian group have been regularly attacking each other periodically. Just in April 2023, a group of militants (suspected to actually be the armed forces) attacked a mosque in the village of Karma, killing the imam and a suspected 160 others. This had been a retaliatory attack of 40 soldiers that had been killed during a Jihadist attack.

Now, yet another tragedy has occurred, all part of the endless cycle of violence that plagues the country. The town of Manni was attacked, and over 150 people are dead.

Local sources told ACN that the terrorists first cut off all telephone communications before attacking the market, where many people had gathered after attending Sunday Mass. They then fired indiscriminately, looted shops, and set fire to several buildings, burning some victims alive.

The next day, the terrorists returned to attack medical staff and kill the wounded who were being treated. Then, on Oct. 8, they returned to the village again, this time killing all the men they could find.

There’s something very familiar about all of this violence, isn’t there. It’s exactly the kind of behavior that the Bible and the Koran encourage: crush your enemies, and kill all the men in the village, leaving the women who have not yet “known” a man alive to take for yourselves. They aren’t violating any laws in their holy book. They are in fact following them. This is why religion is so terrifying. It openly encourages people to kill each other over their imaginary friend. How many more will die before we finally stop listening to the life advice of Bronze Age morons?