A new worthless viral sensation has hit Twitter today. #PrayforNigeria has taken off on the social media network, and it is a colossal waste. In the time it takes to send out a tweet urging people to pray, which is going to do absolutely nothing to assist Nigeria, how about sending out a tweet asking people to do something that can actually help, such as #AidforNigeria, #FundsforNigeria #RaiseawarenessaboutthedangersofIslamforNigeria, or something equally meaningful and effective?
Praying for the people in Nigeria against the forces of radical Islam is a nonsensical endeavor. In fact, it is religion that got people into this mess to begin with. If praying was effective, would not God have already done something to save the 2,000 people slaughtered at the hands of Boko Haram? Surely after the abduction of the school girls a few months ago, there must have been a lot of people already praying against Boko Haram, right? Obviously, those prayers did nothing.
Some leaders in Nigeria are asking why there is no outrage or march such as we saw in Paris after the Charlie Hebdo massacre. Those Nigerian leaders contend that it is because black lives do not matter as much as white lives. They are asking a valid question.
All lives matter and all people are equal at the core of our beings, so how come Paris saw such huge, awareness-raising action and outpouring of activism, and all Nigeria gets is worthless prayers? Intercessory prayer has been proven ineffective in a wealth of scientific studies. It does not change the outcome of any situation. In fact, it has been shown that people who receive intercessory prayer actually fare worse if they know they are being prayed about. Let us hope, then, that the survivors in Nigeria do not know anything about the hashtag #PrayforNigeria. Otherwise, they will surely be worse off than they are now.
Instead of #PrayforNigeria the hashtag ought to change to #AidforNigeria. Those wishing to help need to send some money over there to assist people in rebuilding their lives. Sitting around praying for them is, quite frankly, insulting to their worth as human beings.
After enough funds are mailed to actually help the people of Nigeria, then it is time to start raising awareness about the dangers Islam poses to the world. As a religion, Islam has been found in a comprehensive study to encourage violence in boys and men more than any comparable religion. That is a real problem, and as long as liberals go on with their politically correct hand-wringing, people will continue to die by the thousands. Meanwhile, Islam encroaches on the world like the vile cancer it is: aggressive and highly deadly.
Of course, in this discussion, it is important to separate religion from race. Islam is not a race. It is a religion; an ideology. It is this ideology that must be criticized, and not a group of people as a whole. There is never call for discrimination against anyone based on race. In fact there is no call to discriminate against a person or group of people, period, but criticizing a religion is not the same thing as discrimination, and Americans, especially liberal Americans, must begin to understand that concept or everyone’s lives will eventually be threatened by the world’s most violent religion.
The tide of public thinking must turn against Islam and in fact all religions whose holy books encourage violence. A website begun by ex-Muslims against Islam explains that there are people who have been raised in the religion who have now seen the light and are fighting against Islam, which they recognize as “inherently violent.” These brave people deserve all the support they can get. They are putting their lives on the line to fight a dangerous ideology and yet most Americans cannot even bring themselves to admit the truth about Islam just because they are so terrified of being labeled “racist.”
First, let us acknowledge the truth about Islam, then, let us send aid and funds to Nigeria and forget about religion and prayer-two elements which ignited together to set Boko Haram in motion. The Nigerian people deserve action that can help them recover; not prayers, which do nothing but waste everyone’s time.
Photo credit: citizen.co.za
