Somali Militant Group Bans Christian Aid Groups

Today we have another story from Mission Network News in which VOM's Todd Nettleton shares about how common it is for Christians to be accused of proselytism when they are doing humanitarian aid work.  Click here for the full story.

Somalia (MNN) ? Islamist group al-Shabaab has banned three aid groups from carrying out relief work in Somalia.

The militants, with ties to al-Qaeda, accused World Vision, Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), and the Swedish aid agency Diakonia of spreading Christianity and ordered them to stop aid work immediately.

In a statement released on August 9, the group said, "Acting as missionaries under the guise of humanitarian work, the organizations have been spreading their corrupted ideologies in order to taint the pure creed of the Muslims in Somalia."

However, Todd Nettleton, spokesman with persecution watchdogVoice of the Martyrs USA says, "All three of these groups had signed on to the Red Cross stipulations for how aid is given. Those regulations say that you cannot give aid based on religious affiliation or use aid as an enticement."   

The proselytism accusation is not uncommon. In this case, Nettleton says it is merely a front for their real agenda. "Al-Shabaab has specifically hunted Christians. They have gone into areas where Christians are known to be, where foreign Christians have had a presence previously, and they have sought to find all of the Christians and either kill them or force them out of the area."

Government and church officials, aid beneficiaries, and humanitarian workers throughout the region have condemned the ban.