We laugh at this in the rational West, but we’re no different. In Cameroon, they’re fighting against jihad with witchcraft. In the United States, we’re fighting against jihad by pretending that its ideological roots don’t exist, and importing massive numbers of people among whom will inevitably be an unknowable number of Islamic jihadis, in the naive and complacent hope that all the migrants will be grateful moderates who will rapidly assimilate.
Which one is a more egregious example of magical thinking?
“Cameroon uses witchcraft to fight Boko Haram,” by Christian Locka, GlobalPost, January 12, 2017:
In the war on terror, guns and bombs just haven’t been enough. So Cameroon is trying spells and curses too.
About a year ago, Cameroonian President Paul Biya urged citizens to use witchcraft against Boko Haram, the Islamic State-affiliated militants who have terrorized West Africa for years.
“We expect every village to have brilliant actions in this direction,” said Midjiyawa Bakari, governor of the Far North region of the country, echoing the president. “We want to hear that this or that village has wiped out or limited the sect’s damage through witchcraft. Fight for your country.”
Many viewed the move as a sign of Biya’s desperation as the jihadists continue their rampage of suicide attacks, pillaging and kidnapping throughout Cameroon, as well as in Chad and Nigeria. The three countries have made headway against the group — some commercial routes between Cameroon and Nigeria that had been closed due to the violence have reopened, and some of the people displaced from villages near the Nigerian border have been able to return home. But there is much more left to do.
And locals in Mora, a remote mountainous district in the Far North province near Nigeria, said they would try anything to end the Islamic State’s reign of terror.
After Biya’s call to employ witchcraft against Boko Haram in January 2016, hundreds of militia fighters rushed to sorcerers, commonly called “marabouts,” to obtain lucky charms and talismans to protect them in battle.
“Since I have this gris-gris, I have no problem,” said Mohamad Ahmed, a gym teacher and member of a local militia in Mora, referring to a small cloth bag typically worn around the neck or wrist.
Filled with supposedly magic objects and paper inscribed with verses from the Koran, Bible or other holy scriptures, gris-gris originated in Africa but are common among voodoo practitioners in the Caribbean as well. Women often don them for contraception.
“It is so powerful,” said Ahmed. “I put it on at the moment I go into the field of fighting. The fetish protects its wearer. If someone shoots at you, the bullets have no effect. They fall on the ground like small pebbles.”
Ahmed noted that he has not been shot to test the charm, however.
In the past two years, more than 1,500 Cameroonians have died in the war against Boko Haram, while the violence has displaced 155,000 people, according to the government….

EmHotep says
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/12/europe/turkey-parliament-brawl/index.html
Shmooviyet says
“Fight for your country” said the governor Bakari.
Well that’s more than we’ve heard from so many leaders in the West, particularly from the outgoing Dhims during their reign of terror.
c matt says
Heck, the “witchcraft” angle at least has the merit of recognizing the threat.
maghan says
Bur Islam itself is witchcraft. Which rational person could ever believe that an illiterate goat-banger named Muhammad went into a cave and came out ranting that some jinn named Gibril visited him with messages from some unseen and unknown wizard, which he later called by the same name as the Witch-god, Allah, the Moon god?
Yes, Islam is a kind of witchcraft that puts spells on its victims who can erupt at anytime and commit unspeakable acts of violence. Drowning in cages, immolation in cages, gratuitous beheadings.
Only an evil spell could make any person strap on a bomb vest to slaughter himself/herself and others. Only an evil spell can so bewitch an individual that he would hijack a truck and drive it many miles to use it as a weapon to mow down innocents as if they were ants.
Only an evil spell can bewitch men to capture girls just to rape them non-stop as a witchcraft offering which they celebrate with their witchcraft chant –“Allahu Akbar”.
Only bewitched persons would go into a frenzy and slaughter an innocent individual who is believed to have “mishandled” their witch-recipe book they call “Qur’an”.
In this instance, just witchcrafts fighting each other.
Westman says
Hey, BH, I’ve got this doll, see, that looks like the village idiot holding the Quran in the picture, see, and a big needle. I’m makin’ you an offer you can’t refuse – lay off, or the doll gets it!
And then I’m gonna make some for Germany and France as soon as I get the government grant.
Don McKellar says
“Which one is a more egregious example of magical thinking?”
I recently watched some of the hearings on Trump nominees — and to see elected officials on a national level try and grill a guy like Mike Pompeo, first in his class at West Point, Harvard grad (not an affirmative action clown like Obama, but because he earned it) on whether he is a global warming denier who doesn’t accept that Islamic jihad is a result of man-made global warming — it was jaw dropping! Him and Rex Tillerson and the rest of these top notch people getting questioned by these nutcases at this time in history is INCREDIBLE! They may as well call in the witch doctors. You want to see magical thinking at work in the fight against jihad, just look at the members of Congress and Senate — it’s crawling with that insanity.
common sense says
Yeah I watched and I thought Til and Pomp actually turned it around and man handled them, Mattis to. I see why DJT picked them, our supposed leadership representing us look dangerously immature and inadequate and not because they wanted to turn the screws it’s their demeanour of open anger and witless attempts to draw better men into contradicting themselves.
Happy Friday!
Byzantium1683 says
If this was actually true, Id say good for them! God knows any “witches” are at danger if Islam prevails. Even if witchcraft was accepted female witches would be second-class citizens by default.
The only anti-Islam witchcraft here is Boko haram, fighting the largest country in Africa (Nigeria) biting off more than it can chew by attacking Cameroon.
Mickey says
Using witchcraft to fight against Islam. That’s Satan vs. Satan, ain’t it?
Medicinman says
First i thinked you mean the Conservativ Cameron fom the UK haha…
Just whishing will not help,but the Voodoo guys had really knowledge about some crazy drugs.
A german was in Africa to study Voodoo,a medicineman gave him something to drink-people warned him that he will die if he go there like many others….the medicinman sayed:If you are a good person you will live,if not you die…he just wanted to study them so he lived,after he was 5 times there the medicinman sayed him that the poison from a snake was in the drink.But how it works you will aks?
He asked Experts in germany.This poison from the snake will work only if you had an adrenalin rush-so if you are a liar and you have fear the drink will kill you,if you had no bad things in mind you will survive.
J says
Maybe, just maybe, the call to use witchcraft is actually more akin to psychological warfare. Islamists believe wholly in djinns and witchcraft.
Perhaps some loudspeakers placed in tree branches or toads raining from the sky on them would be more productive than using firearms.
It’s so hard to think like a jihadist.
maghan says
Yes, Islam itself is witchcraft. Once you fall under its spell you can just go crazy anytime and engage in bloody slaughter. The witchcraft rules dictate that in order to stay under the spell you must bang your head on the ground 5 times a day after doing a cleansing water ritual.
David Ramseur says
This is an intramural fight….Satan foreclosing on the souls of those who have invited him in. For witches are like the 8th grade prep team, and Jihadists are like the championship professional team. And they are expected to take each other out. Both groups are the property of the Evil one.
JawsV says
Witchcraft? Why don’t we just abolish Islam?
Angemon says
Isn’t witchcraft haram? Don’t they kill witches in islam?
J says
Indeed. People are beheaded by the Saudi government for “witchcraft”.
maghan says
No, Islam is itself witchcraft which acts very violently against other witchcrafts. No competitors tolerated. Ultimate punishment: ritual beheading after a ritual witchcraft chant that ends with “Allahu Akbar”
common sense says
They should not worry, Mattis is is coming.
Mong says
These book haram guys are thick. They should be educated then executed. Subject them to a course and once they’ve realised they’ve been suffering from a grave misapprehension line up the firing squad. Seriously, these scum should know reality before being killed so they have no illusions about it. Absolute dirt.
mortimer says
Witchcraft worked on Mohammed himself, so these maroons will think it will work on them and be nervous about it … whether it really works on them or not.
mortimer says
The fact that the Nigerian government has not rounded up every single Boko Haram terrorist reveals the depth of the support among Muslims in Nigeria.
Boko Haram’s leader said he is at war with ‘Christianity generally’.
Is the pope even aware of the implications of such a statement? I am sure the churches in Nigeria would love the opportunity of explaining Boko Haram if Pope Frank asked…which he won’t likely do.
Kadok says
WE are not importing them, OBAMA THE TRAITOR IS IMPORTING THEM!
Michael Johnson says
What is Cameroon thinking this is not lord of the rings and star wars they are dealing with people that wants to kill behead rape and destroy them they had better pick up those guns and grenade launchers and fight the Muslim!
Guest says
It baffles me just how stupid and ignorant the people of the third world countries can be