The Gaza War: Africa's Divided Response

 African Stances on the Gaza War: A Christian Perspective

The inhumane oppression and brutality inflicted by Israel upon the people of Gaza continues to intensify in plain sight of the world. From the very beginning, the African Union has unequivocally stood with the Palestinian people; however, very few African leaders have managed to raise their voices against the massacres Israel is committing in Gaza.

Shortly after the Hamas attack, countries like Kenya, Ghana, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo expressed their support for Israel, while several other African leaders chose a neutral approach. Even those African leaders who sided with Israel have called for peace following the bombing of hospitals and the killing of thousands of civilians, yet they have shied away from developing a discourse opposing Israel.

It's understandable why African nations, dependent on investments from the US, Israel, China, Russia, and European countries, struggle to adopt a "humanitarian" stance on the Israel-Palestine issue. One wonders: if African countries were not economically and politically dependent on major powers, what stance would they take against Israel?

Undoubtedly, Muslim leaders and communities in Africa support their oppressed Palestinian brethren. The Palestine issue (especially the freedom of Al-Aqsa Mosque) is on the agenda for most African Muslims.

However, the approach of African Christians and Christian clergy to the Israel-Palestine issue is largely shaped by indifference and a lack of awareness. Apart from the people of South Africa, who compare the plight of the Palestinians to their own experience under apartheid, almost no Christian voices from Christian-majority African nations are heard in support of Palestine.

For African populations grappling with civil wars, poverty, drought, pandemics, and similar issues, developments in other parts of the world that don't directly concern them are often not seen as a priority.

From a Christian perspective, it could be said that most African Christian clergy believe the Bible calls for unconditional support of Israel and standing with the Jewish people, and many are unaware of the existence of Christian Palestinians.

Although tensions between Muslims and Christians occur in some countries on the continent, it would not be wrong to say that the communities often live intertwined and do not harbor deep enmity towards each other.

Zambia's Stance on the Gaza War

Zambia, where Muslims constitute only about 3% of the population, is one of the African countries that has never experienced religion-based tension throughout its history. Therefore, an average Christian Zambian has no reason to hate Muslims or harbor Islamophobic sentiments. The current administration's and church officials' support for Israel cannot be explained by anti-Islam sentiment.

Zambian Christian Chipego Mwanza evaluated her country's and its people's stance with these words: “Over the past few days, it has been horrifying to watch Israel bomb Gaza and civilians lose their lives. Even more horrifying has been the inaction of the international community in the face of this genocide."

"The Zambian government announced its support for Israel, and there has been no opposition from any political party or NGO."

"The Zambian government's stance shows they are afraid of what they might lose from Israel—trade partnerships, aid—if they condemn its actions."

"As for the people's attitude: Zambians have little interest in or knowledge of what is happening in Gaza. But there is a tendency to offer blind support to Israel because of what is in the Bible. However, there is absolutely no justification for the actions Israel is carrying out.”

How Uganda is Approaching the War

Uganda, with 84% of its population being Christian, has adopted a neutral stance in the Gaza war.

Ugandan human rights activist and Christian Samuel Obedgiu explained his country's approach: “Uganda has taken a neutral stance because Museveni is one of Africa’s puppet leaders protecting American interests in Africa. He has to be neutral to maintain internal peace and avoid problems with the US."

"There is imported indoctrination and misconceptions from the West that the birthplace of Christianity is in Israel. The masses know nothing; they support this, especially the Born-Again and Pentecostal churches."

"Support for Israelis used to be very strong, but nowadays people are tired because Israelis are always fighting and being aggressive."

"Many activists are asking: Why is the war in Sudan, where so many civilians have died, not a major issue in Western media? Why does the US want us to support Israelis and not Palestinians?"

"In my opinion, no sane person can justify the killing of Gazan civilians by Israelis. There are serious human rights violations, such as the use of white phosphorus bombs in civilian settlements to hit military targets, as attested by Human Rights Watch. These are things even Putin, who is demonized by the West, hasn't done in Ukraine.”

The Stance of the Nigerian Government and its People

Nigeria, with a population half Muslim and half Christian, has also adopted a neutral tone regarding recent events. Nigerian Muslim academic Ifeoluwe Siddiq Oyelami evaluated the stance of the Nigerian government and its people:

“Nigeria has long had a pro-Palestine foreign policy, though its sensitivity has varied from administration to administration. For instance, Nigeria was one of the countries that opposed Israel's admission to the African Union. However, during the Goodluck Jonathan administration, it abstained from voting on a 2014 call for Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territories by 2017, marking a departure from its pro-Palestine stance. The Jonathan government was seeking support, particularly from the US and its allies, as it was fighting terrorism at the time. In fact, Jonathan is the first and only Nigerian president to have visited Israel."

"Speaking about the current administration's view on the war, silence still prevails. Considering that the government is new and facing major economic problems, it's possible they don't want to get involved in 'other people's business.' That's why no statement has come from any state official. But if asked, I believe Nigeria will passively maintain a pro-Palestine policy."

"The views of Nigerians reflect the country's demographics. While some chant 'Free Al-Aqsa,' there is also a segment (the Igbos) who declare themselves Jewish and carry Israeli flags. But speaking of the majority of the people, regardless of their religion, they remain passive and indifferent; they don't even know what's happening."

"However, we saw that Nigeria's largest Pentecostal church (a church many statesmen are members of) expressed support for Israel through online videos and posts. They had to remove the posts after backlash online. This shows us that people are starting to engage with this issue, even if from a distance."

"Actually, the traditional thinking among many Christians is: 'If there is a problem between Muslims and someone else, the Muslims are at fault.' Perhaps it's due to an 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' mindset, or because they equate the Palestinian resistance with Islamist radical groups in Nigeria. Maybe it's because they believe Israelis are 'God’s chosen people.' Today, we see many Christians saying, 'This is not our issue. It's other people's politics and it doesn't concern us.' I wish they would be more outspoken against Israel's massacre."

This article was originally published in Independent Türkçe, on November 1, 2023.