29th April, 2019
PRESS RELEASE:
SRI LANKA: MURIC REJECTS REVENGE
IDEOLOGY
More than 321 deaths have been reported
in the multiple bombing of churches and hotels in Sri Lanka during the Easter
holidays. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), an extremist group, has
allegedly claimed responsibility for the attacks.
In a related development, a Nigerian
human rights organization, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has rejected the
extremist group’s ideology of revenge. This was made known in a statement
signed by its Founder and Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, on Monday 29th
April, 2019.
“For
the umpteenth time, we reiterate our condemnation of terrorism and all forms of
violence as a means of seeking redress. Violence is a square peg while peace is
a round hole. Seekers of justice must not resort to violence lest they err.
Neither can avengers have peace of mind because revenge, by its very nature, is
a vicious cycle. The solution to the world’s problems lies in dialogue, mutual respect, tolerance, forgiveness and love.
“We
reject religious demagogues who instruct us to kill people of other faiths. We
debunk the parochial philosophy of merchants of death who tell us to kill
Westerners. We assert clearly, categorically and unequivocally that Islam is a
religion of peace, not a creed of violence. Islam gives life, not death. It
gives hope, not suicide-motivating frustration. Islam promotes co-existence among
the various components of humanity regardless of their religious leanings.
“We further contend that as an integral
part of compos mentis homo sapiens, Muslims have no right to kill any
follower of other faiths any more than members of other faiths have any right
to kill Muslims. To believe otherwise is to succumb to the Hobbesian theory of
nature where man is seen as a selfish and dangerous brute. This is what the
killers in New Zealand and Sri Lanka have done. They have become unsolicited
ideologues of the Darwinian theory of survival of the fittest.
“Contrary to this barbaric mentality,
Islam invites mankind to rational thinking and respect for human life. The
Glorious Qur’an forbids the shedding of human blood (5:161). It compares a man
who kills a single person to one who destroyed the whole of humanity while
another who saves a single life is compared to one who gave life to all mankind
(5:32).
The
Glorious Qur’an has also rubbished the rationale for the vengeful killings in
New Zealand and Sri Lanka by describing goodness and evil as incomparable and
by commanding Muslims to repay evil with goodness (41:34). Nothing in the
teachings and actions of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) encourages tit-for-tat.
“The Prophet said, ‘Do not engage in
violence. Embrace peace’. At the point of victory, he forbade the killing of
those who had killed Muslims. He decreed that all those who had subjected
Muslims to torture, harassment and intimidation in Makkah should be forgiven.
To conclude this advocacy of non-vengeance,
we appeal to all individuals and groups engaging in violence to embrace peace. We
charge all believers in the Supreme Creator to learn to respect the sanctity of
life, to court the art of forgiveness and to woo the value of tolerance. But
above all, we invite the West to give world peace a vital shot in the arm by halting
its pro-Israel and anti-Muslim agendum and to desist from its tortuous policy
of divide et impera. We urge Nigerians to promote peace, to forgive, tolerate
and love one another”.
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
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