29th January, 2025
PRESS RELEASE:
ISLAMOPHOBIA,
AMNESIA RESPONSIBLE FOR OPPOSITION TO SHARI’AH – MURIC
Islamophobia and amnesia have been identified as factors
responsible for the current bitter opposition to Shari’ah in Ekiti State. This
was disclosed by Professor Ishaq Akintola, the Founder and Executive Director
of an Islamic human rights group, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC).
In a statement released on Wednesday, 29th
January, 2025 Akintola said hatred for Islam and its adherents as well as collective
amnesia were two major factors responsible for the kind of opposition to
Shariah which we are witnessing in some parts of South-West Nigeria,
particularly Ekiti State. According to the statement, other factors include deliberate
misinformation, ignorance and religious rat race.
The full statement reads:
“In view of a thick cloud of tension
which has enveloped Ekiti State in the past two weeks over the Shari’ah
controversy, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) recently put together an ad hoc
Think-Tank group which identified the factors responsible for the current
bitter opposition to Shari’ah in Ekiti State as Islamophobia, collective
amnesia, ignorance and religious rat race.
“Among the findings of the Think-Tank is that
there is an intrinsic abhorrence for anything Islamic among a large section of non-Muslims.
It is inherent in their thinking faculty and it beclouds their logical rationalization.
This islamophobic proclivity is innate in all victims of anti-Islam
indoctrination as well as ‘assimilated former Muslims’.
“The second correlate responsible for the
rejection of Shari’ah is collective amnesia. People who have taken large doses
of indoctrination and hate propaganda tend to forget the past en mass
particularly about the benefits accruing to objects of their hatred.
“It is the same with the benefits accruing to
Shari’ah in particular and other things associated with Islam and the Muslims
in general. Whereas Christians cried wolf over Muslim-Muslim ticket in the run
up to the February 2023 general election (https://punchng.com/2023-northern-christians-warn-against-muslim-muslim-ticket/),
the same Christians are now applauding Muslim-Muslim rule after they saw magnanimity
in Muslim style of administration.
“For instance, Northern Christians changed their
song as early as September 2023. That was barely three months after the presidential
election of February 2023. (https://www.vanguardngr.com/2023/09/northern-christians-to-tinubu-youve-allayed-our-fears-on-muslim-muslim-ticket/).
“Even more than a year later, about three days
ago, the Northern chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) still affirmed
that President Tinubu has allayed their fears over the Muslim-Muslim ticket (https://leadership.ng/tinubu-has-allayed-fears-over-muslim-muslim-ticket-northern-can/).
“Yet these are people who threatened hell and
brimstone before the election, cursed the Muslim presidential candidate and his
Muslim vice. The trend is the same all over. Christian extremists will oppose any
programme that has connection with Islam even after the proponents have given
full explanation of the benefits. They will mislead the public by claiming ‘it
is unconstitutional’, ‘it will undermine security’, ‘it constitutes a threat to
peace’, etc.
“It happened during the first days of the
introduction of Shari’ah in Zamfara State in 1999. Hell was let loose. After
misleading Christians that Shari’ah was unconstitutional, CAN’s national body filed
a suit in an Abuja High Court but it hurriedly withdrew the case after
discovering the truth (‘Shariah: CAN Withdraws Suit Against Zamfara’, Vanguard,
Wednesday, 28th June, 2000, page 9).
“But instead of telling Nigerian
Christians the truth (that Shari’ah is constitutional), the president of CAN at
the time, Dr. Sunday Mbang, preferred to save his face. He simply said, ‘As we don’t
want to go and fail, so the better thing was to withdraw’ (Ishaq Akintola,
Shariah in Nigeria: An Eschatological Desideratum, Shebiotimo Publications,
Ijebu Ode, 2001, page 132).
“It is the rat race, a vicious struggle to retain
membership and get new converts for the church. This religious rat race has brought
monumental losses to the country. It is responsible for the tramadolisation of
faith. It has pushed religious leaders to dissipate more energy on the
indoctrination of adherents at the expense of upholding the truth.
“Going back to the lanes of history, we will find
a number of Islamic programmes and initiatives which were vehemently opposed by
Nigerian Christians but which turned out to be beneficial today after ignoring
their opposition.
“We can cite Islamic banking as an example. CAN
went to town with verbal halitosis, threats and vitriolic attacks when the Central
Bank of Nigeria under Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi came up with the idea of zero
interest rate in 2011 (https://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/10/can-flays-cbn-over-non-interest-banking/). But who are those enjoying the fruits of Islamic
banking today?
“Another
good example is the sukuk, an Islamic bond investment mechanism which Nigerian
Christians under the misguidance of CAN resisted with all the force they could
muster. CAN’s Secretary General at the time, Rev. Musa Asake, labelled sukuk as
‘Shari’ah loan’ and rejected it because, according to him, ‘Nigeria is not an
Islamic country’ (https://punchng.com/sukuk-bonds-are-sharia-loan-nigeria-not-an-islamic-country-can/#google_vignette).
“But today sukuk has achieved a lot for the
country. There are roads built with sukuk funds in all parts of the
country including the Abuja capital territory. The question we want to ask is ‘How
do the leaders of CAN feel when they ply these sukuk roads? Do they
jettison them and take other routes? Are there, really, other routes? Or do
they simply pretend not to see the sign ‘sukuk’ boldly displayed along the
sukuk roads?
“MURIC jogs the minds of the good people of Ekiti
regarding the forgotten benefits of Islamic banking and sukuk mentioned
above. It is our prognostication that opposition to Shari’ah panels in Ekiti
will melt away in due time just as bitterness about sukuk congealed and later dissolved
like red palm oil on hot yam.
“Besides, the Shari’ah panel is for Muslims alone.
Christians have the magistrate court, the high court and also the Supreme Court.
Traditionalists also have the customary courts but Muslims have none because
even customary courts cannot adequately handle technical Islamic civil cases.
“Jesus (peace be unto him) said ‘Love
your neighbour according to yourself’ (Mathew 22:39). The Muslims of Ekiti are
neighbours of their Christian brothers. But how much are they being loved if
Ekiti Christians enjoy this much judicial luxury while the Muslims wallow in
judicial penury and denial of the dividends of democracy?
“MURIC urges the good people of Ekiti to ponder
over the above findings, to seek more knowledge about the Shari’ah panel, to
allow logical rationalization and to shut their doors to the persuasion of
emotions and the incitements of agent provocateur. We have no
iota of doubt that there are many good Christians in Ekiti who want to be like
Jesus by loving their Muslim neighbours like themselves?”
#LikeSukukLikeShariah
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Founder/Executive Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
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