The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) says Islamophobia and amnesia are responsible for the current bitter opposition to Shari’ah in the South West.
Professor Ishaq Akintola, Founder and Executive Director of MURIC said this in a statement.
In the statement released on 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 incitement 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.”
(vitalnewsngr.com)
