RAMADAN MESSAGE

31st July, 2011   RAMADAN MESSAGE: MURIC URGES FG TO HONOUR ITS PLEDGES TO WORKERS   The month-long Ramadan fasting will start tomorrow Monday, 1st August, 2011. The search for the moon began in Nigeria yesterday. It was eventually sighted today in Aukland, New Zealand, giving credence to the belief that it will be visible in the Nigerian sky towards evening. Traditionally, fasting kicks off after the moon has been sighted.   The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) sends its message of solidarity to Nigerian Muslims in particular and all Nigerians in general. We congratulate all living souls in this great country who witness this memorable spiritual season.   We remind both the leaders and the citizenry of the essence of fasting as stated in Qur'an 2:183, namely, to enhance piety. We charge the Federal Government to be Allah-conscious and Allah-fearing. The present furore over wages between FG and labour is bourne out of an acute lack of Allah-consciousness in government circles. Those who fear Allah will honour their covenants. Those who are Allah-conscious will realize that pledges must be fulfilled.   It is indeed sad that our leaders enter into agreements with workers without fulfilling their agreements. This has happened over and over again. Today it is happening to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). It is also happening to the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU). University lecturers are complaining that FG is reneging on agreements signed five years ago. Yet the same agreement is due for review in a few months from now. Nigerians should hold FG responsible for the continued decay in the education sector.   NLC is already threatening to go on strike this week unless FG honours its pledges. It is a big shame that we are being led by people whose stock-in-trade is lip service. Leadership demands some modicum of integrity. What labour is demanding is not too much. What is N18,000 monthly compared to N10 million and N15.5 million per month which members of the House of Representatives and senators receive respectively? Why should our leaders continue to deceive us?   MURIC warns FG not to court the anger of the proletariat. Workers deserve bread on their tables as at when due. FG should learn from what happened in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya. The case of Nigeria could be worse if it is allowed to happen because ours is a very porous nation. There are ethnic and religious hawks waiting out there to hijack a revolution. We all know the implications of an NLC strike. It must not happen.   Finally, we call on FG to find a lasting solution to the biting scarcity of kerosene. A discerning leadership would have taken a pragmatic and meaningful step to end the scarcity. This smacks of gross ineptitude. People are suffering because more than 80 percent of the Nigerian population relies on kerosene for cooking. The hardship is expected to rise during Ramadan when most families cook at home unless FG does something drastic. Is-haq Akintola (Ph.D), Director, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), 234-818-211-9714 E-mail: muslimrightsconcern@yahoo.co.uk              muslimrights@gmail.com Website: www.muric.net Yahoo Group: groups.yahoo.com/group/muslimrights Blog:       muslimrightsmuric.blogspot.com Twitter:   twitter.com/muslimconcern           Be just Justice is the soul of peace No one can deny one and have the other Neither can violence or naked force bring lasting peace

MOON SIGHTED IN NEW ZEALAND

Esteemed Members As-Salaam Alaykum   Congratulations   The moon was sighted in Auckland, New Zealand today   Dat means today is Tarawih and tomorrow (Monday) is 1st Ramadan.   Alhamdulilah 4 d unity achieved among Muslims. This is wishing u all a wonderslamic Ramadan Is-haq Akintola (Ph.D), Director, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), 234-818-211-9714 E-mail: muslimrightsconcern@yahoo.co.uk              muslimrights@gmail.com Website: www.muric.net Yahoo Group: groups.yahoo.com/group/muslimrights Blog:       muslimrightsmuric.blogspot.com Twitter:   twitter.com/muslimconcern           Be just Justice is the soul of peace No one can deny one and have the other Neither can violence or naked force bring lasting peace

ISLAMIC BANKING: MURIC ADVOCATES DIALOGUE

26th July, 2011 PRESS RELEASE: ISLAMIC BANKING: MURIC ADVOCATES DIALOGUE   The ongoing debate on Islamic banking in Nigeria appears to be taking dangerous turns. A Christian clergy led his congregation on public protest round the streets of Warri. Bishops have issued threats and expressed the fear of Islamisation of the country. The Christian Association of Nigeria has also taken a tough anti-Islamic banking stance. On Sunday 24th July 2011, the Nigerian Supreme Council for Shariah reacted in kind.        We of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), in total commitment to our avowed motto, 'Dialogue, Not Violence', urge all stakeholders to remain level-headed. We believe that beheading is not the cure for headache. We call on Muslims in the country to continue on the path of civilized debate and intellectual enlightenment. We have no doubt that superior logic and common sense will eventually sway the pendulum.   We therefore appeal for calm among all Islamic organizations, Muslim youths and leaders. In particular, we charge Muslim leaders to desist from issuing inflammatory statements. Enduring relationships are not built on threats but on mutual respect. Even a huge financial enterprise like Islamic banking system requires a peaceful atmosphere to grow. Nigeria has suffered enough retardation in the hands of man-made disasters in form of religious and tribal disturbances. Nigeria has all the potentials to become a great country but it needs peace and stability to fully realize this potential.   MURIC urges Christian leaders to allow reason to prevail and to avoid playing to the gallery. The positive statements issued by knowledgeable Christians particularly finance experts like Finance Minister Okonjo-Iweala should be objectively studied and analyzed. Responsible leadership demands that the followership should not be misled at any point in time. It is high time Christian leaders appreciated the fact that equal rights and equal participation are the sine qua non lubricants of the engine of democracy.   Music is sweet to the ears but both the white and black keys must be played to get harmony. No good musician will harp on white or black keys alone. The advocates of Islamic banking have not suggested the closure of existing banks. Democracy necessitates tolerance of alternatives. Nigeria became a debtor nation due to the frivolous interest charges in debt servicing. Let us therefore try another financial system without the burden of the current high interest of 24%, one that will run pari passu with the existing ones. Islamic banking offers that opportunity.   Finally, we assure fellow Nigerians that Muslims are committed to peaceful coexistence. Nobody is going to war over Islamic banking or any other religious issue. We therefore urge all citizens to go about their lawful duties without fear. The religion of Islam is about jaw-jaw, not war-war. It gives life, not death. It seeks to build, not to destroy. Islam is about forgiveness, not vengeance. It radiates love, not hatred.     Dr. Is-haq Akintola, Director, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) 234-818-211-9714 234-803-346-4974 Is-haq Akintola (Ph.D), Director, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), 234-818-211-9714 E-mail: muslimrightsconcern@yahoo.co.uk              muslimrights@gmail.com Website: www.muric.net Yahoo Group: groups.yahoo.com/group/muslimrights Blog:       muslimrightsmuric.blogspot.com Twitter:   twitter.com/muslimconcern           Be just Justice is the soul of peace No one can deny one and have the other Neither can violence or naked force bring lasting peace

MILITARY EXCESSES IN BORNO STATE

17th July, 2011 PRESS RELEASE: MILITARY EXCESSES IN BORNO STATE   There have been reports of extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrests and torture of innocent people in Maiduguri in the past few days. Both indigenes and non-indigenes fleeing from the city now do so more from the fear of military high-handedness than from that of the Jamaatu Ahlis-Sunnah Lil-Da'wat wal-Jihad popularly known as Boko Haram. Human rights organizations have accused the military of excesses.   The locals have cried out against systematic rape by soldiers drafted to the troubled city to curb Boko Haram escapades. One of the women fleeing Maiduguri reportedly told BBC or VOA, "We have to flee. Soldiers are bursting into our homes. They are killing our husbands and committing obscenities with the women.   The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) is constrained to join the call for the immediate withdrawal of the military. This call was first made by a committee of elders from Borno State. It has since been repeated by other groups including international bodies. The governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima, in an interview with the BBC today confirmed military excesses.   Nigerian soldiers are ignoring well known rules of engagement. The use of rape as a tool for frightening the opponent is a crime against humanity. It is an unacceptable amplification of violence against women. There is no justification for this atrocity. It is barbarism taken to the Stone Age.   MURIC therefore demands the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of soldiers from Maiduguri streets. By unleashing marauding and undisciplined soldiers on innocent civilians at a time when it was talking of the possibility of dialogue, the Federal Government of Nigeria is also guilty of double speaking, belligerence and unnecessary use of force. We also demand compensation for innocent citizens whose houses and vehicles were destroyed by the rampaging soldiers.   We assert clearly, categorically and unequivocally that the killing of innocent civilians is arbitrary, illegal and unconstitutional. We affirm that raping women during military operations is a crime against humanity. We call for investigations into the operations of the military in the city with a view to ascertaining the extent of criminality and culpability or otherwise of the security agencies during their anti-Boko Haram operation.   MURIC charges the international community, particularly the United Nations, to call the Nigerian authorities to order before the country descends into the abyss of humanitarian disaster.   Is-haq Akintola (Ph.D), Director, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), 234-818-211-9714 E-mail: muslimrightsconcern@yahoo.co.uk              muslimrights@gmail.com Website: www.muric.net Yahoo Group: groups.yahoo.com/group/muslimrights Blog:       muslimrightsmuric.blogspot.com Twitter:   twitter.com/muslimconcern           Be just Justice is the soul of peace No one can deny one and have the other Neither can violence or naked force bring lasting peace

BOKO HARAM: TIME TO LAY DOWN ARMS

14th July, 2011 PRESS RELEASE: BOKO HARAM: TIME TO LAY DOWN ARMS   The Federal Government of Nigeria yesterday showed signs of readiness to dialogue with the leadership of Boko Haram. This was indicated in a statement by the immediate past Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory who is the current Minister for Police Affairs, Navy Captain Caleb Omoniyi Olubolade (rtd). He spoke of government's readiness to dialogue with all aggrieved parties in order to ensure enduring peace and security.   The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) welcomes this development. We commend the Federal Government for adopting a holistic, mature and well-informed approach to the Boko Haram saga. True to our avowed commitment to nonviolence, we reaffirm our condemnation of violent attacks carried out by any group, including Boko Haram, to express grievances.   In the same vein, we welcome the statement made by former Senate president and current Secretary to the Federal Government, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, urging the security agencies and the Nigerian Army to embrace dialogue as a tool for enhancing national security. This statement is pregnant with far-reaching vision, constructive mission and unparalleled patriotism.   MURIC charges the Federal Government to discountenance inciting statements reportedly coming from Western countries in which they ask the Nigerian government to reject dialogue with Boko Haram. Nigeria must not allow itself to be deceived by those whose targets are the destabilization of African states. Aso Rock must ignore remote buttons being pressed from the White House and No. 10, Downing Street. We warn Western countries not to interrupt in Nigeria's internal affairs.          Finally, we call on the leadership of the Jama'at Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamma'at (Boko Haram) to order their foot soldiers to lay down their arms and embrace the government's latest peace moves. The goals of the group are better realized in an environment of peace, law and order. The Glorious Qur'an enjoins Muslims to eschew vengeance (Qur'an 41:34) and to forgive those who offend them (3:134).   Dr. Is-haq Akintola, Director, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) 234-818-211-9714 234-803-346-4974             Is-haq Akintola (Ph.D), Director, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), 234-818-211-9714 E-mail: muslimrightsconcern@yahoo.co.uk              muslimrights@gmail.com Website: www.muric.net Yahoo Group: groups.yahoo.com/group/muslimrights Blog:       muslimrightsmuric.blogspot.com Twitter:   twitter.com/muslimconcern           Be just Justice is the soul of peace No one can deny one and have the other Neither can violence or naked force bring lasting peace

STOP BOMBING CHURCHES

12th July, 2011 PRESS RELEASE: STOP BOMBING CHURCHES   A bomb exploded at the all Christian Fellowship Church on Church Road, Suleja in Niger State on Sunday, 10th July, 2011. Two people died in the attack while several others suffered different degrees of injuries. This explosion inside a church is not the first of its kind as it has been preceded by several others in the northern part of Nigeria.   We of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) totally and unreservedly condemn this and all violent attacks. We assert that violence is antithetical to the true teachings of Islam. The Glorious Qur'an advocates dialogue between Muslims and Christians on issues of common interest (Qur'an 3:64). There is nowhere in the scripture of Islam where Muslims are enjoined to violently attack Christians. The Qur'an forbids the use of force except when Muslims are attacked (2:190). There is no evidence that the Christians inside the Suleja church had attacked Muslims.   It is also instructive that Muslims are not allowed to use any other method of attack except the type used by the enemy (famani'tada alaykum, fa'tadu alayhi bimithli ma'tada alaykum Qur'an 2:194). Have Christians bombed any mosque in Nigeria? Why then are their churches being bombed?   Even when there is real attack on Muslims, the Qur'an draws a limit to the extent that Muslims can go. It says Muslims must stop all attacks once the attackers have also stopped (2:193) and urges forgiveness once the attackers have stopped (2:192). Why then are these faceless attackers throwing bombs instead of forgiving their perceived enemies?   MURIC is irked by the recklessness and audacity of those behind the bombing of churches. We roundly denounce them and we authoritatively, clearly and unequivocally dissociate ourselves from such perpetrators. These people cannot be genuine Muslims. They are anarchists out to throw Nigeria into an orgy of religious killings. Their target is war between Christians and Muslims.   We charge the security agencies to unveil the identities of these blood-thirsty extremists. Steps must also be taken to secure churches from future attacks. We appeal to all Nigerians to be law-abiding, peace-loving and forgiving. Christians and Muslims are from one Father of Faith (Abraham). Religion is designed to link people in love. There is no religion that teaches violence.   Dr. Is-haq Akintola, Director, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) 234-818-211-9714 234-803-346-4974   Is-haq Akintola (Ph.D), Director, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), 234-818-211-9714 E-mail: muslimrightsconcern@yahoo.co.uk              muslimrights@gmail.com Website: www.muric.net Yahoo Group: groups.yahoo.com/group/muslimrights Blog:       muslimrightsmuric.blogspot.com Twitter:   twitter.com/muslimconcern           Be just Justice is the soul of peace No one can deny one and have the other Neither can violence or naked force bring lasting peace