25th
August, 2014
PRESS RELEASE:
BOKO HARAM CALIPHATE IS A MIRAGE
The leader of the Boko
Haram insurgents, Abubakar Shekau, yesterday declared Gwoza as Boko Haram’s
caliphate. Gwoza is a part of Borno State that was overrun by the insurgents a
few days ago.
We of the Muslim Rights Concern
(MURIC) hereby totally and unequivocally reject this declaration. We reaffirm
our faith in the unity and indissolubility of Nigeria.
Almighty Allah says, “Oh
you who believe, obey Allah, His Messenger and those in position of authority.”
(Qur’an 4:59). Islam therefore commands obedience to constituted authority but
Boko Haram has chosen disobedience to and belligerence towards the President of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Dr.
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.
Whereas Boko Haram members
are aware that the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme
Council for Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III is the
indisputable leader of all Nigerian Muslims, they have refused to heed all his
appeals. Instead of giving honour to Muslim leaders and Emirs, Boko Haram has
killed some of them and attacked some others.
Whereas all-encompassing education is
one of the basic tenets of Islam (Qur’an 96:1-5), Boko Haram forbids Western
education. Whereas the Prophet (SAW) in the hadith commands education for all,
Boko Haram seeks to alienate women from education.
Again, whereas the Prophet (SAW) honoured
the girl-child and commanded his followers to do same, Boko Haram kidnaps and
enslaves young and innocent girls thereby exposing them to wild life and subjecting
them to unimaginable psychological trauma.
Boko Haram’s declaration
is a statement of secession. It must not be allowed. Gwoza must be liberated
within days. Boko Haram or no Boko Haram, we cannot compromise the territorial integrity
of Nigeria to anyone, no matter how barbaric.
We also charge the
Nigerian Armed Forces to be more focused from this moment. Boko Haram must be
flushed out with microscopic accuracy from all the villages occupied in Borno
State. But there is a caveat: it must be done professionally so that
innocent civilians do not fall victims.
MURIC calls attention
to the declaration of the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia and the Organisation of
Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in which they outlawed Boko Haram and declared its
practices outrageous and unacceptable in Islam.
From its latest
statement, it is clear that Boko Haram is emulating the Islamic State in Iraq
(ISIS) which declared a phantom caliphate a few months ago. It is didactic that
world Muslim bodies have also rejected ISIS because of its unIslamic practices
and its open and inhuman hostility towards its Christian population.
Gwoza Caliphate is definitely not the
caliphate which we desire. Unlike that of ISIS and Boko Haram, the caliphate of
Prophet Muhammad (SAW) which he established in Madinah was based on justice,
love and peaceful coexistence.
MURIC therefore
rejects Boko Haram’s caliphate. It is a mirage. It exists only in the figment
of Shekau’s imagination. Like a good surgeon who will not hesitate to amputate
a rotten limb from a patient’s anatomy, MURIC urges President Jonathan to immediately
don the garb of a good surgeon.
Finally, we assure all Nigerians that
Muslims want to live in peace and tranquility with their Christian neighbours
and their traditionalist brothers and sisters in one and indivisible Nigeria. We have come a long way together so we will not emulate butchers of men. Islam
strengthens humanity. It does not debase it.
Neither shall we
listen to those who ask us to kill people of Western origin in our midst. We
affirm that Islam is a universal religion. It does not hate on the basis of race,
colour or sex. We therefore assure all foreigners in the country that they have
nothing to fear from mainstream Muslims. We appreciate their presence in our
midst and we will continue to honour them as our Prophet (SAW) commanded us to
do.
Professor Ishaq
Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern
(MURIC)
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