MURIC DIALOGUES WITH PRESIDENT JONATHAN, DEMANDS PARITY

Thank you Mr. President. You have a listening ear and we appreciate it. Muslims demand parity and to be respected for what they are and not coerced to go along with colonial settings. Could Mr. President grant Nigerian Muslims two things? 1. Share the Christmas bonus into two for workers to receive half during Christmas and the other half during Id al-Kabir. 2. Declare 1st Muharram a holiday like 1st January. Thank you Mr. President for listening.

RAMADAN OF UNITY   Nigerian Muslims started Ramadan fasting today Wednesday 11th August, 2010 after the Sultan announced the sighting of the moon in several northern states of the country.   The moon was also reportedly sighted outside Nigeria in Saudi, Egypt, Qatar, Yemen, Kuwait, Libya, Jordan, Algeria, Malaysia, etc. This development has facilitated a united approach to fasting this year. Alhamdulilah.   We call on Nigerian Muslims in particular to rally behind Sultan Abubakar whose leadership style has been dynamic, purposeful and focussed.   We urge Muslims around the globe to see this as a unique opportunity to sink their differences and speak with one voice. MURIC advocates the unification of all elements in Islam. Let us follow Islam, not Sunnism. Let us cherish the Glorious Qur'an, not Shiism. We are Muslims, not Sunnis. We are believers in Allah, not Shiites. Let us do away with all vestiges of compartmentalisation which have stood as insurmountable barriers between us and our fellow Muslims.    It is shameful seeing Sunnis and Shiites slaughtering each other in Iraq and Pakistan We call on Muslims all over the world to address this issue very urgently Dr. Is-haq Akintola Director, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) 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

KIDNAPPED NIGERIAN JOURNALISTS RELEASED

MURIC welcomes the release of the kidnapped Nigerian journalists. We urge Nigerians to stop paying ransom to kidnappers as this is capable of encouraging more abductions. Kidnappers are terrorists and they must be treated as such. The currently thriving kidnapping industry in Nigeria must be driven aground by every means necessary. Above all, the Nigerian police must wake up from its deep slumber to protect the citizens.

MURIC is of the opinion that there is more to incidents of kidnapping in South-Eastern Nigeria than meets the eye. The Nigerian government must therefore set up a powerful committee to investigate the immediate and remote causes.

MURIC rejoices with the members of the families of the freed journalists.

Dr. Is-haq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
234-803-346-4974

WHERE IS RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE?

The vicious cycle of religious violence claimed more lives in Taraba State, Nigeria, during the last week. We of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) frown upon religious intolerance, destruction of places of worship and shedding the blood of fellow homo sapien. Religion is love. It should forge unity of mankind.

The latest disturbance was sparked off by an attack by Christian youths on a mosque. The youths reportedly claimed that they did not want to see any mosque in the area. Interestingly, citizens of Tennessee, USA, also protested against the construction of a new mosque in the town. Like the Taraba Christian youths, they too did not want to see a mosque in their neighbourhood. Somewhere in Europe, minarets have been banned. In France, the Muslim female hijab is now outlawed.

Are we to infer from these incidents and conclude that Muslims have become endangered species?

WHO STARTED TERRORISM IN NIGERIA?

We must always seek to put the records straight. Nigerian Muslims have hitherto not been involved in terrorist acts within the country. Kidnapping for ransom or for any other purpose is terrorism and those involved in it in Nigeria today are from the South-East of the country. They are not Muslims. The first person to attempt to blow up a plane loaded with passengers in Nigeria was a Christian.

It is our hope and prayer in the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) that Nigerian Muslims will not engage in terrorist acts either against fellow Nigerians or against foreigners. Terrorism is shooting at a cluster of birds with the eyes closed. The bird you hit is not the bird you had in mind. The end of terrorism does not justify the means.

Muslims must therefore always seek to settle rifts through dialogue.

MURIC BLAMES OSHUN POLICE COMMAND FOR HARASSING JOURNALIST

16th July, 2010 PRESS RELEASE: MALTREATMENT OF PUNCH JOURNALIST: OSHUN STATE POLICE COMMAND BLAMEWORTHY   Mr. Tunde Odesola, a correspondent of the Punch newspaper, was on Wednesday rough-handled at a checkpoint in Ibokun, Oshun State, by a policeman, Corporal Ijede Emmanuel. The corporal reportedly threatened to shoot Odesola. He made attempts to pull the latter out of the driver's seat. As if he had gone berserk, he also threatened to open fire on other journalists who later arrived at the scene. They were saved by a timely call to the state's Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Clement Akinola.       We of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) lay the blame squarely at the feet of the Oshun State Police Command. Nigerians are not safe in the hands of a policeman who behaves more like a thug than a normal homo sapien. Both the rifle and the bullets in Corporal Ijede's hands were procured with tax payers' money, including that of the victim of his unprovoked assault, Mr. Tunde Odesola. We strongly condemn this Gestapo tactics.   MURIC calls on the Nigerian Police to retrain its men. There are too many unscrupulous elements in police uniform. This is not acceptable. A former Minister of Police Affairs once told Nigerians that our policemen could not shoot properly. Only yesterday (Thursday 15th July, 2010), both the former Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Kanu Agabi and the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mrs. Farida Waziri, were quoted as describing Nigerian policemen as 'ill-trained'.    Oshun State Police Command must fish out this Bohemian of a cop and parade him before journalists the same way criminals in police net are paraded. This will teach others like him a lesson. Corporal Ijede must face orderly room trial if the State Command is truly prepared to instill discipline in its rank and file. The fact that too many Nigerians have been shot by the police in the past, particularly at roadblocks, makes this incident an eye-opener. We now know how many of those cases of stray bullets hit their victims. Had Odesola been an ordinary citizen without access to the media or to the PPRO, a carnage would have occurred at that checkpoint.   Finally, we remind the Commissioner of Police, Oshun State, that the buck stops at his table this time around. Apart from trying gun-totting, trigger-happy Corporal Ejedi Emmanuel, the Command must apologize to the Oshun State Chapter of the Nigerian Union of Journalists over this incident.   Dr. Is-haq Akintola Director, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) Tel. 234-803-346-4974   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

THE PRICE OF MATERIALISM

The abduction of five journalists in Abia State on Sunday 11th July, 2010 x-rays the fallout of our materialistic society. Our governments at all levels were the first to use money as a bait to trap our youths. They introduced lottery. 'He fit be you!' Soon Nigerians were tricked with 'Win a car per day'. Today the telephone network providers invade our privacy with unthinkable offers turning all of us into gamblers! Now we are all dreamers, from Aso Rock to Ajegunle Jungle City. Those who cannot win and whose appetites have been wet are kidnapping the poor and the rich. We all cried foul when Islamic clerics called for a ban on gambling of all shades.