MURIC TO NEW BOKO HARAM LEADER: LEAVE CHRISTIANS ALONE

7^th August, 2016

PRESS RELEASE:

MURIC TO NEW BOKO HARAM LEADER:

LEAVE CHRISTIANS ALONE

The new leader of Boko Haram insurgents, Abu Mus’ab Al-Barnawi, has called for the killing of Christians and the blowing up of churches.      

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) expresses total bewilderment at the depth of barbarism in the recent hate speech emanating from the leadership of Boko Haram. It is totally despicable and exceptionally criminal to target fellow products of the Adamic chromosome for annihilation. We have no doubt that this call could only have come from a twisted mind.

Islam is love, not hatred. Islam gives life, not death. It builds and does not destroy. The Glorious Qur’an only allows Muslims to fight in self-defence (Qur’an 2:190). It forbids unjust and unlawful killing (Qur’an 6:151). It compares anyone who kills his fellow man to one who kills all homo sapiens (Qur’an 5:32).

We remind the Boko Haram coercion ideologues of the moderate posture of the Glorious Qur’an towards non-Muslims. Qur’an 2:256 says there should be no compulsion in religion (Laa ikraahun fil diin).

Qur’an 10:99 completely sweeps the carpet off the feet of agents of belligerence as it declares, “So you forcefully compel people to believe in Allah? But they would all have believed if Allah had wanted it so!”

Our differences in matters of faith are therefore part of the deliberate and grand design of the Divine Creator. Allah also affirms in Qur’an 11:118 that there would still have been differences even if the whole world follows a single religion. So what is special about belonging to a particular religion if we do not share love?        

This is why Allah reminded Prophet Muhammad to limit his mission to reminding people and never to make any attempt at controlling people’s lives (Qur’an 88:21 – 22).

MURIC charges Muslims all over the world to limit their religious zeal to the true dictates of Islam as reflected in the verses of the Glorious Qur’an lest they transgress. They should leave those who reject Islam alone. Our hypothesis is that Allah did not give anyone the assignment to punish those who reject Islam.

This is reflected in Allah’s own words in Qur’an 88:23 – 26, “They (i.e. the non-Muslims) are coming back to Us and We will call them to account”. We therefore assert firmly, authoritatively and unequivocally that nobody can perform Allah’s role for Him.   

As we round up, we reaffirm our readiness to peacefully coexist with our Christian neighbours. We reject hate speeches and their authors whether from Boko Haram or the Islamic State (ISIS). The directive to attack Western interests is antithetical to the non-racial and pax vobiscum leaning of Islam.

We call on the Nigerian public and the rest of the world to separate criminals from their religion and desist from stereotyping Muslims as terrorists or their sympathizers. In this regard, we welcome the recent pronouncement of Pope Francis in which he urged the world to stop equating Islam with terrorism.

Although we are aware that Boko Haram is technically defeated, militarily debilitated and spiritually demobilized, it is not over until it is over. Nigeria’s security agencies still need to beef up security around Christian clerics and heighten vigilance in churches around the country.

Finally, we urge Muslims in the country to demonstrate solidarity with their Christian neighbours by ensuring that Boko Haram elements are not allowed to launch attacks on Christians in their neighbourhood. We have a duty to defend our Christian neighbours at this critical stage. This is the way to keep Nigeria united.

Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)

MURIC CONGRATULATES OLOYEDE ON HIS APPOINTMENT AS JAMB REGISTRAR

3^rd August, 2016

PRESS RELEASE:

MURIC CONGRATULATES OLOYEDE ON HIS APPOINTMENT AS JAMB REGISTRAR

Professor Ishaq Oloyede, Secretary General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), was yesterday appointed Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB).

We rejoice with him and wish him a successful tenure. Given his wide experience in university administration, we have no doubt that he would bring positive changes to the national examination body.

MURIC urges the newly appointed Registrar to urgently give a human face to the national examination body. For a starter, all early morning JAMB examinations which start by 6.30 am should be stopped. The earliest an examination of the magnitude organized by JAMB can start is 9 am.

The last JAMB examination held in February 2016 exposed young Nigerians to serious danger. Two female candidates were reportedly kidnapped. Another was killed by hoodlums. Some others had their cell phones and cash snatched by hoodlums on their way to the examination centres because they had to leave home before daylight. The security situation in the country is not yet conducive for such early morning examinations.

We pray that Allah guides his actions and utterances in his capacity as the new JAMB Registrar.

Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)

SABOTAGE RETARDING NIGERIA’S PROGRESS

2^nd August, 2016

PRESS RELEASE:

SABOTAGE RETARDING NIGERIA’S PROGRESS

The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has been accused of low performance and delays in the implementation of projects. It has also been blamed for the high level of poverty in the country. Some critics have also insisted that the Buhari administration has not brought about any change at all.   

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) rejects these allegations. Buhari’s critics are like bad fire fighters who turn attention to the smoke instead of facing the fire. The more they fight the smoke, the more the fire burns and the worse the destruction. They are hypocrites and parasites, the more they look, the less they see.

MURIC cannot stand akimbo and watch Nigeria burn. We must address the real issues. In the first place, this administration has good plans for Nigeria but saboteurs are desperate to sabotage the plans. The main dramatis personae in the camp of Judas is the present leadership of the National Assembly who treacherously seized the mantle of power in the absence of others and without the blessings of party leaders.

The fact that corrupt and overambitious members of the ruling party conspired with the leading opposition party to seize the reins of power in the legislative arm confirms our contention that there was a grand conspiracy to sabotage efforts at saving the Nigerian people from economic and political slavery.

 It is this same clique that has constituted itself into a bottle neck in the National Assembly (NASS). But for the saboteurs, enabling laws for the creation of special courts for looters would have been promulgated. The smooth running of administration has also been made difficult by the attendant strain in the relationship between the executive and the legislature. The long delay in the passage of the 2016 budget as well as the unnecessary buck-passing and the ping-pong which characterized the exercise eloquently attest to our contention.   

Nigerians must open their eyes wider to recognize the real enemies of the people. We have a president who is universally recognized as a man of unparalleled integrity. But politicians who have skeletons in their cupboards have hijacked the legislature. With the remote control of the NASS in the hands of political caterpillars outside the hallowed house, a diabolical bloc continues to strangulate our land.

With hindsight, it has also become very glaring that ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s concession of defeat was done in bad faith. He laid deadly landmines in the path of his successor and clearing these traps has not only been Herculean but also time-consuming. The current militancy in the Niger Delta is not an accident. It was in ‘Plan B’.

The saboteurs know that Buhari can get Nigeria out of the woods. Therefore they plan to frustrate his efforts. The idea is to create an economic cul de sac arising from inability to export oil. They expect this to make it impossible to execute projects which Buhari promised Nigerians. They also expect it to worsen the level of poverty. The next stage is to incite hungry Nigerians into an ‘uprising’ against the Buhari administration and force his resignation or impeachment by an already compromised NASS.

Nigerians must reject this satanic plan. The jamaaheer (masses) must be on alert. We must resist the temptation to vent our spleen on the present administration. We must evolve a shock absorber system capable of resisting the pangs of hunger and poverty. We must reengineer our societal values and norms and renounce materialism, corruption, greed, avarice and waste. We must say ‘No’ to political charlatans and eschew ethnicity, nepotism and religious bigotry.

Contrary to the claim of critics, Nigerians have witnessed lots of change since Buhari took over. For example, corruption is no longer celebrated, hitherto sacred cows now spend months in detention, leakages are being blocked, money-sucking government agencies have become money-spinners, states have been able to identify thousands of ghost workers thereby saving billions of naira, ministers no longer engage in frivolous expenditures and flambouyance, etc. It is only the blind and the mischievious who will pretend not to see all these.

In conclusion, MURIC reminds Nigerians that they should blame saboteurs for Nigeria’s present predicament. Buhari deserves encomiums for his steadfastness and high sense of discipline. We call on religious leaders to direct their followers to work for the progress of this country. We charge church clerics and Imams to pray fervently for the success of the Buhari administration, for peace and prosperity.       

Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)

LAGOS HIJAB JUDGEMENT: IT IS VICTORY FOR RULE OF LAW

21^st July, 2016

PRESS RELEASE:

LAGOS HIJAB JUDGEMENT:

IT IS VICTORY FOR RULE OF LAW

 

The Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos this afternoon declared that female Muslim students have the right to use hijab as part of the school uniform.    

A lower court in Lagos ruled in October 2013 that hijab was illegal.

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) commends the ruling. It has restored hope in the judiciary as the last hope of the common man. The five judges deserve more accolades. They have proved beyond any reasonable doubt that they were principled men of the bench. It is the victory of the rule of law. Truth has prevailed over falsehood.

The fact that the judgment was unanimous and only two of the five judges are Muslims leaves a firm stamp of authority on the legality of the use of hijab not only by female Muslim students but also by all Muslim women in the country.

MURIC therefore warns officials in public and private institutions who are in the habit of intimidating and stigmatizing Muslim women in hijab to desist forthwith.

We laud Muslim students and Islamic organizations in Lagos State who have demonstrated patience and tolerance in the face of provocations since the unfavourable court judgment of 2013. Unlike their counterparts in the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Osun State chapter who took the law into their hands when the judgment on the hijab case was unfavourable to them, Lagos Muslims showed maturity and respect for the rule of law.

Nigerians have important lessons to learn in the two cases. One, that litigants should remain patient when a lower court makes a pronouncement as there is opportunity to approach an appellate court. Two, that democracy can only thrive where we respect the rule of law. A situation whereby litigants go berserk over a court’s pronouncement can only breed anarchy.

Three, that Muslims are often branded extremists by those who deprive them of their Allah-given fundamental human rights in order to perpetuate the oppression and persecution of Muslims. Whereas opponents had been calling Lagos Muslims ‘terrorists’, ‘extremist’, etc on account of their demanding the right to use hijab, the Appeal Court judgment has now confirmed that the Muslims were doing the right thing.

Four, that the faith of our politicians and leaders does not matter. What matters is that every leader must be prepared to do the right thing no matter whose ox is gored. Five, Nigerians have been offered case studies in religious tolerance on a platter of gold. The searchlight for religious extremists and fanatics should be turned away from South West Muslims and focused where it properly belongs.

The nature of truth is to eventually prevail over falsehood no matter how long. This is the sixth lesson. We call on Nigerians to exercise patience whenever they feel cheated. We should not resort to violence. The law courts are there.

The Supreme Creator is also watching. The Glorious Qur’an says, “Tell them (Oh Muhammad), that the truth has come and falsehood is vanquished. Verily indeed falsehood by its nature is bound to perish” (Qur’an 17:81)  

We appeal to Muslims throughout the country to remain calm, law abiding and watchful.   

Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)