MURIC REJECTS LAGOS GOVERNMENT POSITION ON JIHAB

16^th May, 2013

PRESS RELEASE:

MURIC REJECTS LAGOS GOVT'S POSITION ON HIJAB 

 

The Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, in a press conference addressed on Tuesday, 14^th May, 2013 placed a ban on the use of hijab and head scarf by female Muslim pupils in public schools in Lagos State. She stated that such Islamic attires would only be allowed "when the pupils want to go for prayers, when they want to read the Qur'an and when they want to go for Jumat prayers."

 

We of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) reject this position. It is a product of intolerance, tyranny, oppression, persecution and stigmatization. The rejection of the use of hijab in public schools reveals the pitiable human rights condition to which Muslims in the South-West have been subjected both in colonial and post-colonial days. It also stands in contradistinction to the democratic principles of freedom, equal rights, justice and fair play.

 

Instead of allowing free dialogue, the Lagos State Government is pushing Muslims in the state to the wall. We reject the claim made by the Commissioner for Education that the issue was discussed at length and that "We reached certain agreements". Concerned and well-informed Muslims and Islamic organizations were either deliberately ignored or edged out of purported discussions while a selected and uninformed few were picked. MURIC petitioned the ministry in a letter dated 25^th February 2013, yet we were not invited at any point in time.

 

We challenge the Commissioner for Education to tell the world who she discussed with. She should also tell Nigerians what happened to all the memoranda submitted on the issue by several Islamic organizations in the state. What became of the 8-page memorandum submitted by MURIC to the State's House of Assembly? It is our contention that a neo-colonial mindset is at play in the Lagos State Ministry of Education.

 

We also challenge the Commissioner for Education to tell the world what her ministry has done to the principal of Kadara Junior Grammar School, Ebute Metta, Mrs. Ukpaka, who personally administered 43 strokes of the cane on a female Muslim student by name Aisha Alabi, a JSS 2D pupil, whose only offence was wearing hijab. Is this not child abuse? Is this not the height of Islamophobia and religious intolerance tainted with sadism? Instead of taking the law into their hands, the Muslims in the state petitioned the ministry of education. What has the ministry done about this?

 

The Commissioner's pronouncement that Muslims who want their children to use hijab should take their children to Muslim private schools is a reckless, arrogant and irresponsible statement. It is a declaration of war on Lagos Muslims. Is the commissioner saying that Muslims are not part of the citizenry in Lagos State? Are the Muslims not paying tax? The Commissioner should simply resign if she can no longer play the role assigned her in the ministry. She has demonstrated enough hatred for and arrogance towards Muslims. This statement is insensitive, provocative, outrageous and preposterous. It is an insult on Islamdom in Lagos State. It is therefore unacceptable.

 

For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of Article 18 of the United Nations Charter and Articles 9 and 14 of the European Treaty of Human Rights and Articles 18 and 19 of the Treaty of Civil and Political Rights all of which Nigeria is a signatory support the position of Muslims clamouring for the use of hijab. Denial of this agitation also constitutes a breach of Section 38 (i) & (ii) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution.

 

We challenge the Commissioner to tell the world why the hijab is acceptable on school uniforms for Muslims in the North and an anathema in the South-West when Nigeria is just one country? MURIC warns that Lagos State Government is provoking Muslims in the state. The recent position of the LASG has merely worsened relationship between the Muslims and the state government.

 

MURIC however affirms that the Muslims will continue to explore all constitutional means to challenge this outrageous declaration on hijab. In spite of the Commissioner's attempt to provoke Muslims in Lagos, we remain committed to the maintenance of law and order in the state. We appeal to Muslims in the state to ignore this provocation and to remain calm and law abiding.

 

Professor Is-haq Akintola,

Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC),
234-818-211-9714

234-803-346-4974

 

 

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC),

234-803-346-4974

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/muslimrights

               

MURIC's bank account :

Banker's Name: Guaranty Trust Bank

Account Name:        Muslim Rights Concern
Account Number:    0112827277

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

MURIC CONGRATULATES NEW SUPREME COUNCIL SCRIBE

MURIC CONGRATULATES NEW SUPREME COUNCIL SCRIBE

The National Executive Council (NEC) of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) met today Tuesday 7th May, 2013 in Kaduna. NEC picked an ad hoc Shurah to fill the vacant post of NSCIA Secretary General. At the end of the exercise, Professor Ishaq Oloyede emerged as the choice of the Shurah. This was unanimously ratified by NEC.

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) congratulates Professor Oloyede and welcomes him to this new and challenging office. We commend the leadership of the NSCIA for its transparency and vision. The synergy manifested in the exercise adds another feather in the cap of the NSCIA.

The umbrella organisation for all Islamic groups in Nigeria could not have made a better choice. Oloyede's antecedents speak most vehemently.

The new NSCIA scribe took the University of Ilorin to great heights as its Vice Chancellor for five years. Oloyede also became the Chairman of all African Vice Chancellors during his tenure as Unilorin VC. Records show that he performed creditably well as the Co-Secretary of the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC).

MURIC felicitates with the Sultan of Sokoto and President General of the NSCIA, Alhaj Muhammad Sa'd Abubakar III and the entire Nigerian Muslim community on this meritorious feat. We charge the new NSCIA scribe to remain focussed, diligent and God-conscious in the discharge of his duties. We repose tons of confidence in Professor Oloyede as the right man with the capacity to reengineer and reposition NSCIA.

Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
08033464974
08182119714

 

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC),

234-803-346-4974

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/muslimrights

               

MURIC's bank account :

Banker's Name: Guaranty Trust Bank

Account Name:        Muslim Rights Concern
Account Number:    0112827277

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

BAGA MASSACRE: IT IS RELIGIOUS CLEANSING!

24^th April, 2013

PRESS RELEASE:

BAGA MASSACRE: IT IS RELIGIOUS CLEANSING!

 

Over 185 Muslim civilians were butchered on Monday, 22^nd April, 2013 at Baga, Borno State while more than 2000 houses were either burnt or leveled to the ground in an alleged clash between the military and Boko Haram militants.      

 

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) is petrified by this horrendous and barbaric killing of unarmed civilians. We reject the military's excuse that Boko Haram fighters used civilians as human shields. This excuse further exposes the unprofessionalism and high-handedness of Nigeria's soldiers. It is sheer cock and bull story. Residents who survived the invasion claim that it was unprovoked. We affirm that those involved in this massacre have ignored the rules of engagement.

 

MURIC strongly suspects that those behind the animalistic and brutal behavior were trigger-happy and determined to kill as many Muslims as possible before the amnesty being planned by the Federal Government (FG) comes into effect. The fact that most of the victims were women and children lends credence to this suspicion. It is also a calculated attempt to provoke Boko Haram into another orgy of violence thereby forestalling the proposed amnesty programme.

 

We accuse the Nigerian military of excessive use of force against a civilian and Muslim population. It is simply religious cleansing with a tinge of ethnic genocide.

 

The fact that a massacre of this magnitude is perpetrated in the same zone despite the fact that extra-judicial killings ignited the Boko Haram imbroglio ab initio proves that the Nigerian military has not learnt its lesson. By out-Heroding Herod at Baga, Nigerian soldiers are simply winning more sympathizers and volunteers for the Boko Haram insurgents.  

 

We stand by our hypothesis that terrorism is mere smoke rising from flames stoked by injustice, oppression and persecution. A good fire-fighter will direct his hose towards the flame and not at the smoke. Justice is the soul of peace. Nobody can deny one and enjoy the other. Those who order the massacre of Muslim populations are encouraging terrorism.

 

MURIC therefore calls for an urgent commission of inquiry into the Baga saga. The probe allegedly ordered into the case by the FG will only scratch the surface. Only a commission of inquiry can dig deep enough.

 

Beyond the local scene, we call on the international community to pay attention to this crime against humanity. The world today has become a global village and the repercussions of a humanitarian disaster in Nigeria will definitely ricochet across the world. Those who kill women and children in cold blood must face the full wrath of the law. We urge the United Nations to urgently conduct an international inquiry into this massacre. International warrants of arrest must be issued against those involved in this inhumanity of man to man. They must be arraigned at the International Court of Justice.

 

We urge the international civil society to listen to the cries of the oppressed people of Baga. Specifically, we invite Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International to conduct independent interviews with survivors of this ordeal and act accordingly.

 

Finally, MURIC jogs the conscience of the Nigerian civil society, the Campaign for Democracy (CD), the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO), Women Arise, etc. We assert the right of Muslims to enjoy fundamental human rights. We warn that continuous conspiratorial silence in the face of frequent violation of the Allah-given and fundamental rights of Muslim populations places a moral burden on the conscience of civil society and mortally challenges its credibility.

 

Professor Is-haq Akintola,

Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC),
234-818-211-9714

234-803-346-4974

 

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC),

234-803-346-4974

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/muslimrights

               

MURIC's bank account :

Banker's Name: Guaranty Trust Bank

Account Name:        Muslim Rights Concern
Account Number:    0112827277

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

MEND'S THREAT TO ATTACK MUSLIMS

16^th April, 2013

PRESS RELEASE:

MEND'S THREAT TO ATTACK MUSLIMS: A SMOKESCREEN

 

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) in a recent statement threatened to start attacking Muslim interests by killing Muslim leaders and bombing mosques. MEND gave the beginning of May for the implementation of its threat.

 

We of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) regard this threat as a mere smokescreen, badly timed and ill-conceived. We believe that MEND does not understand the issues involved in the Boko Haram saga. Muslims in Nigeria have long disowned Boko Haram. We washed our hands off the atrocities committed by the group and we have been consistent in our condemnation of the attacks carried out by the group.

 

We call attention to the monumental speech made by His Eminence the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Alhaji Muhammad Saa'd Abubakar III, in which he referred to the Boko Haram group as an evil and he called on both Christian and Muslim groups in the country to come together to fight this evil. It is therefore ironical that MEND still associates Boko Haram with Islam and threatens to avenge the attacks carried out by the group on innocent Muslims. This will be a gross miscarriage of justice.  

 

We must remind MEND of early warnings that the main objective of Boko Haram is to ignite a North-South war. MEND may be falling into this trap with its latest threat. But just as Nigerian Muslims disowned Boko Haram, MURIC is interested in knowing the reaction of Nigerian Christians to the threat made by MEND. What has the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) got to say on this?

 

It is now an open secret that the Federal Government is poised to announce its granting of amnesty to Boko Haram. The fact that MEND's threat is coming just when light starts to appear at the end of the dark tunnel is quite interesting. It raises more questions than answers. The only logical conclusion is that MEND wants to scuttle the proposed amnesty for Boko Haram. Put in other words, MEND wants to monopolise amnesty programmes in the country. It should not be enjoyed by any other group. Otherwise we must ask the question: why now?

 

The Federal Government has been working round the clock to find a solution to the Boko Haram menace. Why not allow the FG to conclude its plans? The committee set up by the FG to understudy the issue of amnesty for Boko Haram was given two weeks to conclude its deliberations. Why must MEND's threat come halfway to the timeline? Does it not look like subtle blackmail? We affirm that the timing of MEND's threat is wrong, uncoordinated and illogical.

 

MURIC reminds MEND that we stood by the people of the Niger Delta during their travail and condemned the environmental degradation in the area from the beginning even before the formation of MEND. It is curious that a group fighting for the economic liberation of its people now wishes to metamorphose into a religious crusader. We remind MEND that this is capable of impugning on its credibility. We have never considered MEND as a terrorist group. We saw it as a freedom fighter group. Its threat to start attacking Islamic targets will definitely change its status.

 

We urge the Federal Government to see the true colour of MEND. Government's analysts must see beyond this threat. We also call on the CAN to separate the wheat from the chaff. Even if MEND attacks Muslims or mosques it will not be fighting for Christians. The threat to attack Muslims is a mere smokescreen. MEND has a hidden agenda. Like the Boko Haram which seeks to railroad the South into a confrontation with the North in order to force an Islamic republic on the North, MEND has an eye on a total break-up of the country in order to put the oil wealth in its region under its total control. This is why MEND is throwing spanner in the works. It is not genuinely interested in peace in Nigeria.    

 

In view of MEND's threat, we charge Muslims to be vigilant. Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. Yet in spite of the threat, we urge Muslims all over the country to go about their legitimate businesses without fear. We advise them to remain calm, peace-loving and law-abiding. Muslims must realize that MEND does not represent Christians. This threat is therefore not coming from the Christians as a body. Muslims must therefore remain friendly with their Christian neighbours. With malice towards none and charity for all, Muslims must continue to love and forgive. The task of nation-building cannot succeed in an atmosphere of mutual fear and distrust.

 

Professor Is-haq Akintola,

Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC),
234-818-211-9714

234-803-346-4974

 

 

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC),

234-803-346-4974

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/muslimrights

               

MURIC's bank account :

Banker's Name: Guaranty Trust Bank

Account Name:        Muslim Rights Concern
Account Number:    0112827277

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

AMNESTY: THE ONLY WAY FORWARD FOR NIGERIA

8^th April, 2013

PRESS RELEASE:

AMNESTY: ONLY WAY FORWARD FOR NIGERIA

 

President Jonathan recently set up a committee to look into the possibility or otherwise of granting amnesty to members of Boko Haram.    

 

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) hereby welcomes this decision. We are of the opinion that this is a step in the right direction. We believe that the Nigerian president is now thinking like the president of the whole country. Only by granting amnesty to the Boko Haram group can the president reposition the country for peaceful coexistence.

 

We support amnesty because it stands for peace. Amnesty gives life, hope and recovery. On the contrary, continued hostility and pursuit of insurgents are characterized by death and general insecurity. Terrorists have one mindset, namely, to put asunder what government has put together, to destroy what government has built. Terrorists seek to cause as much havoc as possible in order to attract attention to their cause. President Jonathan needs all hands on deck to build a united Nigeria and a virile economy. Progress of any kind cannot be attained in a state of insecurity.

 

MURIC however urges the president to rely more on his civilian advisers than on the military. Just as lawyers will always encourage their clients to go to court instead of amicable settlement of disputes, soldiers, particularly top military officers who are not usually directly in the firing line, will always prefer prolonging armed struggle. Propelled by the desire to extend the fracas and for other obvious reasons, the military may not have been giving us correct figures of casualties from clashes between the military and Boko Haram.

 

We remind the Federal Government of the need to take a firm grip of the Boko Haram phenomenon and to make good use of the president's latest initiative before the military digs in deeper. The interest of the military's Joint Task Force (JTF) in prolonging insecurity in the North may be a bait for an eventual military coup. We further remind the Federal Government of the degradations suffered by the country in all sectors in the forty years of military rule. The military should never again be allowed to intervene in the running of government in Nigeria. We therefore charge President Jonathan to assert the civilian character of his regime by rebuffing the overbearing influence of the military in the Boko Haram imbroglio.

 

Once again we debunk the thesis of a faceless Boko Haram. The group cannot be faceless if some of their commanders have been arrested or killed as JTF always claims. The Boko Haram commanders who are in detention have names. So how can they be faceless? In the same vein, we dismiss the hypothesis of Boko Haram as ghosts. The faces of the leader of Boko Haram and that of his followers are usually shown in video clips and on the pages of newspapers. Ghosts do not appear in pictures or video.

 

In our synthesis, we assert that the thesis of a faceless Boko Haram and the hypothesis of a ghost Boko Haram are both products of shallow thinking and an attempt to railroad Nigerians into supporting extra-judicial killings, the violation of Allah-given and fundamental rights of Northerners and the systematic destruction of the economy of the North.

 

Nonetheless, we demand justice for the victims of the attacks. Widows and orphans of victims of the horrendous attacks must be properly compensated by the Federal Government. This includes rebuilding structures that have been bombed.

 

Finally, we remind the anti-amnesty camp of the serious implications of a total rejection of amnesty. This includes the possibility of escalation of violent attacks which may culminate in a second civil war with its dire consequences. A word is enough for the wise.

 

Professor Is-haq Akintola,

Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC),
234-818-211-9714

234-803-346-4974

 

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC),

234-803-346-4974

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/muslimrights

               

MURIC's bank account :

Banker's Name: Guaranty Trust Bank

Account Name:        Muslim Rights Concern
Account Number:    0112827277

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

NIGERIAN PRESIDENT PLAYING POLITICS WITH AMNESTY

2^nd April, 2013

PRESS RELEASE:

PRESIDENCY PLAYING POLITICS WITH AMNESTY

 

Against the background of guerilla style warfare involving bombings, drive-by shootings and attacks on police stations resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people, there have been demands for the declaration of amnesty for the Boko Haram group which is largely blamed for the attacks. The Presidency yesterday repeated its now very familiar rhetoric that amnesty could not be granted to Boko Haram "because it is a faceless group".       

 

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) regards this as a lame excuse for prolonging the military onslaught on the North. We reject the idea that Boko Haram is faceless because this is just not true. We are aware that the media has received and used video tapes of the Boko Haram group on several occasions. The pictures of the group and that of their leader have also been published on the pages of some Nigerian newspapers.

 

One Abubakar Shekau has claimed to be the group's leader. Though the faces of others were always covered, the leader has not been known to wear any mask, nor does he make any attempt to hide his identity. It is our contention that 'ghosts' do not appear in video tapes. Neither do their pictures appear on the pages of newspapers. Aso Rock must have its own definition of 'ghosts'. The presidency's claim that Boko Haram is faceless is therefore baseless, unfounded and dishonest.

 

MURIC also sees a booby trap in the call by the presidency that Northern leaders should identify Boko Haram. This is as good as setting the North against itself. It is a most unpatriotic call. It is sectional, parochial and self-defeating. The presidency seems to be working on the premise that the Boko Haram phenomenon is a Northern affair. This is a myopic stand. We are constrained to remind Mr. President that the whole country is his constituency.

 

Aso rock is suffering from poverty of statesmanship. A statesman will jettison personal ego and political rigmarole in his search for peace. But this presidency does not appear keen on ensuring peace and stability in Northern Nigeria. On the contrary, Aso Rock seems to have a robust appetite for inflicting suffering on innocent civilians and destroying the economy of a section of the populace.

 

We urge Aso Rock to put an immediate halt to its hocus pocus. All it takes to stop the carnage is a public statement from the presidency promising that any leader or member of Boko Haram who comes out for talks will not be arrested. That will mark the beginning of peaceful negotiations and the end of senseless waste of human lives. The onus is on the presidency to prove its political maturity.

 

Professor Is-haq Akintola,

Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC),
234-818-211-9714

234-803-346-4974

 

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC),

234-803-346-4974

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/muslimrights

               

MURIC's bank account :

Banker's Name: Guaranty Trust Bank

Account Name:        Muslim Rights Concern
Account Number:    0112827277

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

EASTER MESSAGE

30th March, 2013

EASTER MESSAGE:
CHRISTIANS AND MUSLIMS MUST COME TOGETHER FOR NATION BUILDING

Christians all over the world are currently marking the Easter season which began on Friday as Good Friday and will end on Monday with Easter Monday. The occasion marks the Christian belief in the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus.

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) greets Nigerian Christians on this memorable occasion. We assert the inalienable right of our brothers in Christendom to worship, to practice, to manifest and to celebrate their festivals as at when due and wherever they may be in the country.

In conformity with the lessons embedded in the life of Jesus, we call for more tolerance, greater spirit of forgiveness and deeper understanding of the teachings of our different religions. In addition, MURIC urges all Nigerians to demonstrate genuine respect for the manner of worship as well as the culture of other religions.

In view of the threat of insecurity that is facing Nigeria, there is an urgent need for the adherents of the various faiths in the country, particularly Christians and Muslims, to forge unity of purpose in nation-building. This they can achieve by sinking their differences and evolving closer ties. Above all, they must eschew past acrimonies, rancor and bitterness. Only thus can Nigeria be saved from the threat of division and war currently hanging over our heads like the sword of Damocles.

We warn that the major motive of trouble-makers as exemplified in the bombing of passengers in Kano last week is to ignite war between the North and the South. We therefore call for soberness and patience in the face of the challenges facing us as a people.



Finally, we charge religious leaders in the country to avoid making inflammatory statements. We urge the political class to go back to the school of statesmanship where they can learn the art of nation-building, self-sacrifice and service to the people.

Professor Is-haq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC),
234-818-211-9714
234-803-346-4974

 

Professor Ishaq Akintola,

Director,

Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC),

234-803-346-4974

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/muslimrights

               

MURIC's bank account :

Banker's Name: Guaranty Trust Bank

Account Name:        Muslim Rights Concern
Account Number:    0112827277

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